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December 2018
‘Last Chance’ celebrity speaks to Riverhawks Alexandra Radovic Editor-in-Chief Tommy Parker Sports Co-Editor “Last Chance U” star Brittany Wagner gripped a pencil in her left hand and
a microphone in her right as she spoke to AACC faculty and students in Jenkins Gymnasium on Nov. 27. “An opportunity is like a pencil,” Wagner said. “There is no value in it until you put forth effort.”
This is the goal behind Wagner’s company, 10 Thousand Pencils, which offers life coaching, academic evaluations, athletic counseling and motivational speaking
Continued on Page 19
Shoplifter takes merch from AACC’s bookstore Alex Fregger Technology Editor
A shoplifter at the campus bookstore steals more than $1,000 worth of earbuds and headphones on two occasions in October. Photo by Alexandra Radovic
A shoplifter at the AACC Bookstore attempted to steal more than $1,000 worth of merchandise in October. According to the police report, on Oct. 29 at 3:22 p.m., 41-year-old Baltimore City resident James Hord
Students admit Juuling can become addictive Sarah Noble Multimedia Editor As second-year journalism student Noah Reem reclined on a worn sofa after a long day of classes, both of his legs were twitching and his eyes darted around the room. “I’m so dependent on it,” he said quickly, without making eye contact. “I spend so much money on it. I know it’s a giant waste of money, and I know it’s bad for me.” Holding a silver colored Juul between his thumb and
index finger, Reem slowly took a hit from his mango-flavored pod. His voice became deeper as a small stream of vapor left his lips. “It makes me happy and it helps with stress, but I hate it,” he said. Reem is just one of the 3.6 million young adults who Juul—or use a thin, aluminum e-cigarette made by JUUL Labs—according to a November study by the 2018 National Youth Tobacco Survey. The company introduced
“Last Chance U’s” Brittany Wagner comes to campus. Photo by Alexandra Radovic
the battery-powered devices in 2014, and their popularity had skyrocketed by 2016. The Juul is a modern-day vape device that can be charged on a computer or plugged into a wall outlet, like a cellphone. The appliance, which looks like a thumb drive, heats up a pod of juice containing five ingredients: glycerol, benzoic acid, flavor, propylene glycol and nicotine. One pod of the e-juice has the same amount of nicotine as a pack of cigarettes. Reem said he goes through a
entered the Bookstore with a duffle bag under his jacket and stole $721.51 worth of earbuds and headphones from the wall in the electronics aisle. Hord passed the cashier’s area and left the store without paying and returned two days later, on Oct. 31 at 3:25 p.m., to repeat his crime, ac-
cording to campus police. A Bookstore employee saw Hord filling the duffle bag hidden in his jacket with headphones, according to the police report. The report said the employee asked Hord if he needed anything and he replied that he was waiting
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Students across campus report that they Juul, and some say it leads to addictions. Photo by Sarah Noble pod every three days. A pack of four pods runs $16. The device itself, including the charger, costs $35. Since he started Juuling in 2016, Reem said he has spent roughly $1,400 on what he called his “addiction.” Students across campus
told Campus Current they routinely Juul or see others who do it at school. In an informal poll of 10 students, nine said they have witnessed students using Juuls indoors and outdoors on the smoke-free campus.
Continued on Page 14
2 | Campus Current | 2018 | December
Editorial
Meet the Staff
Students: Pricey items don’t always show care Editorial Board
Editor-in-Chief
Alexandra Radovic Associate Editor
Ashley Sokolowski Multimedia Editor
Sarah Noble
Multimedia Producer
Daniel Salomon Photography Co-Editors
Daniel Nickerson Bethany Probst Graphic Designer
Kenzie Airey
Technology Editor
Alex Fregger
Sports Co-Editors
Sanyee Barjogar Jr. Tommy Parker Brady Reilly Reporters
Arianna Beers Coleman Guthrie Chance A. Iheoma Mike Pierorazio Photographers
Gino DeFillippo Gerald Maravanyika Advertising Manager
Alayshia Florida (410) 777-2803 CampusCurrent Adverts@gmail.com Faculty Adviser
Sharon O’Malley
Photographers on page 1, top
From left to right
Alexandra Radovic Ashley Sokolowski Unsplash
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For AACC students on a tight budget, a low-cost, meaningful gift can be even better than an expensive present. As much as we wish it did, school doesn’t stop to give us time to get ready for the holidays. Students must scramble to find the perfect gift with one hand, while using the other to tie a bow around the heaps of assignments they have due at the end of the semester. Most of us don’t have the money to put together expensive gifts, so we take to Pinterest, only to find that the crafts the site suggests require too many materials and steps.
Luckily, a lot of gifts don’t require any spending at all. This holiday season, think about the non-material gifts you can give to friends and family. New clothes and gift cards are nice, but they don’t mean as much as quality time. The holidays are all about showing the people you love that you care about them, and the money you spend on loved ones doesn’t always match how much you value them. So this year, instead of trying to decide how much to spend on someone you care about, think about the special things you could do together to make memories that will outlive any new
scarf or pair of gloves. For example: Invite a friend out for coffee before class, or to a movie afterward. Or, you could invite your youngest sibling to plan the itinerary for a day that the two of you will spend together. Give your parents a hug and tell them what you appreciate most about them, or offer to do the dishes while they relax. But friends and family aren’t the only people who deserve gifts on the holidays. Tell your professors and coaches what you’ve learned from them this year, and share your future plans. Expensive gifts will only give you—and the people
Making cards is a lowcost and easy gift idea. Photo by Alexandra Radovic you give them to—temporary happiness, but the look on someone’s face who is reminded of how much you care is priceless. Giving back to others is a two-way street. It spreads positivity to both the giver and the receiver. The gifts you’ll remember most are the ones that come from the heart, not a wallet.
Student Spotlight
Cosmetic guru chooses AACC Alexandra Radovic Editor-in-Chief
When Emily Sokolowski was a junior in high school, she was falling down the rabbit hole that is the internet as she avoided her chemistry homework. The third-year entrepreneurship student haphazardly entered an online makeup contest while browsing the web, and although she didn’t win, it ignited her passion for makeup. Sokolowski said she has enjoyed playing with makeup since she was a kid, and ever since the night she entered the contest, she has delved into the beauty world, discovering her dream to move to California and do special-effects makeup for movies. Although she was eager to jump in head first after high school and move west to work as a freelance makeup artist, Sokolowski’s parents required her to get a college education first. So she chose AACC’s entrepreneurship program to help make her dreams come true. “When I first graduated high school I did not know what I was doing,” Sokolowski said. “All I knew is that I was going and I was going to
make it, but I didn’t stop to think about how to make it. From going to school and learning the ins and outs of businesses, I think it really helped guide me better.” Sokolowski said while Third-year entrepreneurship student Emily Sokolowsliving at home, she has had ki does special-effects makeup and plans to start her more time to perfect her own makeup company in the future. skills in special effects make- Photo by Alexandra Radovic up, which she said has been a long and tedious process. “My grandma I tend to She said this causes her She once spent nearly six scare the most,” Sokolows- to start from scratch. hours transforming her sis- ki said. “I’ll be doing [speBut Sokolowski said one ter, Campus Current Associ- cial-effects makeup] down of the highlights of her makeate Editor Ashley Sokolows- in my room and she won’t up journey so far is that she ki, into a “tree goddess,” she know. Then I’ll come up to can combine it with her casaid. eat or something and she’ll reer as a line cook and speWhen her creation was be like, ‘What is on your face? cialty dessert creator at Libacomplete, What did tions, a tavern in Millersville. at 1 a.m. you do?’” Sokolowski bakes all the on a cold “Every artist has their O n c e , dessert specials and gets to November own creative process, S o k o l o w s - decorate her creations, which and no matter what ki said, she she said is a lot like putting morning, Sokolowski made her on makeup. medium you are made her using, it’s all basically finger look She once did zombie sister pose like it was makeup for the tavern’s custhe same way of outside for split in half tomers to mimic “The Walkthinking.” a photo and went ing Dead” theme of a new shoot, she —Student Emily Sokolowski upstairs to beer it was selling. said. scare her “Every artist has their “ S h e g r a n d m a own creative process, and was standing out there in during dinner. no matter what medium you a tank top … because the “She was talking about are using, it’s all basically makeup went all the way to taking me to the hospital,” the same way of thinking,” her neck, just next to these Sokolowski said. Sokolowski said. trees like, ‘Can you please “There have been looks Sokolowski, who will just hurry up?’” Sokolowski where I have been sitting in graduate in May and hopes recalled. my [makeup] chair [practic- to attend Cinema Makeup But her projects don’t ing special effects] for four School in California, said always end in photo shoots. hours and I’ll just do one AACC has inspired her to Sometimes they end in disas- thing that messes up a whole open her own makeup comter, she said. piece of the look,” she said. pany someday.
December | 2018 | Campus Current | 3
News
Thief takes electronics from AACC’s bookstore Continued from Page 1 for somebody to show him the laptops. After confronting Hord, the employee called the campus Department of Public Safety and Police before Hord fled the Bookstore and crossed the bridge to West Campus, police said. He then threw the hat and jacket he was wearing into a trash can in CALT and hid his duffle bag full of mer-
chandise under a nearby car in Parking Lot G, according to police. Campus police, who caught Hord on camera, confronted and arrested him in Lot G shortly after. The officers recovered the $419.83 worth of earbuds and headphones along with the duffle bag but have yet to find the $721 worth of merchandise Hord stole on Oct. 29, according to police. AACC Bookstore Manag-
er Chris Wirth said because of this incident, the shop has added security measures in order to prevent future shoplifting. For example, the store has installed locks on the headphone racks. “That’s something that’s going to be in your permanent record. … Your life from that point can be greatly damaged, especially if you wind up in court and get a judgment against you,” Wirth said.
