December 2022 Issue

Soccer squads make nationals, lose early

Dan Elson

Sports Editor

Aidan Gunn Reporter

Both men’s and women’s Riverhawks soccer teams got shut out in New York on Nov. 9 in the first round of the Na tional Junior College Athletic Association

tional tournament.

The Riverhawks men’s team lost 5-0 to the Genesee Community College Cougars.

Midfielder Unai Cruz Pri eto scored three goals in the game—two of them in the first 18 minutes. Riverhawks goalkeeper Edgar Garcia turned down 7 of 12 shots.

Goalkeeper Oliver Alaviuh

kola had two saves.

“I think there were stretches of the game where we actually controlled the game and took it to them,” head men’s soccer coach Nick Cosentino said. “What hurt us the most was the early goals. I mean, they had a penalty kick

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College to offer more virtual class formats

Sam Gauntt Associate Editor

Students who take 15week classes online that in corporate Zoom or Teams meetings next semester will be able to choose between courses having one required virtual session a week or two. The new “Online Blend

10 tips for acing your online exam this term

Sam Gauntt Associate Editor

As final exam season ap proaches, Dean of the Virtual Campus Colleen Eisenbeis er and Director of Informa tion Security John Williams shared their tips for students taking online exams.

From making sure their environment is suitable for testing to limiting distrac tions during the exam, stu

dents have many things they can do to improve their on line-test-taking success. For example:

• Wear over-the-ear headphones during the test.

Headphones limit distrac tions from noises in the exam space.

• Take practice tests. Even if no practices are available, many professors will supply one if asked in advance.

• Get used to the proc toring service. Download the service prior to the exam. Being familiar with the proc toring service the course uses is key.

• Start studying at least a week before the exam. Cramming the night before the exam will not prepare students fully.

• Choose a room with

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ed” format with one virtual meeting a week is similar to a practice that many profes sors followed during the pan demic. But this semester, pro fessors were required to offer two virtual class meetings each week instead of one.

Classes with twice-aweek virtual meetings are called “Online Sync.”

“Because [students’] lives are very full, they need that flexibility,” Dean of the Vir tual Campus Colleen Eisen beiser said. “So I love the idea that we can provide them something that meets the way they learn best, but also at the same time, can

Continued on page 3

ex ams

over-the-ear

AACC student does sideline reporting for a sports publication.

Students with disabilities speak about challenges.

News Campus Life Sports

Some students say they support student loan forgiveness.

Wearing

headphones during online

prevents distractions from loud noises. Shown, first-year computer science student Chris Sutphin.

Photo by Sam Gauntt

Students will have the opportunity next semester to take classes in a variety of platforms that mix online, face-to-face, and Zoom or Microsoft Teams.

Photo by Summer Cox

The Riverhawks men’s soccer team lost 5-0 on Nov. 9 in its second trip to the NJCAA national tournament in two years. Photo courtesy of NJCAA

Division III na

Hybrid learning here to stay

Editorial Board

With some people back in face-to-face classes and others still attending virtual ly, is this hybrid college expe rience our new normal?

It looks like it is, and that’s a good thing.

Just about everything is open again, but online classes and events are still popular and, most likely, here to stay.

In fact, according to AACC’s Office of Planning, Re search and Institutional As sessment, almost 70% of stu dents are enrolled in at least one online course this fall.

Having that choice seems to be working for students who require more flexibility in their schedules because of work, family or other com mitments.

On the other hand, the National Library of Medicine found that online college students take part in physi cal activity for less than half the time of those who attend in-person.

And a study in the aca demic journal Frontiers in Psychology noted online stu dents are prone to anxiety,

depression and stress.

Nevertheless, virtual learning continues to grow in popularity around the world.

According to a recent sur vey from Educause, the num ber of college students who said they prefer online or hybrid course formats tripled from last year to this year.

The same survey found that students’ preferences were “related to meeting personal needs.”

Because different stu dents have different sched ules, transportation issues and off-campus responsibil ities, it’s a positive that the college has created a diverse assortment of class formats that fulfill those needs.

For example, students can take classes in-person or online with or without Zoom meetings. A new for mat called “Flex” allows stu dents to decide every day if they want to attend virtually or in-person.

That the college contin ues to expand our options for how we can attend class supports the fact that this flexibility is here to stay.

So yes, that’s a good thing.

Letter from an editor

Athlete: 3 busy schedule tips

Megan Cunningham Reporter

Early morning gym ses sions, classes, study hall and practice are things that every student-athlete is familiar with. Being a stu dent-athlete at AACC has opened my eyes to the reali ties of stress, deadlines and adjustments.

I had to figure it out. Maybe what I learned can help you hit a home run as final exam week approaches and this long fall semester wraps up.

1. Learning how to man age your time is a big part of being successful.

Finding a time manage ment strategy is key to this. You can use a digital calen dar or a paper planner. For me, a planner works best.

I color code everything I add to my calendar, be it work, school or sports. Learn what system is best for you by going through trial and error to find a favorite.