Two men in the unit that will receive the cards live in Anne Arundel County. The club also put together care packages including beef jerky, toiletries, gum, candy and holiday lights. “I think the holiday season is an important time to show your thanks to people in non-material ways,” Radovic said. Each of the cards had its own unique hand-made design and a handwritten note of thanks to those who protect the country. “I think that it is a great way to get the club together at a peaceful time and a peaceful season,” Campus Current Advertising Manager Alayshia Florida, a second-year nursing student,
said. “This is our way of saying thanks.” Newspaper Faculty Adviser Sharon O’Malley said it was “beautiful” to see a more creative side to the students she spends so much time working alongside with in the newsroom. “We are very campus-centric with Campus Current and here’s something that we can do to reach to the greater community and to reach out to servicemen and women who are fighting for the protection of freedom of speech … freedom of the press … all of the things that journalists hold so dear,” O’Malley said. “I feel so happy that we are able to thank them in this way.”
Campus Current sends cards, papers to troops Ashley Sokolowski Associate Editor Campus Current staff members made holiday cards and care packages before Thanksgiving to send to a military unit in Afghanistan for the holidays. Eleven student journalists on the newspaper team spent four hours creating the cards, which they sent to the unit along with copies of Campus Current. “A lot of people might not recognize soldiers any time of year besides Veterans Day and I think it is important to think about the fact that they might not be with their families,” Editor-in-Chief Alexandra Radovic, a third-year education student, said.
Wirth added: “That can carry with you [for] a lifetime. It’s just not worth it. You’re going to steal $500 worth of something you’re going to sell for 100 and you’re going to ruin the rest of your life. … Think before you do it.”
Wirth said shoplifters usually regret their crime as soon as they’re caught. “Most people, once they’re caught, that’s the first thing they say: ‘I knew I shouldn’t have done it. This is not me,’” Wirth added.
This holiday season, Campus Current’s staff designed thank-you cards for soliders. Campus Current sent these cards, toiletries and a copy of the student newspaper to a unit in Afghanistan. Photo by Alexandra Radovic
Stevenson accepts all credits for bus. admin. Daniel Salomon Multimedia Producer
Students from AACC can transfer up to 70 credits from the college to Stevenson University. This is part of an articulation agreement, or course-matching partnership, AACC has with the university’s business administration program. Photo courtesy of Stevenson University
A shoplifter steals more than $1,000 worth of merchandise from the bookstore this semester. Photo by Ashley Sokolowski
Stevenson University this semester began accepting all credits from the AACC business administration program. AACC and Stevenson University have an articulation agreement, which is a partnership that matches courses at AACC with similar ones at other universities, so they will transfer. “If a student pursues our business administration transfer degree, they will end up transferring all 60 cred-
its to Stevenson,” Marcus Wright, AACC’s new director of transfer, articulation and career alignment, said. “No questions asked or anything like that.” Wright added, “One, it guarantees your coursework, but also, students can actually come here and … take the same classes they would take at Stevenson for drastically cheaper.” With this agreement, Wright said, an AACC business student can transfer up to 70 credits of completed coursework to Stevenson. “If you come here to
Anne Arundel Community College, you’re able to save so much money,” Wright said. “It’s about $112 per credit hour here at Anne Arundel. Mostly at four-year institutions, it’s $294 and up to about $500 per credit hour.” Second-year business student Robbie Sullivan called the arrangement “great. Since many students go to AACC because they want to save money, this program can really help out those who determined a business major is the route they want to take.”
4 | Campus Current | 2018 | December
News
Gen ed English classes will change in fall 2019 Alexandra Radovic Editor-in-Chief AACC students must take three more credits of English in order to earn an associate degree, starting next fall. Current students who placed high on the Accuplacer test or took the SAT and earned a high score can take ENG 121 as an accelerated three-credit course instead of taking the usual six-credit sequence of ENG 111 and 112. However, starting next fall, “We’re losing the option for students to take three credits instead of six,” Dr. Candice Hill, chair of the English Department’s Curriculum Committee, said. And the college will replace ENG 111 and 112 with two new, three-credit courses, ENG 101 and 102. Degree-seeking students will have to complete both. Students who transfer to four-year schools without an associate degree will only
need to take ENG 101. But the state decided In addition, the college that developmental English is changing the way it deter- courses were holding stumines which students need dents back. “What studies to take developmental En- have found is that students glish courses. who take developmental Dave Meng, the depart- courses don’t continue on” ment chair for English and to credit courses, Meng said. Communications, said the “It’s a hurdle for them.” English faculty is in the proFor this reason, Meng cess of replacing the Accu- said, the new ENG 101 has placer test with a writing two sections. sample—probStudents “Writing skills are who need ably a short essay. Meng pretty important in extra help in said the essay expressing ideas English will will be a “much place into and being able better way” to ENG 101A to communicate place students and earn effectively.” in the correct three credits English class- —Student Brett Seabolt that will apes. pear on their Previously, students who transcripts. But ENG 101A scored low on the Accuplacer also includes two suppletest would have to take devel- mentary credits that will not opmental courses before tak- count toward the students’ ing English classes for cred- degrees. it. If they scored high, they Hill said students who placed directly into ENG 121, have qualified for the accelthe three-credit accelerated erated ENG 121 but do not course. take it by next semester will
Campus starts free night care Alexandra Radovic Editor-in-Chief The college’s Child Development Center will start offering free evening child care in January. The addition of evening hours, which the campus Child Development Center, or CDC, has not offered since 2016, resulted from a $98,719 U.S. Department of Education grant the college received for the first time in late September. Parents who take classes at AACC may start applying in December for free evening child care, which will be available next semester from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Thursday. “The main goal of this is to keep student parents in school … to help them move toward graduation,” CDC Director Janet Klenkel said. The Child Care Access Means Parents in School grant supports low-income parents who need affordable childcare while they attend evening classes. About $17,397 of the grant will pay for school supplies and
two evening caregivers, who will work 16 hours per week. Staff will help the children with homework and organize games and arts and crafts projects. Another $64,829 of the grant will go toward tuition assistance for eight of the roughly 49 children who are enrolled in the CDC daytime program. Students taking one to six credits are eligible for a 50 percent discount on their child care tuition. Students taking seven to 11 credits are eligible for a 75 percent discount, and those with 12 or more credits could get free child care tuition. Some students who work at the CDC said they’re not sure evening child care is good for the kids. “I just feel bad for [the kids],” second-year elementary education student Yuri Shimanuki said. “They might have to go to a different school all day, [and] then from 6 to 10, be in a different place. … It’s going to be tough for them [even though] it’s good for the parents.” Others, however, said the later hours for child care will
Dave Meng, the department chair for English and communications (right), and professor Candice Hill discuss upcoming English course changes. Photo by Alexandra Radovic have to take both ENG 101 and ENG 102 because the college will no longer offer ENG 121. Meng said taking a single English class “is just not sufficient to get students up to where they … should be in terms of skill. … Writing is a fundamental skill for all students. It doesn’t matter what field you’re going into.” Second-year student Brett Seabolt is studying computer science, but said he agrees that writing is an essential skill for success in any field. “Writing skills are pretty important in expressing ideas and being able to communicate effectively,” Seabolt said.
Hill said the English faculty will design specific projects for the new classes that will depend on students’ majors, so “the papers can be based on students’ interests and career goals. They can look at bias and how we analyze data,” Hill said. “It’s preparing them better for other classes they have here.” ENG 101 and 102 will involve more analytical, persuasive and argumentative writing than 111 and 112, Meng said. Hill said the English department looked at the top five AACC transfer schools to make sure the content of the new courses matched up with their curricula.
AACC student and mom Morgan Mitchell attends a Thanksgiving luncheon with her daughter Jade at the Child Development Center, which will offer free evening care next semester. Photo courtesy of Morgan Mitchell help keep parents in school. “I have a lot of friends that can only attend night classes, and they need that care,” second-year education student Jasmine Elliott said. “I think it’s amazing that it’s being offered. I would love to be here longer in the evening. I have three jobs and three classes and so I want to be here full time, and I know that students will take advantage and use this atmosphere in the evenings.” CDC offered evening care for $5 per hour in 2016, but shut it down because of low enrollment.
This time, it will be free and open to only low-income families. Members of the college’s Student Achievement and Success Program, or SASP, will help recruit families to enroll their children in the new evening care. To qualify for reduced fees for evening and daytime care, parents must be AACC students on financial aid and qualify for the federal Pell Grant, which gives needbased financial assistance to low-income students. The more credits low-income students take at AACC,
the less tuition they will have to pay to enroll their children in CDC. The daytime program serves children ages 2 to 5, while the evening program will support up to 15 low-income children as old as 10. The remaining $16,493 of the funds will go toward professional development workshops and the formation of a parent support group, which will meet at the CDC for two hours, three times a year, to share best parenting practices and reliable community child-care resources.