When using a digital cal endar, turn notifications on to ensure you stay on top of everything you have to do.

2. Another tip is creating

a to-do list to help you stay on top of your school work.

Creating monthly, week ly and daily to-do lists helps with my productivity. The lists work with one another. The monthly list enables you to make your weekly agen das, and the weekly lineup helps you create your daily lists.

Include due dates on your to-do lists to help you stay on top of everything. Take your monthly to-dos and break them down into weekly tasks. Look at all the important dates for that particular week and include them on your weekly to-do list. Color coding can also help.

3. Planning ahead is es sential if you have an assign ment due on a day when you have a game or another com mitment.

Take your time and get it done well before it’s due. Not procrastinating is a big thing when it comes to time man agement.

My schedule as a stu dent-athlete is ever-chang ing. If yours is, too, plan your time carefully and try your best to stick to the plan.

With hybrid course options expanding, students can take classes that fit their schedules and preferences. Shown, second-year business administration student Manny Batista.

Photo by Sam Gauntt

’Hawks soccer comes up short in nationals

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in the third minute and then we had this defensive error on the second goal.”

The men’s team has lost in the first round in back-toback national tournaments. The women’s squad made nationals for the first time since 2014.

Center midfielder Sam uel Adams said the River hawks came out slow.

“We weren’t really pre pared and we didn’t meet the energy at that level,” Adams, a second-year transfer stud ies student, said. “We were playing a little too defensive ly. So we let in a few goals off the start but then as soon as we changed formation and got our energy back, we fared pretty well.”

The men’s team finished the regular season with nine wins and four losses, went 2-0 in the regional playoffs and 0-2 during nationals.

Midfielder Leyton Cal zado said the tournament match was a tough game.

“It was a long game for us,” Calzado, a first-year transfer studies student, said. “We couldn’t get the ball up the field. We couldn’t connect passes and they were all over us.”

Athletic Director Duane Herr said the Riverhawks “never really got it going of fensively to get any goals in ourselves.”

The Riverhawks wom en’s squad lost 4-0 to the 110-1 Dallas College Brookha ven Bears, who went on to win the national tournament

and finished the 2022 cam paign undefeated.

Riverhawks goalkeeper Kaitlin Kenney stopped 12 of 16 shots. Bears defender and midfielder Bailey Clark scored the first goal, which was assisted by Natalie Lo pez in the 41st minute of the game. The Bears scored two goals in the 51st minute with in a span of 30 seconds. The squad held the Riverhawks to no shots in the game.

Still, Herr said, the team kept “the No. 1 seed [that] had been unbeaten scoreless through the first half. [We] felt like we had them pretty frustrated.”

Head women’s coach Jim Griffiths said the team played well.

“I thought they repre sented the college well,”

Griffiths said. “I thought they opened a lot of people’s eyes because our record was not good going into it.”

Midfielder Ally Hall said her team was the underdog coming into the tournament. The Riverhawks won four games and lost seven during the regular season. The team

went 1-0 in regionals and 1-1 in nationals.

“I think we did a real ly good job of pushing each other but always being there for each other,” Hall, a sec ond-year transfer studies student, said.

Reporter Holden Smith contributed to this article.

AACC expands online class format options

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blend with the lifestyle that they have.”

The college will offer 80 sections of Online Blended classes, which will allow stu dents to take courses without having to come to campus.

“I think community col leges, in particular, have stu dents that are so diverse,” Eisenbeiser said. “You’ve got folks that are holding down multiple jobs, that have fam ilies, that have jobs that, you know, are different shifts and things of that nature.”

The college also will con tinue piloting a hybrid class type called “Flex,” which al

College admins have tips for virtual exams

Continued from page 1 the assistant dean’s office.

no distractions from people or noises to take the test.

• Be honest. Academic integrity is key to students’ education. Violating AACC’s academic honesty policies, such as looking at nonauthorized study materials during the exam, can lead to a zero on the test or a trip to

• Take advantage of the professor’s office hours. Get ting help is only possible if professors know the student needs assistance.

• Ask what the rules and procedures for the test are. Many classes have dif ferent rules for what they allow.

• If you don’t have the

technology required to take the exam at home, make arrangements to take it on campus. Students who are not able to take a test virtu ally can take the exam at a testing center.

• Borrow a laptop from the college if you do not have one to take the exam with. Contact circdesk@aacc.edu to borrow a laptop.

lows students to choose each day whether they want to at tend class in person or online.

For Blended, Sync and Flex classes, “there will be required times that you have to be online with your facul ty member and all the oth er students in your class,” Eisenbeiser said. “So you’ll have that interaction piece. But it’ll just save you from having to get in your car and go somewhere.”

Some students said on line study isn’t for everyone.

“I think for some people it can be really helpful,” sec ond-year American Sign Lan guage student Lexi Greider said. “It’s not for everyone,

though, because you can lag behind if you don’t meet for class regularly. I know some times I tend to get behind on stuff. But if it works for oth ers, then it’s a good idea.”

Eisenbeiser said some faculty who tested Online Blended courses when the college was closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic liked the class type and the flexibil ity it offered compared with traditional formats.

“They had been doing it in English classes in partic ular and in some art classes, and there are others as well,” Eisenbeiser said. “Faculty … really found it was sort of the best of both worlds.”

•

The AACC women’s soccer team lost in the first round of the NJCAA national tournament. Photo courtesy of NJCAA

Students taking Flex classes in rooms such as Hu manities 125 can choose to attend virtually or in person each day. Technology like cameras on the ceiling and TV screens allows online students to see the classroom.

Photo by Sam Gauntt

Don’t worry. Having a calm and confident attitude is key going into any exam.

There’s nothing else to do at that moment but go and do the best job possible.

Having a clutter- and distraction-free workspace is key to a successful test-taking experience, according to Director of Information Security John Williams.

Photo by Zack Buster

Students weigh in on time spent on phones

Payton Thompson Reporter

AACC students spent an average of almost six hours a day looking at their phones in October.

In an informal poll on the Arnold campus, 50 students revealed their screen time ranged from two to 14 hours a day. They said they spent most of their screen time on social media.

“I usually go on Insta gram, Facebook, then read stuff,” said Amanda Dirks, a fourth-year nursing student whose screen time averages five hours a day. “My screen time is actually down 23% from last week.”

Apple released a built-in feature called “Screen Time” on all devices in 2018 to tell users how much time they spend on their iPhones, Mac Books or iPads every day.

Screen time calculates the time a user spends us ing the phone’s apps. Music playing, Facetime use and phone calls don’t add min utes to screen time.

Apple offers users ways to decrease their screen time by allowing them to place their own limits on the amount of time they can spend on an app. Even with this feature, however, stu dents said they don’t limit

how much time they spend on their phones.

“I go on TikTok a lot,” said Karl Fehrenbacher, a first-year business student whose screen time averages

to 14 hours a

eight hours a day. “I know how much I go on my phone and that will not change.”

Other students said they have better things to do away from their phones.

2 AACC clubs change names this semester

Tomi Brunton Reporter

The student theater club and the LGBTQ club changed their names this semester.

The Gay-Straight Alli ance has become the Gen ders and Sexualities Alliance, and Theatre at AACC has re turned to its original name, Moonlight Troupers.

“[It] shows that we as a club are changing with the times,” Grace Bourne, a third-year communications student and GSA president, said.

GSA members said they decided to change their orga nization’s name because the

Disabled undergrads discuss experiences

Ellianna Shields Reporter

Students with disabili ties said the support services AACC offers are helpful, but the college could make im provements.

For example, one student who brings a service dog to campus complained that a Testing Center employee sometimes isolates her in a room separate from others, explaining it is because of the animal. A blind student said one teacher refused to give her extended time on quizzes even though she has a letter from Disability Sup port Services requiring it.

“Teachers need to be more accepting and, like,

you know, understanding that people with disabilities need more time to do their work,” fourth-year health studies student Cassie Short er, who is blind, said. “There are some teachers out there who won’t give you extended time. And they need to un derstand that if someone has a disability, they need their time. If they have [a DSS ac commodation] in place, you can’t deny them time. Even if you have a zero-tolerance rule in your class, you can’t do that.”

Kelly Sweeny, a DSS spe cialist, agreed.

“So accommodations are … legal,” Sweeny said. “So if we have given an accommo dation, then it’s required

that [professors] use that ac commodation.”

Shorter said she some times needs help quicker than it is available.

“I get what I need, but not necessarily in a time ly manner,” Shorter said. “If I get lost on campus like yesterday, there really isn’t someone to walk … with me.”

Ordinarily, she said, she would request someone from the Student Ambassa dors program to help her, but that requires her to ask 24 hours in advance.

Bethany Bayer, a sec ond-year kinesiology stu dent who has post-traumatic stress disorder, said she gets frustrated with classmates who use the large stalls in

club’s original name, “GayStraight Alliance” didn’t fully capture the club’s purpose.

“There’s nothing in the title of Gay-Straight Alliance to say anything about gender identity,” Bourne said.

Forrest Caskey, an aca demic literacies professor and GSA’s faculty adviser, agreed.

“It’s so much more than just sexuality in the club,” Caskey said. “It’s so much more diverse.”

Moonlight Troupers president and second-year studio arts student Angelo Klonowski said changes in the club inspired the new name.

“It’s a student thing now,” Klonowski said. “When it was Theatre at AACC … it felt like a mishmash between what’s going on in the aca demic theater program and the club.”

Moonlight Troupers fac ulty adviser Sean Urbantke explained the meaning be hind the name Moonlight Troupers.

Students in the club “would work really late, hence the ‘moonlight,’” Ur bantke, a performing arts professor, said. “And then ‘troupers’ for the double entendre of being soldiers sticking it out, but also the ater troupes.”

ladies’ rooms that are de signed for disabled students.