December | 2018 | Campus Current | 5
News
Foundation co-founder, $1M donor dies in Nov. Sarah Noble Multimedia Editor
Carole Ratcliffe, who donated more than $1 million to AACC’s entrepreneurship program, passed away the weekend of Nov. 10. Photo courtesy of Carlene Cassidy
Carole Ratcliffe, a longtime donor and supporter of AACC’s Entrepreneurial Studies Institute, passed away in November. Ratcliffe was best known for co-founding the Philip E. and Carole R. Ratcliffe Foundation with her husband. The Ratcliffes donated millions of dollars to schools like the University of Miami, the Maryland Institute College of Art and Salisbury University. According to Carlene Cassidy, chair of the Entrepreneurial Studies Institute, since 2003 the Ratcliffes donated $100,000 each year to the college to support entrepreneurship students. Since their involvement with the college started, the Ratcliffes have helped dozens of students pay for classes and launch their businesses. One of the first students
to receive the scholarship was Heather Howe. Howe, who owns a bakery on Kent Island, said the Ratcliffes’ contributions took a weight off of her shoulders. Howe said the scholarship allowed her to finish her double major, earn an entrepreneurship degree and teach elementary and high school students at Kids in College, an after-school program at AACC. “Now I have my own bakery that’s been open for six and a half years,” she said. “It’s all because of the [Ratcliffe Foundation’s Entrepreneurs] Scholarship and Foundation.” Howe said she was good friends with Ratcliffe. “She was able to help so much and not ask for anything in return,” Howe said. Cassidy said Ratcliffe didn’t just help students financially, but with business advice and friendships. “She was super compet-
Arundel Community College?” Smith asked during her speech at the board meeting. “[My colleagues] affirmed for me … that no matter what our positions, we each knew our collective focus was on helping people achieve their potential, accomplish their goals and even make some dreams come true.” Smith credits current AACC President Dawn Lindsay for making her feel like she still has a home at the college. Smith thanked Lindsay, who called Smith “amazing,” for the “warm reminders that I am always welcome at AACC.”
AACC’s Board of Trustees awarded emeritus status to former President Martha Smith, citing her dedication to student achievement. Photo by Alexandra Radovic
College awards former leader emeritus status Alexandra Radovic Editor-in-Chief The AACC Board of Trustees awarded emeritus status to the former campus president at its Nov. 13 meeting. Emeritus status means a former professor or administrator can keep the title, as an honor, even after retiring from the college. Former President Martha Smith served the college from 1994 until 2012. The Board of Trustees named her president emeritus for her “significant and lasting contributions to the college and community,” Chairman Lawrence Ulvila said. Ulvila added that the college granted emeritus
status to Smith because of the strides she made in leadership, professional growth and development, and student success during her term. “Dr. Smith was a visionary and driving force that put AACC on the front line as one of the most respected and outstanding community colleges,” Ulvila said. “Her first day on campus she hit the ground running,” recalled Walter Hall, chair of the trustees’ Audit and Finance Committee. Hall added that Smith increased the college’s enrollment to record levels during her term. “How could I not have fallen in love with Anne
Happy Birthday! AACC Dance, Nursing, Physician Assistant and Turkey Trot programs are turning 30 this year.
itive but not in an ugly way,” Cassidy said. “She was competitive in the way that elevated everybody around her. She brought out the best in others in such a genuine way.” Cassidy said her experiences with Ratcliffe helped shape her to become a better leader. “One of her superpowers was bringing out the best in other people,” she said. “She saw potential in every single person around her. She’s the epitome of a servant leader.” “She was an amazing woman with a lot of passion,” said AACC President Dawn Lindsay. Dalton Leonard, a fourth-year student and Ratcliffe recipient, said without the scholarship, he wouldn’t be a full-time student. “[Ratcliffe] allowed me to go back to school full time … and eliminated my financial fear,” he said. “She was a wonderful mentor and person.”
6 | Campus Current | 2018 | December
News
Looking at phones may cause neck injury, pain Arianna Beers Reporter Neck pain caused by looking down at cellphones poses a problem for students, according to a chiropractor who spoke on campus in November. Dr. Cameron Hatam, who spoke to members of the student Health and Wellness Club on campus, described “text neck” as the unnatural curve of the spine, caused by bad posture from constantly looking at cellphones. To avoid neck pain, Hatam suggested, students should look at their phones, computers and TV screens at eye level. “Symptoms of text neck will be pain, soreness and muscle fatigue,” Hatam said. “Also, later on, text neck can affect the disk spaces between the vertebra, which can cause tingling and numbness in the fingers and arms.” Maddison Wheeler, a first-year electrical engineering student, said she checks her phone about 50 times an hour. “I have had neck pain when I am sitting down and slouching while on my
phone,” Wheeler said. Wheeler said she hadn’t heard anyone refer to her symptoms as “text neck” before Hatam’s speech, but said she wasn’t surprised it is a problem. Hatam mentioned an app called “Text Neck Indicator,” which monitors the user’s posture and trig-
pressure, and a green light when you’re in an optimal viewing position,” Hatam said. According to a 2015 study by Common Sense Media, teenagers spend an average of nine hours per day on their phones. After the speech, Steve Lu, a first-year history student, said he had never heard of text neck. “I spend about four hours a day on my phone,” Lu said after Hatam’s speech. “But I don’t have neck pain from looking at my phone.” English proStudents at AACC may suffer a fessor Margaret neck injury called “text neck,” Boas said she which is caused by looking down does not think she at a cellphone for long periods of is at risk for text time. neck because she Graphic by Kenzie Airey isn’t on her phone for the majority of gers notification lights to the day. alert the user to change to a “I think everyone is at new position to relieve neck risk for getting [text neck] pressure. under the age of 25,” Boas “The app notices your said. “The younger genertexting position and gives ation especially spends too you a red warning light when much time looking at their your neck is getting too much phones.”
Chiropractor Dr. Cameron Hatam talks at a Health and Wellness Club seminar in November about a common injury called “text neck.” Photo by Arianna Beers Hatam also spoke about headaches resulting from text neck. “If the neck is off kilter or is not curved the right way, it’s going to cause severe headaches,” Hatam said. “If someone is in pain all the time, they are going to have difficulty focusing and concentrating.” Hatam, whose practice is in Alexandria, Virginia, said relying on medications to relieve neck pain can impair a person’s cognitive ability. Nursing professor Karin Haynie said she only looks at her phone for short periods of time.
AACC administrators to build relationship with county exec. Ashley Sokolowski Associate Editor AACC President Dawn Lindsay said she hopes to foster a good relationship with the new county executive and members of the Anne Arundel County Council. On Nov. 8, Anne Arundel County voters elected farmer and community organizer Steuart Pittman as county executive, along with six new members to the County Council. Pittman won against outgoing County Executive Steve Schuh, who held the position for four years. “We will be nurturing a very positive relationship with [the county executive] and the council members,” Lindsay said. Pittman told Campus Current he also strives to have a close relationship with AACC.
“The community college to me [is] as important as the public school system,” Pittman said. “It’s how we turn young people into qualified contributors to society, and most of my job with [Lindsay] and … the community college is to listen and assess the needs and provide the resources that we can to help.” According to Dr. Dan Nataf, the director of AACC’s Center for the Study of Local Issues, Pittman will face a learning curve during the first months after he takes office on Dec. 3. The newly elected county executive and council members will have to balance AACC’s budget needs with those of other institutions in the county, Nataf said. “Pittman never said anything specific about the college at all [during his campaign],” Nataf said. “This is probably because he hasn’t
been to the college much and doesn’t really know its demands, its needs, its financial commitment.” The county executive and council review budget requests from all county agencies and decide how much funding each one receives. AACC submits its budget request to the county in late February. The college receives approximately one-third of its funding each from the county, the state and student tuition. In fiscal year 2018, the county awarded AACC 40 percent of its funding—rather than one-third—after the state did not contribute its full one-third share. However, in July, the county approved $2.1 million for fiscal year 2019—which is $1.7 million less than school administrators requested. “I know that [Schuh] was
not able to provide all the resources that the community college requested, but I can’t guarantee that I will be, either,” Pittman said. “Budget decisions are based on dividing up the pie, and so I don’t want to criticize the decisions he made with respect to the community college at this point.” Lindsay said AACC officials will “get out there and help the county executive and County Council understand the internal workings of the college.” One new County Council member said she has “a lot to learn.” Councilwoman-elect Allison Pickard, who will represent parts of Gambrills, Glen Burnie, Pasadena and Severn in District 2, was already scheduled to meet with Lindsay to talk about the college and its programs. “I think that it is import-
“Having a constant habit of looking at your phone while walking or sitting is a problem because you’re not paying attention to the placement of your neck,” Haynie said. In addition to neck pain and headaches, Hatam pointed out the more serious complications that text neck can cause. “Text neck can also decrease a person’s respiratory capacity, or ability to take in air, by 30 percent,” Hatam said. “It can become not only a muscular-skeletal problem, but also a lung and breathing problem.”
Newly elected County Executive Steuart Pittman says AACC is “important” to him. Photo courtesy of Steuart Pittman ant to build relationships with the leaderships there and the student body as well, and just go from there,” Pickard said. “As a new council member … I am very open to the process of getting to understand the needs and the vision of the community college and how we can work together to bring it all to fruition.”