“I almost urinated on myself because … I had to re ally go and I couldn’t use the restroom,” Bayer told Cam pus Current, because some one else was in the only stall that her dog could fit in. “It

was just frustrating.”

Although the students said the college is accom modating, some noted that getting those benefits can be time-consuming.

The full version of this story is available at www.

The Moonlight Troupers, AACC’s student theater club, is one of two clubs that chose new names this semester. Shown, posters and photographs of previ ous Moonlight Troupers productions.

Photo courtesy of Zoe Brunton

Fourth-year health studies student Cassie Shorter says she enjoys walking on campus, but the large walkways can be hard for blind students to navigate.

Photo by Ellianna Shields

AACC students say they spend up

day on their devices, mostly scrolling on social media.

Photo by Mason Hood

Lone professors run academic programs

Zack Buster Editor-in-Chief

In a handful of programs at AACC, a single professor teaches all or most of the classes.

Students who take courses in anthropology, journalism and astronomy, for example, are likely to take classes of different lev els with the same professor.

Second-year physics student Zoe Brunton said having two astronomy class es with the same teacher during the same semester is “convenient” because the courses work in tandem and

“the deadlines line up” for assignments.

Because single-professor programs tend to be small, some faculty members said one instructor is enough. Plus, geography professor Bradley Austin noted, “One is better than none.”

Some lone professors said they try to identify classes outside of their dis ciplines that teach related skills so they can refer their students to those courses.

For example, journalism professor Sharon O’Malley steers students interested in news photography to a pho tojournalism class offered by

the Visual Arts & Humanities Department.

Austin described this process as “cross-pollinat ing,” saying the process of “finding points of synergy with other disciplines” is one of the unique challenges of being the only geography professor.

Next semester, anthro pology professor Amy Carat tini will partner with English professor Suzanne Spoor to offer a learning communi ty exploring the concept of “home.” A learning commu nity is a pair of classes that explore a single subject from the perspective of two differ

Teachers collaborate for thematic courses

Sam Gauntt Associate Editor

Some students are tak ing two classes with the same classmates and a shared theme—even though the courses are in different academic departments.

Two professors can create a thematic learning community by collaborating to come up with a common theme, according to the pro gram’s director, communica tions professor April Copes.

For example, the learn ing community “From Revo lution to Reform” pairs Hu manities 101, Introduction to Fine Arts, with History 212, U.S. History Since the

Civil War, to examine how visual and literary arts af fect social change and activ ism.

In a prior semester, a public speaking professor paired with an instructor teaching sports history. Next semester, an English pro fessor and an anthropology teacher will offer a learning community exploring the concept of “home.”

Both classes have the same students and assign ments that share the theme.

“Having the focus of two different classes [that] have the same theme like that, it’s like you’re studying for one while you’re doing the other,” said second-year business

administration student Jason Scott, who took an English and public speaking learning community about the Broad way hit “Hamilton.” “Having themes that you liked made the learning easier.”

The college offered its first learning community in 2006, Copes said.

“They are, generally speaking, high-enrollment courses,” Copes added. “The professors collaborate to come up with a theme that they think will be interesting for students to learn about. … The content that they are required to teach in the courses is still foundational … however, the selection of the resources that they use,

ent disciplines. (See related story below.)

Astronomy professor Deborah Levine said her soli tude is two-sided, explaining that she lacks full-time col leagues “to bounce ideas off of” but also has “full creative control over the curriculum for the whole discipline.”

Austin described his ex perience with being the only professor for the program as “fantastic.”

Most programs helmed by single faculty members offer few classes, so the pro fessors said they sometimes have to work hard to recruit students.

Photo by Mason Hood

maybe the articles that they read, the videos they watch, the supplemental materials that they use, will be related to a particular theme.”

English professor Su zanne Spoor, who will teach the English portion of the learning community on

“home,” said the format offers “lots of benefits for students.”

“One is that they are with the same students in both classes, so they get to know each other,” Spoor said. “I think the personal benefit is immediate. So there’s no rea son not to try it.”

Contemporary poetry class comes to AACC

Jenna Lagoey Senior Reporter

AACC will offer a new class in 21st century poetry in the fall.

The 16-week, three-cred it class will take its place next to a modern poetry course and a beginning poet ry workshop that the college already offers.

Professor Garrett Brown, coordinator of AACC’s cre ative writing program, said he was unable to find any

other colleges offering class es in contemporary poet ry as he created the new course during a fall 2021 sabbatical.

“Most places just sort of tack contemporary poetry onto the end of modern po etry,” Brown said. “What’s wrong about that is that there’s such a distinct shift, I think, that happens in the 21st century and I think it’s hard to lump that in with modernism.”

Brown added: “What

makes it unique is that no body’s really talking about the 21st century as a unique thing.”

Students who take En glish 285, which will count as a sophomore-level liter ature course, will analyze poetry from a variety of art ists, including the rapper MF DOOM, Instagram poet Rupi Kaur and Amanda Gorman, the first National Youth Poet Laureate.