December | 2018 | Campus Current | 7
Giving Back
Communications class collects food for pantry Alexandra Radovic Editor-in-Chief An adjunct instructor who graduated from AACC in 2008 is teaching her communications class how to use the media to give back to the community this fall. “I love the students, and I love the atmosphere,” said Courtney Buiniskis, who started teaching here in 2016. “It only took one semester to hook me in.” For the first time this semester, Buiniskis created a two-month service learning project for her Introduction to Mass Media class.
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The goal of the project, which the students began working on in September, was to “learn how to use mass communications to aid others in need,” Buiniskis said. The class’s mission was to collect canned foods for the AACC food pantry, and use various methods of communication to advertise the project. The college awarded each student 10 service learning hours for giving back to the community by completing this project. Buiniskis divided her class into four groups of five or six students, one of which created posters and flyers to advertise the event across campus. One of the students who plays AACC’s mascot, Swoop the Riverhawk, is in Buiniskis’ class. Buiniskis said Swoop plans to cover campus with these flyers, in costume, to raise awareness for the food pantry. One group designed an ad for the November issue
of Campus Current, while another created a social media ad, which the Office of Student Engagement started posting on its Instagram, Twitter and Facebook pages last month. Buiniskis said she hopes the project encourages her students to “think about something other than themselves.” “Mass communication can be used for a good thing other than just sitting on your cellphone for six hours,” Buiniskis said. Her students said they successfully learned this lesson. “The thing I liked the most was being able to do something creative that was also going to be used in a meaningful way,” one of Buiniskis’ students, firstyear environmental science student Julie Sterba, said. “This project wasn’t just for a grade, so that made it fun to work on. The ad is to
AACC alum and adjunct instructor Courtney Buiniskis’s communications students donate to the food pantry as part of a class project this semester. Photo by Alexandra Radovic spread the word to donate to the food bank, and having our work go towards something so helpful is pretty cool.” “My favorite part of the project was when our social media group got together to film a little skit about helping out the food pantry so that the people that get food from there can have a vari-
ety of items,” Sterba’s classmate, second-year transfer studies student Marvin Fernandez, said. “We also knew that people generally shy away from free handouts and feeling needy, so we also put out a message through the skit saying that those people are not alone and can always ask for help.”
PHI THETA KAPPA A National Honor Society for Two-Year Colleges
Have a GPA of 3.5 or higher? Already taken 15 credits? Contact the society at: ewwulbrecht@aacc.edu
8 | Campus Current | 2018 | December
Giving Back
AACC offers employees life coach certification Alexandra Radovic Editor-in-Chief AACC offers a certification program to train faculty and staff as life coaches for students. Life coaches counsel their clients on how to improve their personal happiness by changing their lifestyles. Education professor and certified life coach Jen Lara, who runs the coaching program at the college, started it in fall 2016. Lara said she started a program to certify coaches here because a lot of her colleagues were going off campus for training because “we thought the skills really worked well with teaching and working with AACC students.” The nearly 75 AACCtrained coaches on campus started by coaching each other. But as the program expanded, the coaches took on students for coaching.
“During our coaching training, we frequently were coaching each other and the experience was life changing,” said biology professor Julie Takacs, who came up with the idea to start offering coaching to students in 2017. “It felt like a natural next step to offer coaching to students, since students are the reason we are all here. I certainly felt I could have benefited from having a coach while I was a student. We hope that coaching will increase student success by helping students help themselves find their purpose or values, overcome a fear and increase confidence.” Trained faculty coaches initially could coach only students who were members of the Student Achievement and Success Program, or SASP. But this year the program added students in education, psychology, honors, entrepreneurship and criminology. Students in the
Disability Support Services program on campus can also receive life coaching. So far, college-trained Education professor Jen Lara teaches AACC employfaculty have coached at least ees to be life coaches. 100 students. Photo by Daniel Nickerson To become certified, coaches must complete 70 port any human, and the nice ways to help students that I hours of training, practice thing about offering it as a work with now, and will work their skills for 100 hours, training is that we can train with in the future. attend mentoring for 10 anyone to be a coach and “Life coaching has been hours and record themselves they get to take those skills an amazing tool to help me coaching. anywhere really focus up on the future,” A f t e r they go.” third-year elementary educa“We’re all humans, coaches send “ [ L i f e tion student Carl Ratliff, who the recordcoaching] receives coaching, said. “My we’re curious and ings, along we like to thrive and p r o m o t e s outlook on my future and with their such great myself as a whole has been grow.” transcripts, strategies changed for the good by adto the Infor over- dressing these issues face to —Life coach Jen Lara ternational c o m i n g face.” Coach Fedobstacles The service is free for stueration for review, they must while being growth-mind- dents. The coaches are voluntake a three-hour multiple ed,” second-year elementa- teers. choice exam to become an ry education student FredThis semester for the first associate certified, or Level 1, rica Fiorino, who receives time, the college is offering life coach. life coaching, said. “I have coach training to K-12 teach“We’re all humans, we’re learned such great skills and ers in five school districts curious and we like to thrive strategies to combat my per- throughout the state. Lara and grow,” Lara said. “It’s a sonal struggles in life and said she hopes to eventually full set of skills that can sup- through that, I have learned expand to every district.
Language class offers time to help homeless Coleman Guthrie Reporter An AACC Spanish professor took her students to a homeless shelter to serve food in November. Professor Jodie Hogan brought four of her classes to The Light House Homeless Prevention Support Center, a shelter in Annapolis, on Nov. 29. The shelter supports homeless people in the community and families in need. According to its website, the shelter aims to be “a national model for how a community cares for its neighbors experiencing homelessness.” Hogan said she brings her students to The Light
House every semester. This time, students served tacos to shelter visitors. According to Hogan, the purpose of this project was to offer relief for the regular chef at the shelter, who was absent that evening. “I like to give students the opportunity to serve because many times students want to help in the community but don’t have the resources to do that on their own,” Hogan said. “It’s just voluntary service learning.” Nerrie Navarro, a thirdyear transfer studies student in one of Hogan’s classes, said that was the case for her. “I know nothing of volunteer work, but I’ve always wanted to get into it,” she said.
A professor of Spanish took her students to serve food at the Light House shelter in November. Photo by Coleman Guthrie
Hogan said she believes this opportunity will encourage students to volunteer at the shelter again or to donate time to another organization in the future. Justin “Oz” Osborne, a second-year psychology student, brought a case of water to the shelter, but said he enjoyed serving food the most. Hogan also works with the Center of Help in Annapolis, a partner with AACC. She said the center offers resources to immigrants. She said she pairs the immigrants with Spanish-speaking students, which is a learning opportunity for the students. The center is “equipping people with the tools they need to get on their feet,” Hogan said. “In this case, they’re not homeless, but they are in a need of the service.” Hogan said her personal reason for giving back is “because I come from a background that was by no means affluent and people helped us. So for that reason, I feel like now … it’s my responsibility to give back and to help others when I can.”
The Child Development Center at AACC
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Starting Jan. 2, 2019, for Pell Grant-eligible students: Evening child care at the Child Development Center (A free program for Pell Grant-eligible students) The Child Development Center at AACC in Arnold is providing evening child care for children ages 2 through 10 years. This program is funded by the U.S. Department of Education – CCAMPIS (Child Care Access Means Parents In School) Grant. Child care will be available from 6 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday. An application and preregistration are required. For information contact the center at 410-777-2450 or email LaVette Curtis, lvcurtis@aacc.edu.
We offer: Homework help Snacks Arts and crafts Indoor/outdoor play Toys and games Experienced staff
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December | 2018 | Campus Current | 9
Giving Back
30th Turkey Trot raises $1,500 for scholarship Ashley Sokolowski Associate Editor
races are on the morning of Thanksgiving but because we are not here that day we AACC students and com- wanted to try and do it [the munity members raced to day before] as kind of a ‘raise raise scholarship money at awareness for health and fitthis year’s Turkey Trot on ness.’” Nov. 21. This year’s winner, MarAACC’s 30th Annual Tur- tin Shpuntoff, also won the key Trot on the Wednesday Turkey Trot in 2013. He hit before Thanksgiving raised the finish line this year in 17 $1,500 for the college’s minutes and 25 seconds. Health, Fitness and Exercise The men’s and women’s Department’s scholarship AACC faculty winners were fund. Senior Graphic Designer “It is pretBen Pierce “That was a good ty popular and Trto do 5Ks on experience. ... For my ish Eyerly, the morning first 5K, I enjoyed it.” production of Thanksmanager for giving,” Dr. —Student Maxwell Garufi W i n g s p a n Wally Bixby, Magazine, a professor in the Health, which is published by the Fitness and Exercise De- Public Relations and Marpartment, said. “So, a lot of keting Department. Pierce
finished the race in 21 minutes and 56 seconds and Eyerly crossed the line with a time of 25 minutes and four seconds. Faculty weren’t the only Riverhawks in the race. The male and female student winners were Grant Berkley and Rebecca White. Berkley came in at 23 minutes and 35 seconds, while White finished in at 26 minutes and 46 seconds. More than 160 students, faculty, staff and community members participated in the event. Maxwell Garufi, a firstyear computer networking student, participated in the Turkey Trot for the first time this year. “So, one reason was my teacher offered 30 ex-
AACC club sells pottery to increase club funds Sanyee Barjogar Jr. Sports Co-Editor AACC sculpting students raised money in November by selling their pieces at a ceramics holiday sale on campus. The ceramics sale, hosted by the Ceramics-Keramos Society, a student club, uses the money it raises from the annual sale to pay visiting artists to make presentations to students in the ceramics studio a couple of times a year. This year’s show will feature 200 pieces from the collection of potter Ebby
Malmgren, the mother of the club’s faculty adviser, professor Rick Malmgren. The professor said his mother, 97, and father, 96, have moved into Ginger Cove, a retirement community in Annapolis. Ebby Malmgren, who started working with clay in 1960, made many of the pieces, and friends made others, the professor said. Until 10 years ago, his mother took printmaking classes at AACC in the printmaking program, Malmgren said. Every couple of years the club pays for students to go
to a large educational conference hosted by the National Council on Education in the Ceramic Arts. Their next trip, Malmgren said, will probably be in 2020. Sculpture students who also sold their artwork at this year’s show said it’s a great way to not only get the funds needed to hire the guest speakers, but to sell their pieces for reasonable prices. “I think it’s wonderful,” Ottilie Habercam, a seventh-year audit student, said. “Everybody who knows about it comes in, and it’s a great way to involve the en-
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The AACC Turkey Trot starts on Siegert Field, crosses the foot bridge, winds around West Campus and finishes back at Siegert Field. Photo by Daniel Nickerson tra-credit points for it but … I have been getting into fitness lately so I kind of just wanted to test where I was at,” Garufi said. “So, I just decided, OK, well, I’m getting 30 extra-credit points for this anyway [so] this will be a good time to do it.” Garufi also said he enjoyed the encouraging atmo-
sphere of the event. “I know towards the end there was this one guy who was running slightly in front of me and he kept turning back and waving me on like telling me to keep going,” Garufi said. “So that was cool, that was a good experience. … For my first 5K, I enjoyed it.”
AACC sculpture students raise money by selling their artwork at a holiday ceramics sale on campus Nov. 16. Photo by Daniel Nickerson tire community, so they can purchase something reasonably and something just handmade.” “It’s a money-maker,” Bill Flohr, a ninth-year oceanography and ceramics student, said. “It pays for different tools that we need that
we can’t get from the college. It also helps people that they bring in for lectures for everyone to demonstrate their ceramic work.” After 28 years of teaching at AACC, Malmgren will retire this summer.
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10 | Campus Current | 2018 | December
Giving Back
Students say they favor personal holiday gifts Coleman Guthrie Reporter AACC teachers and students said they prefer exchanging meaningful gifts during the holidays, as opposed to spending money on material things. Some students on campus said they choose the presents they give to close family and friends with thought and care. Second-year psychology student Justin “Oz” Osborne said he enjoys giving his friends tickets to events that they can attend together. “I could go with another person and enjoy an event,” Osborne said. “[It] could be a concert, a rave, the movies or conventions.” Likewise, Spanish professor Jodie Hogan said, “I prefer to receive gifts that would be something I can experience versus something that’s material.” Hogan said she offers
extra credit to students to help serve food at The Light House Homeless Prevention Support Center, a shelter in Annapolis. (See related story on Page 8.) “I wanted to continue to give students the opportunity to serve. … I also really believe in giving back,” Hogan said. This November, Hogan took four of her classes to the shelter to serve taco dinners to the homeless. Similarly, second-year transfer studies student Jenna Fitz said her favorite gift to give during the holidays is “company to the elderly.” Giordano DeFilippo, a second-year transfer studies student, said he prefers the gift of music, even if the instruments he receives aren’t expensive. “My first guitar that I received from my dad for Christmas when I was younger … that was probably the best gift I ever received,” DeFilippo said.
He said, more than the guitar itself, the experience of receiving something special from a loved one was most meaningful to him. “It was just sitting down there. I remember it,” the second-year transfer studies student said. “[I was] walking down the steps [and] it was on the stand: this Epiphone Les Paul guitar [was] Cherry Sunburst [colored] with a line-6 amp next to it just for me to play with.” Some students said they don’t mind the consumer mentality during the holidays, but want their gifts to feel more personalized. “I like to give gifts that are funny or practical or heart-warming,” third-year transfer studies student Nerrie Navarro said. Navarro said she likes to put a personal twist on traditional holiday gifts. “One year I gave my sisters each a gold chain with their name on it,” she said.
Second-year transfer studies student Giordano DeFilippo plays his guitar, which he says is the best gift he ever received. Photo by Gino DeFilippo Navarro added, “It’s really hard to find the perfect gift for some people. Some people I don’t know that well, and I want it to be personal.” One way philosophy professor Kevin Murphy personalizes his gifts is by incorporating the recipient’s hobbies. He said he books cooking classes for his
brother and sister in-law as a bonding activity the two can do together. “They have their choice between the different classes they want to go to,” Murphy said. “They did a Thai class where they made these handmade eggrolls. They came by my house and gave me some of the leftovers afterwards.”
New York City
Bus Trip December 19th Hosted by the Entrepreneurs’ Club AACC Students, Faculty and Staff - $30 Guests - $40 Buy tickets in the Office of Student Engagement, Student Union, Room 225 Minors need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian
Depart at 6:00 a.m. Return at 11:00 p.m
There is no planned agenda Shop, go to a museum, ice skate, see a show or visit other places in NY City
For more information, email slgoldenberg@aacc.edu
December | 2018 | Campus Current |11
Former SWAT members enforce campus safety Mike Pierorazio Reporter It’s about 1 a.m. in Baltimore, when the smell of smoke from burning trash and towels leaks out from under a closed front door. The sniper covering the rear of the house confirms over the radio that a barricaded gunman had set a fire inside of his home. Don Medtart rushes into the burning building, carrying a ballistic shield, to arrest the dangerous assailant. That was about 10 years ago. Today, Medtart is one of four police officers on campus with Special Weapons and Tactics—or SWAT–team training and experience. The Department of Public Safety and Police employs both full-fledged police officers who wear light blue shirts and carry guns, and public safety officers, who carry billy clubs and dress in dark blue.
Medtart wears light blue. Like Medtart, all of those officers spend their days on campus enforcing traffic laws and jump-starting dead car batteries, says Major Cleveland Smith, another retired SWAT officer. But he says the department is fully prepared to respond to more serious threats, like an active shooter on campus. Medtart says he is concerned about the possibility of a campus shooting, but says the officers train extensively for it. “The hundreds of hours of active shooter training that I have been through has been the most effective tool [to prepare],” Medtart says. Smith says getting involved in police work can hurt not only physically, but mentally. He recounts an experience that haunts him: “It was an armed robbery,” Smith recalls. “I was a sergeant up in the northern
district. We got the call as we were just leaving the station. The … guy was robbing a Pizza Hut.” A witness at Pizza Hut, Smith says, was slowly giving a 911 operator a play-by-play of the robbery while Smith waited to go in. “Bad guy comes out. ‘Halt, police.’ Bam bam bam bam. Guy … died on the scene,” Smith says. “Now my real take-away from that was one of the officers [I was] talking to later who was trying to render aid to the guy— the bad guy—he said, ‘Sarge, he died in my arms.’” “I just was amazed at how one person’s actions can affect so many people’s lives,” Smith says. Medtart has a story, too. He recalls arriving at The Johns Hopkins Hospital after a doctor, a patient and the patient’s son were shot in a murder-suicide. Campus Police Chief Sean Kapfhammer says he
Campus Life
Police Chief Sean Kapfhammer (left) poses with three of the four former SWAT officers who work at AACC: Capt. Dave Pressley, Maj. Cleveland Smith and Officer Don Medtart. Photo by Alex Fregger is proud of all of his officers, especially the former SWAT team members. “SWAT school is no joke,” Kapfhammer says.
“It’s intense. It’s hard to get through it. And to have four people that have been through that in our agency says something.”
12 | Campus Current | 2018 | December
Campus Life
Don’t let holiday cheer cause you to skip class Alexandra Radovic Editor-in-Chief
dents to come to class. Professors spend double the time preparing for lecThe holiday season is tures as they do actually leca time for fun and friends, turing. They shouldn’t have which can lead students to offer students extra-credit to ditch classes in favor of points for attendance. off-campus festivities. But extra credit isn’t the Think twice before skip- only thing that will motivate ping classes this season. Al- students to learn during the though this is a busy time of holidays. Professors can try year, getting behind on class- more interactive ways to work will only pile on the teach lessons, so that stustress. dents will be more inclined But baking cookies or to show up. going snowboarding might For example: They can seem a lot more exciting organize more group activthan listening ities, so that ’s ra d n a to a professor students deex l A lecture for an pend on each hour. other’s attenEncourage dance to be successful. This professors to ramp up the could also help excitement of them make new friends and betheir classes this semester. By offering come more invested in the incentives like replacing a class content. Professors choose to lecture with a collaborative game that includes prizes, teach for a living because professors will motivate stu- the subjects they’re experts
Fun and Games
Advice
in are their passions in life. They are gifting students with knowledge and preparing them for the real world, so students should return the favor by giving teachers the present of their presence. Powering through the holiday hibernation and showing up to class isn’t just worth the professor’s time, but also yours. Research proves that students who miss two days of school per month see negative effects on their academic performance. Research also suggests that skipping class is something college students can become addicted to, which creates an unhealthy pattern of behavior moving forward in life. Although community college is more affordable than four-year schools, students shouldn’t skip class just because they are hungover or not in the mood to work. This will cost them when they transfer.