Students said the class sounds interesting.

Students enrolled in a learning community take two classes paired together with a common theme. Shown, professor Shana Cooperstein and her HUM 101 class, which is paired with a HIS 212 course.

Photo by Sam Gauntt

Professor Garrett Brown will teach a course in con temporary poetry at AACC. The new class will start in fall 2023.

Anthropology professor Amy Carattini, second from left, says she expands the reach of her one-teacher department by partnering with other courses through learning communities.

Photo by Zack Buster

Murder class teaches history of homicides

Zoe Hammond Reporter

True crime junkies and criminal justice majors can enroll in a course that teach es the history of homicide.

In CJS 136, a criminal jus tice course, students learn about the process of an in vestigation from psycholog ical and legal perspectives. The course also explores motives for mass murder and serial murders.

“It would be one of those classes where you can consider it a fun elec tive class, but at the same time, you’re walking away with some knowledge that the common person may not have about crime,” Om ary Branch, who is dual-en rolled at AACC and a fouryear university, said.

The class began approxi mately 20 years ago, accord ing to Darian Senn-Carter, the interim director and a professor in the Homeland

Security and Criminal Justice Institute.

“There is a fascination with being attuned to crim inal mischief, and discov ering the who, what, when, where and how of crimes,” Senn-Carter said. Those in terested in crime “often like to explore 1) what led to the crime, 2) how the crime was solved and 3) how to better protect ourselves and our loved ones.”

Branch agreed.

“I really don’t see myself ever in a position [to commit a] murder or homicide or be a criminal,” said Branch, who intends to enroll in law school after graduation. “But I think when it doesn’t apply to your life, there’s a sense of interest that we all as hu mans have.”

The class “is a great gate way course ... for criminal justice majors, homeland security majors, and [for] the curious-minded student interested in true crime,”

Senn-Carter said.

One student said her love of true crime led her to plan for a career in forensics.

“Since I was about prob ably 8, I’ve been watching true crime shows with my sister and family,” Grace Lloyd, a second-year foren sic police science student, said. “And that just kind of branched into wanting a ca reer in criminal justice and forensics.”

Senn-Carter, who said the course is one of his fa vorites to teach, noted that most students who take it are interested in crime scene investigations, criminology, pathology, victimology and detective work.

“It is expected that at the end of the semester, there will be a better understand ing of homicide and how it is related to the American system of criminal justice,” Senn-Carter said.

“It is very engaging and is very fun,” Lloyd said.

Fun and Games

Professor Darian Senn-Carter, the interim director of the Homeland Security and Criminal Justice Institute, says the true crime class is a hit with students.

Photo by Zoe Hammond

Some students save sex until they marry

Ava Herring Diversity Editor

Some AACC students have decided to abstain from sex until they are married.

These students are part of what some Christian groups call “purity culture.”

“Getting into relation ships and jumping around and stuff like that, it’s like having a cup and everybody’s spitting in it,” Jaron Carroll, a 19-year-old information sys tems student, said. “And then when you finally decide to settle down and marry some body, that’s the cup you’re of fering. You know, obviously, you’re not going to want to drink from that.”

Those who practice pu rity culture typically abstain from relationships without the explicit intent of eventu al marriage.

Purity culture isn’t just about sexual purity, how ever. Those who practice it typically adhere to tra

ditional gender roles, limit themselves to heterosexual partners and plan to have children after marriage.

“The impure culture is about, ‘What I can get’ be cause it’s based off of lust,” Mike McGurk, youth pastor at the AACC chapter of Ex perience Campus Ministry International, said. “God cre ated, from the beginning of man and woman, to have a relationship in marriage. It was about how I can love the other person and be there for that person and ... help them and how they can do the same. ... It’s supposed to be a selfless thing.”

Nursing student Sonja Vanvick explained a popular analogy about chewing gum: Virginity is like gum and once it’s chewed up, you are of less value to your future spouse.

Myla Trader, a first-year student and Experience CMI member, said abstaining from sex can be awkward be

cause many of her friends are sexually active. But she said it’s worth it.

Trader said choosing to abstain has been empow ering for her and will make “first times” that much more special and exciting.

“It’s more empowering in the sense that it makes it more special, like, your first kiss,” she said. “It’s more spe cial when it’s with someone you really trust and someone you want to end up with.”

Students said purity culture has its benefits and challenges.

Ellianna Shields, a firstyear student who has de cided to abstain from sex until she marries, said puri ty culture “can be bad when it’s used to shame people. I think that others shouldn’t be shamed because of how they choose to express them selves or how they dress.”

Vanvick, an 18-year-old who grew up in a Christian school and household, said

purity culture places a lot of pressure on women to ab stain from sex, dress mod estly and not be a temptation for men.

Vanvick said her Chris tian school left her unpre pared for her first sexual ex perience.