Campus Current Editor-in-Chief Alexandra Radovic encourages students not to skip classes this holiday season. Photo by Ashley Sokolowski According to USA Today, skipping class could cost students at four-year universities upward of $24,960 over the course of their college careers, because financial aid eligibility depends, in part, on class attendance. This holiday season, Riverhawks should give their paying parents and dedicated professors the gift of attending class. If you pay for school yourself, absence is
like throwing money in the trash. The college supports students with financial aid, but they must show up to class in order to receive an affordable education. Attending college is a privilege that many people wish they had, so let’s treat it like one this December, and every month after that. Riverhawks must sit in class so they can learn how to fly.
Did you know?
AACC’s Health Services is giving out free fresh fruit. Health Services is giving away free fruit to students, faculty and community members this semester. The movement was inspired by a Health Services poster that pictures a bowl of fruit with the words “Nature’s Fast Food” above it. Registered nurse Beth Mays said Health Services will offer apples, oranges, bananas and plums. “We’re really promoting a healthy lifestyle,” Mays said.
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Looking for answers? Check TheCampusCurrent.com on Dec. 31.
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Reporting by Kenzie Airey Photo by Daniel Nickerson
December | 2018 | Campus Current |13
Campus Life
Committee might alter student opinion forms Daniel Salomon Multimedia Producer Although AACC professors have reported that few in their classes submit student opinion forms, they said the feedback can improve their classes next semester. Student opinion forms are electronic surveys the college sends to students at the end of each semester to solicit their impressions of their classes and teachers. Before the forms went online in 2010, approximately 77 percent of students filled them out on paper, Campus Current reported in 2008. Professors used to hand out paper copies of the student opinion forms, which students could fill out during class time. Now, students must access them through MyAACC on their own time. Some professors said this was a positive change, while others said they preferred the paper method.
“When the college moved from paper forms to digital online opinion forms, that was a really important move and done far too late, in my opinion,” Visual Arts Department Chair Matt Moore said. “It was sort of like we were in the Stone Age with those paper forms.” But Lynda Fitzgerald, director of the AACC Dance Company, said more students filled the forms out when they were on paper. “You would literally give them the evaluation form and leave the room and [the students] would come get you when they were done, and so you knew they were done,” she said. Fitzgerald said students now won’t make the effort to fill them out online. “When they’re online, it’s so easy to forget about it because when they come during that time of year the students are so overwhelmed with everything else,” Fitzgerald
said. “It’s not important to them. … They’re studying or doing whatever assignments they need to do and that’s one more thing they would have to add to their list.” Fitzgerald added that the few reviews professors do receive tend to be either very positive or very negative. “I only fill them out when I feel very strongly towards a professor, whether it be negative or positive,” second-year psychology student Garrett Hutchinson said. “Sometimes I feel like it doesn’t really matter … unless I feel like the professor should be evaluated either for a question of employment or a question of promotion.” But some students said they still take the time to fill the forms out for all of their professors. “I think it’s good feedback for a professor,” second-year nutrition student Kelley McDonough said. “They put in that time and they put in that
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Professors report that few students fill out end-of-semester opinion forms. Photo by Alexandra Radovic energy to teach a really good course.” McDonough added, “That’s why I do it, I guess, more so for hope that [professors] who do a really good job will see it and continue to do those things and those who aren’t as great will hopefully be able to [change].” Kathleen Krueger, cochair of a faculty committee that is considering changes to student opinion forms, said she hopes to revise some
of the questions so they are more course specific and to link the surveys directly to Canvas. “Students don’t care because they think faculty don’t care,” Krueger said. “What I do is to tell students in class, ‘Here’s changes I’ve made based on comments on student opinion forms.’” Krueger said the forms should motivate students, because they know their opinions can lead to change.
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14 | Campus Current | 2018 | December
Campus Life
Students at AACC note Juuling as latest trend Continued from Page 1 However, most of the five professors who talked to Campus Current said they haven’t noticed it. Some said they had never seen or heard of Juuls. “That is so gross,” English professor Tim May said after learning the pod contains nicotine. “I’ve never been so happy to be out of touch.” But English professor Simon Ward said he not only has seen students Juuling on campus, one student used one while sitting in the front row of a composition class. “I had turned around to write something on the board and I saw this big plume of smoke,” he said. “I asked him, ‘Are you smoking?’ The student said no, but I saw the Juul next to him on the desk. I told him he wasn’t allowed to do that in my class.” Campus Police Officer Don Medtart said he has
pulled aside several students for Juuling in parking lots, but no one has reported students Juuling inside of campus buildings. However, Library Director Cindy Steinhoff said students who vape or Juul in the library have set off the fire alarms four times this semester. First-year graphic design student Emily Vanderlinden, who studies regularly in the library, said she’s “seen it everywhere on campus,” including inside Truxal. According to Police Chief Sean Kapfhammer, students on campus may smoke, vape or Juul only in their cars with the windows rolled up or down. Otherwise, none of those activities is allowed on campus. Kapfhammer said he has not seen students Juuling on campus. In the past year, JUUL Labs has faced public backlash over how many adoles-
cents have become addicted to their pods and how easy they are for minors to get. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, young people who are regularly exposed to nicotine can develop addictions. Jump Start student Sierra
Graphic by Kenzie Airey Radivo, who is a minor, said she asks her older friends to buy her pods. It is illegal for stores to sell pods to customers younger than 18. “I’m addicted,” she said. “It is wild to see all of these … young teens Juuling. I think it’s unhealthy but there are worse things to do.” Radivo, who also attends
Police and faculty say they have seen little Juuling. Photo by Sarah Noble Broadneck High School, said she Juuls on this campus and has never been asked to stop. She said it is easier to Juul on campus than at Broadneck. Last spring, administrators there removed the bathroom doors to cut down on Juuling. Jump Start student Elizabeth Riley, who also attends Broadneck, said she has seen students Juul outdoors and during her classes at AACC. “I would be embarrassed if my addiction was so bad that I have to Juul in class,” she said. JUUL Labs announced on Nov. 14 it would stop using social media to promote the brand and stop selling fruit-flavored pods in stores. The move came after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration threatened to restrict sales because so many minors
were buying them. Stores still sell menthol-, mint- and tobacco-flavored pods. Radivo, who said she is loyal to the mango-flavored pods, said she will most likely switch to mint because “it is too hard to order [flavored pods] online.” Loretta Lawson-Munsey, coordinator of substance abuse education for AACC Health Services, said the pods can help smokers quit cigarettes. Vanderlinden noted, however, “If you’re not using it for the intended purpose, you’re going to give yourself a nicotine addiction.” Reem said he has never gone more than one week without using his Juul. “It’s better than a cigarette, and I know I need to stop, but I just can’t,” he said.
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December | 2018 | Campus Current |15
AACC adds director of events, organizations Sarah Noble Multimedia Editor The coordinator for AACC’s Black Male Initiative will become the new director of student engagement on Dec. 3. Leon Thomas will take over the position that Christine Stork held for 34 years until she retired in June. Thomas will direct the Office of Student Engagement, which oversees student clubs
and campus activities. Thomas said he is looking forward to the unique interactions he will have with students. Garrett Hutchinson, president of the Gay-Straight Alliance, a student club, said having someone who oversees organizations on campus “take[s] the stress off of each individual club, giving time for other issues. Whether that time is five minutes or five hours, each second
counts when trying to represent a small part of [AACC].” As part of Thomas’s work with the Black Male Initiative, he also served as a student success and retention adviser for the Student Achievement and Success Program. “Although aspects of my role with students will change [in the new job], there will be students with similar attributes as those students who participate in SASP,” he said.
this well, too,” Coles said. Student Government Association President Jacob Smith said he plans to be in “continuous conversation” with Thomas to promote student engagement across campus.
The Student Government Association has asked its Advisory Council—an organization of student club presidents—to amend the SGA constitution to require fewer Advisory Council meetings per month. AACC Advisory Council votes on club budgets and
approves new student organizations. The proposed constitution change would reduce the number of Advisory Council meetings from one a month to two per semester. The proposal comes a year after the former SGA president proposed to use the authority the SGA constitution allows to penalize clubs that do not send repre-
sentatives to Advisory Council meetings. These punishments could range from warnings to a probationary period to even the possibility of reducing a club’s budget. According to SGA President Jacob Smith, some club officers think the meetings are unnecessary and matters could be taken care of during weekly SGA meetings.
mix and cereal in addition to the canned foods and toiletries it previously stocked. Under the new system, students can take 30 pounds of food per visit from the pantry; previously, they were limited to five items a day. Although the pantry will continue to accept donations of food from campus and community donors, the Maryland Food Bank will
make sure it stays stocked. The pantry usually receives large quantities of donated food during back-toschool times and holidays. Student Government Association President Jacob Smith said he is excited about the new sponsorship. “Students need to worry about their school work,” Smith said. “You can’t do that when you are hungry.”
The campus food pantry in SUN 225 is sponsored by the Maryland Food Bank and allows students to take up to 30 pounds of food and toiletries per visit. Photo by Daniel Nickerson
Chance A. Iheoma Reporter
years as a coordinator and professor at the college. She also taught continuing legal education courses for state magistrates and judges and worked as a staff attorney for the state Department of Family Administration for two years. Gable said she plans to infuse more technology into the Institute’s programs.
“Technology moves really fast, while law moves really slow,” she said. Gable said she hopes to familiarize legal studies students with new and developing legal technologies to give them an advantage when they move from school into the legal work force. She also plans to start a student club that focuses on
The Student Government Association is suggesting that its Advisory Council meet fewer times throughout the semester. SGA President Jacob Smith made the suggestion because of a lack of attendance from club members. Photo by Daniel Nickerson
SGA to consider fewer Advisory Council mtgs.
Md. Food Bank to stock campus pantry shelves The campus food pantry has joined 1,250 other food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and churches under the umbrella of the nonprofit Maryland Food Bank. The food pantry, located in SUN 225, will expand to more than one room and will offer items like milk, pancake
Erin Gable is the new director of AACC’s Legal Studies Institute. Photo by Daniel Nickerson
Leon Thomas, who oversees AACC’s Black Male Initiative, is the new director of student engagement. Photo by Daniel Nickerson Second-year music student and Campus Activities Board member Elijah Coles said he has met with Thomas for advising. “He’s really great in Black Male Initiative and if he can do that well, he can do
Alex Fregger Technology Editor
Sarah Noble Multimedia Editor
Campus Life
Legal Studies gets new director The coordinator of AACC’s Continuing Legal Education program in November accepted a promotion to director of the college’s Legal Studies Institute. Attorney Erin Gable became the Institute’s interim director this fall after seven
legal movies like “A Few Good Men” and “Philadelphia,” one of her favorite films. Gable earned her law degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law and she later practiced as a private attorney representing clients in cases involving divorce, domestic violence, and child support and custody.
16 | Campus Current | 2018 | December
Arts & Entertainment
Literary magazine wins awards for latest issue Bethany Probst Photography Co-Editor
Amaranth also took first place in the Eastern region for the Community College Humanities Association contest—a competition that highlights student work from across the nation. Ren Bishop, a second-year psychology student and editor-in-chief of last year’s Amaranth, said winning the awards is more than just an exciting achievement to her. “We had a lot of work that we weren’t expecting,” Bishop said. “The fact that everything still came out was amazing. It’s not just about
me, my officers or the journal. It’s everybody that’s in it and all the work that went into making the pieces and putting them together.” Jonas Pallaro-Sonneborn, a fourth-year creative writing student and former Amaranth editor-in-chief, said creating the winning issue of the journal inspired him in many ways. “I love writing,” Pallaro-Sonneborn said. “I consider myself a poet [now]. I wasn’t before [I joined Amaranth].” He added: “Amaranth and the creative writing pro-
Bethany Probst Photography Co-Editor AACC sculpture students showcased their recent creations during an annual art review in November in the Cade gallery. “Power of Three,” an annual student sculpture show, allowed students, faculty and community members to view handmade artwork on Nov. 14. Elaine Weiner-Reed, a first-year metal art fabrication student, said she was pleased with the turnout for
the event. “It looks like people, not just the artists, came out tonight,” Reed said. “The gallery is stunning. … Hopefully people have wandered in and [the art] speaks to them.” Reed presented a piece titled “Skipping a Beat,” resembling a steel guitar. She said she was inspired by a performance she saw of an improv musical group, whose compositions were spontaneous and emotional. The “Power of Three” event is held once a year, showing work made through-
ing next semester after his sabbatical ends. “I have a number of compositions that An AACC professor took are in the preliminary stagthis semester off to compose es, and so [I am] using the and record original music sabbatical to complete those with his quintet. compositions, and then … I Dr. Ian Wardenski, the will be recording those comchair of the Department of positions with my band.” Performing Arts, has taught The five-part band, music at the college since called the Ian Wardenski 2004 and beQuintet, “Ian is … a came a fullincludes a time faculty tremendous musician saxophone, member in and he really has a guitar, pi2010. great understanding ano, bass “I have and drums. of composition.” started, stopWardenski, ped, started, —Adjunct instructor Jerry who plays Ascione stopped over the guitar, probably three described years, and it’s just getting to the quintet’s music as chamthe point where it has to be ber music with improvisacompleted,” said Wardens- tion. ki, who will return to teachChamber music is a type
of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments. Its name comes from the fact that the musicians and their instruments are small enough to fit in a palace chamber. Jerry Ascione, an adjunct instructor in the Department of Performing Arts, has played the piano for the quintet for three years. “This has been enlightening; it’s been challenging; it’s been a joy; it’s been a whole lot of things artistic,” Ascione said. “It’s been a real eye opener, an ear opener. Ian is … a tremendous musician and he really has a great understanding of composition, of form, of harmonic progression, melodic progression [and] development.” The drummer for the
AACC’s student literary magazine won two awards in October for last semester’s issue. Amaranth is an annual journal that includes fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, drama, visual arts and photography by students and alumni of the college. The latest journal ranked third for the Pinnacle Awards, which the College Media Association gives to the best college print, broadcast and online publications.
The student sculpture show, “Power of Three,” features artwork like the piece above by Sergio Alvarez. Photo by Bethany Probst
gram showed me that I have other talents when it comes to expressing myself. It’s a way to feel like I’m doing something important [for] something that I care about.” “I think we’ve built a culture of professionalism, both
at Amaranth and in our creative writing program,” said Dr. Garrett Brown, Amaranth’s faculty adviser. “We’ve developed strong writers through our creative writing program and we have a really dedicated student staff.”
out the semester by sculpture and metal art students on campus. Richard Niewerth, founder of AACC’s art program, showed a steel piece titled “Rotation.” Niewerth said his work was inspired by abstract artist Hans Arp. “It has this organic feel; there’s a lot of universal shapes in it,” Niewerth said. “The idea is to have [the pieces] seam into unrelated movement through their relationships.” Niewerth, a professor emeritus, started AACC’s art
program in 1970, and continues to take art courses at the college. “I’m happy that we are able to showcase this talent,” professor Wilfredo Valladares, the art show’s curator, said. Valladares said he was thrilled with the outcome and variety of the artwork. “We have a diversity of materials [in this show] and it’s very well represented,” Valladares said. “There is the whole idea that traditional sculpture is broken here. It shows how sculpture is interdisciplinary.”
AACC exhibits student artwork
Prof takes break, works on recording his music Ashley Sokolowski Associate Editor
Ren Bishop, a second-year psychology student, was the editor of Amaranth for the award-winning edition. Photo by Bethany Probst
Dr. Ian Wardenski and his band, the Ian Wardenski Quintet, are recording music this semester. Photo courtesy of Michael Stewart quintet, associate professor Frank Russo, said his favorite part of playing with the group is “the freedom to create your own voice in the music.” Tyler Dembinsky, a firstyear transfer studies student, is taking a class with adjunct Timothy Powell, another member of the quintet. “I think the fact that Mr. Powell is still active, still in this quintet now, I think that is inspiring,” Dembinsky said.
Dan Baum, the executive director of public relations and marketing at AACC, took guitar lessons from Wardenski. “Ian is very precise in everything he does,” Baum said. “He listens very precisely. He makes sure your fingers are really precise, even the instrument he uses and chooses, the way he plays,” Baum said. “He is a phenomenal teacher and that degree of detail and precision help.”
December | 2018 | Campus Current |17
Technology
Users see stars in Observatory Alex Fregger Technology Editor AACC students can gaze at stars from the second highest point in Anne Arundel County using the Observatory on campus. The college’s Observatory, located in the back of Parking Lot B behind the annex buildings, helps host an annual planet walk and free monthly events for Astronomy Club members, faculty and community members. Professor Tom Wilbur, who started managing the physics laboratory in 1999, said students hardly used the Observatory before the college started updating it. According to Wilbur, when he started at AACC, the Observatory’s sliding roof “was on rollers and the students had to open the roof, which was dangerous.” Wilbur also said when he arrived at AACC, some equipment, like the telescopes and the roof, were outdated, but now the quality of the Observatory is
equivalent to those at fouryear colleges. The Observatory has six telescopes, ranging from 11 to 14 inches in diameter. Wilbur said while the telescopes cost around $1,000, the mounts they are attached to cost more than $10,000. This, Wilbur said, is because the technology inside of them automatically finds and tracks an object in the sky, while compensating for the Earth’s rotation. The college added a motorized lift and other Americans With Disabilities Act-compliant features inside the Observatory in 2007 to allow wheelchair access. The project costed $300,000. More recently in 2012, the Astronomy Club helped install a radio telescope called “Radio Jove,” which— depending on the time of year—allows users to receive radio signals from Jupiter. AACC has also worked with the School of Science and Technology to reduce
Professor Tom Wilbur sets up one of six telescopes AACC owns as part of the Observatory. Photo by Chance A. Iheoma light pollution on campus by installing downward-facing lights and allowing users of the Observatory to shut off the streetlights closest to it. AACC held a solar eclipse viewing party in August 2017. For the event, the college streamed video of the eclipse. According to Dr. Debra Levine, the Astronomy
Club’s faculty adviser, about 400 people showed up to view the partial eclipse. On May 5, 2019, the Astronomy Club will help host a five-mile walk of the Baltimore & Annapolis Trail between Glen Burnie and Severna Park. Participants can use the Observatory’s telescopes after the walk. First-year transfer stud-
ies student Shawn Pollard said he didn’t know AACC had an Observatory and said the club should advertise it. First-year psychology student Kyree Stinsong said it’s “different when you look in books at stars and constellations. It’s not as exciting, and if you did know about an Observatory [people] would be more interested” in taking
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18 | Campus Current | 2018 | December
Sports
V-ball loses in last 2 matches Brady Reilly Sports Co-Editor The AACC Volleyball team finished its season with a 6-14 record this fall. After a 0-5 start to the year, the Riverhawks followed its five-game losing streak by rattling off three straight wins. Inconsistency proved to be an issue, though, as the team was only able to win three of the remaining 12 games, but none in the regional or district tournaments. The team lost both of its district tournament games, three sets to zero, to Owens Community College and Sandhills Community College. Owens Community Col-
lege went on to win the tournament by defeating Lorain County Community College in the championship, three sets to zero, at Butler Community College in Pennsylvania. Women’s Volleyball defensive specialist Tara Gabrielsen, a first-year nursing student, said team chemistry was not an issue for the Riverhawks. “I feel that overall, the team chemistry was great,” Gabrielsen said. “Everyone worked well together for the most part and we had a great time.” The team had good leadership as well, said outside hitter Sylvia Frye, a firstyear ultrasound student.