Vanvick, a sexual assault survivor, added: “There was no class about consent, no pamphlet about what to do and how to react when some one is assaulting or coercing you. I remember the first time I had [penetrative] sex, my face went numb, my arms went numb, my vision went

blurry, I felt like I couldn’t move, I had a panic attack. That stems from trauma. I was a deer in the headlights.”

Shields, also a sexual as sault survivor, agreed.

“I think that [purity cul ture] can shift the blame from the perpetrator to the victim who was hurt,” Shields said.

Vanvick said the expecta tion that she abstain has af fected her in a negative way. “I literally had a panic attack a few days ago,” she said. “I felt anxious, like I was a bad person or a bad Christian and that I was doing a disservice to my future husband.”

Fun and Games

Students who practice purity culture say religion plays a part in their choice to abstain from sex un til marriage. From left to right, students Ellianna Shields, Myla Trader, Jaron Carroll and youth pastor Mike McGurk. Photo courtesy of Zora Nichols

AACC students share flu vaccination plans

Olivia Sheridan Reporter

AACC students said in October they plan to get the flu shot this year.

In an informal, 54-stu dent poll, 32 said they plan to get the flu shot or have al ready gotten the vaccine.

Another 17 students said they do not want to get the vaccine for reasons ranging from superstition to laziness.

“My mom is making me get it,” Bridget Veith, a first-

year animation student, said. “I have always gotten the shot and I probably always will.”

The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases found in a study that 49% of Amer icans don’t plan to get the vaccine this season. Among those who said they will take the shot, 69% agreed the flu vaccine is the best “preven tative measure” against in fection.

“Because it’s like, if we don’t do it, then we won’t be

able to beat it,” Ben Nguyen, a third-year business man agement student, said. “We won’t be able to go outside and have fun this winter. So my thinking is, we might as well just get it over with and get the shot.”

First-year mechanical engineering student Davis Bosley said he won’t get the shot this year.

“I remember one year I got the flu shot, and I got the flu,” Bosley said. “Ever since then, I’ve never gotten the

shot, and I haven’t gotten the flu. Yeah, maybe it’s su perstition, but I’m sticking with it.”

Aaliyah Green, a firstyear physical therapy stu

dent, also said she won’t get the vaccine this season.

“I just never got it,” Green said. “I don’t get sick like that anyway, so … there’s no point.”

College-goers weigh in on painting fiasco

Throwing tomato soup on historical paintings to bring attention to climate change is wrong, AACC stu dents said in October.

An informal poll of 50 students in October re vealed 38 do not support defacing artwork, even for a good cause, while 12 find this form of protest effec tive.

“They had … good rea son, but they had the wrong approach,” Joe Adams, a first-year business student, said. “They should have gone about it a different way.”

Two protesters who are a part of Just Stop Oil,

Undergrads say debt forgiveness is helpful

rizing debt forgiveness. The order is tied up in courts and has not taken effect.

AACC students said in October they agree with President Joe Biden’s deci sion to forgive up to $10,000 in college debt.

In a 50-student poll at the Truxal Library, 44 said they agree that current and former students who earn less than $125,000 per year deserve debt relief because of the skyrocketing cost to attend college.

Biden issued an execu tive order in August autho

“I think that $125,000 could be made a little bit low er, but I do think that’s really fair,” Arianna Silvestri, a firstyear math student, said. “I think college is a really help ful thing for people to put themselves through it.”

According to an NBC news poll, 43% of voters support the president’s stu dent debt forgiveness plan.

One student in the cam pus poll said the economic strain of the pandemic has

made it more difficult to pay off student loans, noting that some Americans may need help from the government.

Paulino Diaz, a sec ond-year computer science student, noted that some paychecks might not be keeping up with inflation.

“So it kind of has not made it easier for these peo ple that are below that mar gin of wealth,” Diaz said. “So doing something [such] as a student loan forgiveness could potentially increase … economic spending.”

One student said forgive

an environmental activist group, threw canned toma to soup on Van Gogh’s fa mous painting “Sunflowers” at London’s National Gallery in October. Two others were arrested in Amsterdam and sentenced to two months in prison after they targeted Johannes Vermeer’s paint ing, “Girl with a Pearl Ear ring.”

Although glass protect ed both paintings, the ac tions sparked controversy around the world about whether this approach is ethical.

“It kind of disrespected the artists that created it,” Ben Nguyen, a third-year business management stu dent, said.

While the paintings are

not destroyed, Nguyen ex plained the act of throwing soup at the artwork is mor ally wrong.

First-year business stu dent Jason Cruz also dis agreed with the activists’ approach.

“They’re trying to get everyone’s attention by do ing something big,” Cruz said. “I feel like they should … grab everyone’s attention in a different way.”

Yet two students in the poll explained their support for what the protesters did.

“I think this is a way of using nonviolent direct ac tion to get people’s aware ness of climate change,” Al exa Molina, a second-year transfer-studies student, said.

ness is fair because taxpay ers fund public colleges.

However, some said they worry about the possible economic consequences of debt forgiveness.

“I think it’s a good idea and would benefit a lot of Americans,” Jaron Carroll, a second-year information systems student, said. “But

from the economic stand point … it might be challeng ing.”

Others said students should expect to take on debt if they cannot afford the cost of college.

“In college, there’s always going to be debts involved,” Rayan Keita, a second-year transfer studies student, said.

AACC students plan to get their flu shots this year— except for a few who say they’re “superstitious.” Pixabay photo

Tristan Comba Reporter

Protesters in Europe recently threw soup at Van Gogh’s painting “Sunflowers.” Some AACC students say they do not support defacing art for protests.

National Gallery (London) photo

Ada Lindahl

Reporter

President Joe Biden recently announced a student debt forgiveness plan. Some AACC students say they approve.

Pixabay photo

AACC legal institute gives out free clothes

Ellianna Shields Reporter

For the second year in a row, the Legal Studies Insti tute hosted a pop-up closet full of gently used business attire free to any student in November.

Legal Studies Institute Director Erin Gable orga nized the giveaway at the Careers building to give do nated clean, professional clothing to students to help prepare them for job inter views and future careers.

“If it fit, you could take it,’’ Gable said.

The pop-up was an ex

tension of a “closet” on the Glen Burnie Town Center campus that offers donat ed clothing to students who need it. That year-round room, operated by the Office of Student Engagement, is open in Room 215 on Tues days and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The donations ensure students “would have that burst of confidence … in or der to go to that first inter view,” Gable said.

Part-time fifth-year para legal studies student Gary Deleaver, who left the popup event with a suit, called the closet “a blessing.”

“It’s convenient, espe cially if you have classes here on campus,” Deleaver said. “[And] for those of us who can’t afford business attire, like myself included, I’m on a fixed income, it’s nice to have.”

Maura Riordan, a sec ond-year environmental sci ence student, said she got a cute multicolor women’s blazer.

“It has cute little brown buttons on it and it’s like a pink and brown brindle kind of mix,” Riordan said.

Riordan said it’s “awe some” that AACC offers op tions for students in need of

professional attire.

“I have class right down this hallway,” Riordan said as she shopped. “And we’re do

ing our informative speech es this week. So I might wear this to my informative speech tomorrow.”

Amaranth staff hosts suprise party for prof.

Olivia Sheridan Reporter

Editors and alumni of AACC’s student literary mag azine held a surprise party to celebrate the retirement of a longtime creative writing professor at a coffeehouse event on Oct. 16.

This year’s staff and past contributors to Amaranth honored professor Susan Cohen for her long career as director of AACC’s creative writing program. Cohen started teaching at AACC in 1994 and will retire at the end of this semester.

“Her departure is kind of

Students not worried about test proctoring

Sam Gauntt Associate Editor

Some AACC students said they do not have any privacy concerns when they scan their room with a cam era during proctored online tests.

First-year radiology stu dent Jamison Adair said “it’s a fair thing to do. … They’re going to have to do it, be cause otherwise it makes cheating a lot easier.”

For some online classes, such as math and lab scienc es, students take their exams

at home and must use their computer’s camera to show their environment so the proctoring service can scan for any evidence of academic dishonesty during the test.

In August, a non-AACC college student won a law suit against Cleveland State University in Ohio for re quiring him to scan his room during an online test proc tored over Zoom.

However, AACC does not require students to show their rooms if they take their exams while on Zoom, ac cording to Dean for Learning

Advancement and the Vir tual Campus Colleen Eisen beiser.

The college’s proctoring service, Respondus, uses its own web application for AACC tests—not Zoom—and scans the recordings of tests using artificial intelligence. That scan later flags any mo ments when the program suspects the student could have been cheating.

“The minute that [Cleve land] case hit the press, we involved our college counsel, looking at the case,” Eisenbe sier said. “If you read deeply

a big deal for both the cre ative writing faculty, but also for the students,” said cre ative writing professor Gar rett Brown, who organized the event. “And so I really wanted to kind of have an event where she could see and interact with some for mer students.”

This was the magazine’s first in-person coffeehouse since the pandemic started and the first time the Ama ranth staff invited alumni to participate in the once-a-se mester event.

Brown said he hopes to include Amaranth alumni in the event every fall.

“My thought is doing that on a more regular ba sis,” Brown said. “Like once a year having … a homecom ing coffeehouse, or like an alumni coffeehouse. … And I think there is going to be a lot of interest on the part of the alumni, so I think it will kind of turn into an annual thing and I think that would be really cool.”

Alumni who attended the party said their experi ence with the literary maga zine has had a lasting impact.

“Being here means a lot,” said AACC graduate Eli Ja cobs, Amaranth’s 2016-17 managing editor.

into the case, it wasn’t using any of these programs that we have, or any type of pro gram. And what the faculty member did was actually had all the students on Zoom with their cameras on. … So

that is kind of a different sit uation than with these prod ucts where nobody else is seeing it.”

Any student who objects to doing a room scan can take the exam on campus.