AACC Men’s lax to study harder Brady Reilly Sports Co-Editor The Men’s Lacrosse coach is requiring players to spend up to four hours a week in a study hall this semester. “The decision was mine,” Men’s Lacrosse coach Joe Stanilaus said. “We needed something to help us improve our GPA from last year.” Study halls run from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays and are supervised by Stanilaus. Athletes who have low grades in their classes or past-due school work are required to attend. Others spend the time working out in the gym with the rest of the team. Along with goals that coaches set for their teams on the field of play, Stanilaus has set academic goals, he
said. “My goal every year for my team is to have a 3.0 team GPA,” Stanilaus said. “Study hall is definitely going to help our guys achieve that and also help in the long run.” Stanilaus said the team “fell short” of the 3.0 GPA goal last semester. Second-year criminal justice student James Dipietro Jr, who plays midfield for Men’s Lacrosse, called study hall “beneficial. ... It gives mandatory time for players to get their work done so they can be eligible come spring.” Dipietro’s teammate Rahsaan Johnson, who plays attack, agreed. “It’s like a family matter,” said Johnson, a second-year transfer studies student. “When a teammate is struggling with work or having a hard time understanding something,
Women’s Volleyball middle hitter Deanna Valerian (left) and outside hitter Brittney Guy practice before their last games. Photo by Gerald Maravanyika “The coaches and returners really helped [the first-year] players out a lot,” said Frye. “[Their leadership] helped us with different tasks inside and outside of volleyball.” According to Frye, head coach Gregory McDivitt and his staff were “extremely good, although sometimes
The Men’s Lacrosse coach is requiring players to attend study halls. Unsplash photo they can look to a teammate to help them out.” “Coach is very big on grades,” said Dipietro. “[Coach] not only helps us stay eligible, but helps us have good grades as a unit.” Johnson said study halls help build chemistry before the season even starts. “That’s where the team chemistry starts,” said Johnson. “So yes, I would say study hall is very beneficial to me and my teammates.”
they were a little too nice when it came to conditioning.” With nine freshmen, the team had to overcome the challenge of transitioning from high school to collegiate-level sports. “The adjustment wasn’t too difficult,” said Gabriel-
sen. “There were troubling times because you travel further and the work load in college is heavier, but it always worked out. The Athletic Department is very supportive of all the athletes, and they are always making sure [the athletes] are keeping their grades up to remain eligible.”
Alexandra Radovic Editor-in-Chief
Riverhawks Sidney Hinkle, Erin Chamberlin, Ashley Touart, Romania Montes Rodriguez, Yasemin Yazici and Renee Ruppert came in 32nd, 33rd, 38th, 57th, 86th and 90th.
Cross Country takes 4th place AACC Women’s Cross Country made it to the national championships this season. The Riverhawks took fourth place, missing bronze by one point. The team’s best ranking in recent years has been eighth. In the final poll prior to the race, the team ranked seventh nationally, according to the Athletics Department. Out of 130 runners who participated in the championships, Riverhawk Mary Ajoh Kuch finished eighth, earning All American honors. But Kuch wasn’t the only one who ranked.
Women’s Cross Country makes it to nationals this season, and takes fourth place. Photo by Daniel Nickerson
December | 2018 | Campus Current |19
Sports
Netflix star works with new athletics adviser Continued from Page 1 for student athletes and colleges. Wagner started working as an academic adviser for athletes at East Mississippi Community College in 2009, after graduating from Mississippi State in 2004. She starred for two years on the Netflix docuseries about EMCC’s football team. “We’re all human beings, we all have our own story and that’s what makes us beautiful,” said Wagner, who talked about transforming community college athletes into better students. She said her position helping students at the college was greatly inspired by her personal struggle to get into college and find her sense of direction. After declaring her major in sports communication, Wagner said her academic adviser told her she would never make it in the field because she’s a woman. “I said, ‘All the more reason to do it,’” Wagner said. According to Wagner, who worked with AACC Athletics for two days in November to train the college’s new Student Success Coordinator Trey Anderson, students
here should value the oppor- ered “the people around you tunities life gives them, as are the people that have your she and the EMCC student back,” she said. athletes have. Another student, DeniWagner, who started co Autry, went through a life filming “Last Chance U” with trauma that kept him from $7 in her bank account, said going to elementary school she used her career helping during a time when the rest college athletes as an oppor- of his fourth-grade class tunity to build a better life for learned to divide. herself and her students. Autry is now a defensive She said as she started to lineman for the Indianapsee hope for her own future, olis Colts because, in part, most of her students “didn’t of how Wagner guided him even know what [hope] through his college career looked like.” and told him not to give up “It’s a lot harder to be on school. likeable toward people that “You need to know what are different,” Wagner said to do when you’re thrown a when retelling some of her curve ball,” Wagner said. students’ personal stories. Although her students She described one stu- came from inner-city neighdent athlete borhoods, who was home- “We all have our W a g n e r less, lived in own story and said those a laundromat who attend and depended that’s what makes AACC are us beautiful.” on the school’s just as likefood and show—Brittany Wagner ly to need ers to get him help dealthrough the day. ing with the After sharing his struggle curve balls as they balance with his team, and not being academics with their athletafraid to ask for help, Wag- ics. ner said she noticed a major “I think it’s easy for athshift in his and the team’s letes to get lost in the shuflives. fle,” Wagner said. “Some“That team had won zero times when you have as games” before the student many resources as [AACC shared his story and discov- has] there are too many
Gamers: Video games=sports Tommy Parker Sports Co-Editor Members of AACC’s eSports Club said in November they consider themselves as athletes playing a sport. “No one’s going to argue that normal sports take more physical activity,” said eSports Club coach Conway Johnson. “But I’m not convinced sports are 100 percent about physical ability.” AACC Athletics announced this semester that it will include esports as an official college sport within the next couple of years. In an informal Campus Current poll of 20 AACC athletes in October, basketball, soccer and volleyball players argued that esports is not a true sport and its players are not athletes. But eSports Club mem-
bers said they disagree. “What we do is a mix of mental and physical reactions to situations,” said fourth-year music student Dallas Coleman, a club member. “I believe members of our team are athletic.” Second-year game art student Hunter Campbell said he doesn’t care what other athletes have to say. “We are a team that plays competitively,” Campbell said. “We train, we have strategies, we have everything a sports team has, just in a different environment.” Major sports media platforms like ESPN and Bleacher Report are starting to cover esports and consider their participants athletes. “We usually put in about 20 to 30 hours a week in practice,” Coleman said. “We run the numbers, practice
TV star Brittany Wagner speaks on campus. Photo by Alexandra Radovic hands in a pot. … Sometimes we have to let our egos go and make it about what is really best for the student.” Anderson said he looks forward to following this example as the new student success coordinator, who will advise student-athletes, as Wagner does. “The biggest thing is sticking to the motto, ‘Develop, discipline, dominate,’” Anderson said. “[I want] to increase our department GPA.” Student athletes who attended the hour-long presentation said they share the same goal and are excited about the new position. “It’s very motivating,” first-year transfer studies student and Men’s Lacrosse
attackman Rahsaan Johnson said. “It makes me want to do more in the classroom and on the field. … [AACC athletes] aren’t very strong academically.” “Student athletes … are very lucky to have this position here,” AACC Athletics Director Duane Herr said. “[Wagner] has made a name for herself for doing just what Trey has been brought here to do … making an impact on student athletes through academic counseling, advising, mentoring and career counseling.” “It’s very interesting and very inspiring,” Baseball catcher Ryan Key, a second-year transfer studies student, said. “The position will definitely be beneficial.”
Members of AACC’s eSports Club say they consider themselves athletes and their computer games sports. Photo by Ashley Sokolowski our strategies. … It’s just a different way of thinking about being athletic.” Johnson said even though esports players exert less physical effort, the games still require them to possess substantial dexterity to operate at
a high level of play. Other AACC teams have uniforms, gym space and a page on the AACC Athletics website. “I like the idea of a uniform and a page on the website,” Campbell said. “It
would bring in a lot of recognition and would be a way to advertise for teams.” Coleman said the club might not need space in the gym, just a room with power outlets, a projector and ethernet.
20 | Campus Current | 2018 | December