Professor Susan Cohen, the director of AACC’s creative writing program, will retire at the end of this semester. Shown, Cohen with journalist and author Robert Caro.

Photo courtesy of Susan Cohen

The Legal Studies Institute at AACC hosts a pop-up closet to offer students donated outfits they can wear to job interviews and work. Shown, fifth-year parale gal studies student Gary Deleaver tries on a jacket.

Photo by Ellianna Shields

Many students taking online tests will use secure programs like Respondus LockDown Browser.

Photo by Zack Buster

AACC student travels for sports journalism

Dan Elson Sports Editor

Second-year communi cations student Taylor Walls was covering a Friday night high school football game for an Eastern Shore radio sta tion when the team’s coach asked her if she knew how to do her job.

Little did he know Walls is not just a student, but a sports broadcaster for 94.3 WINX-FM. She also interns as a sports sideline report er for Six Pack Coverage, a multimedia company that covers sports, fitness, enter tainment, food, travel and finance.

“And I just look at him and I’m like, ‘You’re just judging me just because I’m a girl,’” Walls, who attended Queen Anne’s County High School, noted. “And then I’ll sit there and do my thing. And [he’ll] look at me like, ‘You actually know what you’re talking about.’”

Walls added: “My knowl edge of the sport [isn’t] de termined because of my gender. I know just as much as you do, or even more, and I’m good at what I do.”

As a sideline reporter, Walls travels around the country to cover college football games and interview players and coaches. For the local radio station, Walls does play-by-play commen tary and quarterly updates for Friday night high school football games.

Walls said she found both of her jobs through so cial media.

She said her favorite part of sports reporting so far was the “atmosphere of the fans” at the University of Al abama and Texas A&M game in October 2021.

“It was [a] core memory, you would call it,” Walls said. “It was the most unforgetta ble game of my life. I was very excited, very nervous, but it was a really good game. …

It was a really great experi ence. I went on the field and I met a few players. I met the defensive coordinator and it was just like an experience you’ll never forget, just being on the sidelines in that atmo sphere with the fans.”

Before she got into broadcasting, Walls created highlight reels for athletes in 2020 but grew tired of edit ing film.

“It brought me into not wanting to edit anymore because it was exhausting,” Walls, who attended Salis bury University in 2021, noted. “And I realized, ‘Wait, I can just be the front face of the camera instead of the background.’”

Walls added she looks up to FOX Sports reporter Erin Andrews—the lead sideline reporter for NFL Sunday.

“I fell in love with her and I DM’d her [and] I was just like, ‘Nothing’s going to happen. This is a celebrity. She’s not going to answer,’”

Walls said. “And she actually answered me back and gave me a lot of great advice and I still look up to her to this day. No. 1 motivation [and] No. 1 person I will always look up to, and I hope one day I’ll be working and she’ll be right there and it’d be so cool.”

Sports reporting wasn’t Walls’s original career goal. She initially majored in ele mentary education, and one of her teachers asked, “Do you really want to become a teacher because you have the drive, the passion and all that to be successful in this industry?” So she switched to sports journalism.

The founder and pres ident of Six Pack Cover age, Andrew Grayson, said Walls’s “drive” is what makes her stand out.

“That’s probably the best way to put it and she is very eager to go [out] and put in a lot of work for not necessarily a lot of return,” Grayson said.

In fact, Grayson said he would consider hiring her full time.

“She does a hell of a job,” he said. “She likes it [and] she really knows what she’s do ing. She’s got the background for it. She definitely stands out among a lot of other ... in terns. She’s top of the list.”

Second-year communications student Taylor Walls says gender shouldn’t stop people from doing what they love.

Photo courtesy of Taylor Walls

Men’s soccer wraps up 2022 fall season

Dan Elson Sports Editor

Before the Riverhawks men’s soccer team headed to New York to play in the na tional tournament, the squad won nine games and lost four in the regular season.

The Riverhawks ended their season on Nov. 9 after losing 5-0 in the first round of the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III national tournament to Genesee Community College.

Still, Riverhawks head soccer coach Nick Cosenti no said the team played well this season.

“I think the guys real ly bought into some of the

principles of play that [assis tant] coach Drew [Belcher] brought in,” Cosentino said. “And it really helped us devel op confidence. It’s really a fun style of play. So I give a lot of props to [Belcher] for bring ing them along. ... It was a real big reason for our success.”

The Riverhawks have gone five straight years with a winning record. This sea son, the team finished with a regular-season .692 win per centage—the highest since 2016 when it finished 12-5 with a .706 win percentage.

Midfielder Leyton Cal zado led the Riverhawks with six goals and tallied 14 points in the regular season.

Goalkeeper Edgar Garcia

finished the season with a 1.71 goal average and turned down 49 saves.

Cosentino said the team was fortunate with injuries.

“It was good to have a whole season when you look back at COVID-19 [and] all the interruptions that hap pened there,” Cosentino not ed. “Normally we would have some type of distraction or a bunch of injuries but we re ally didn’t for the most part.”

Left midfielder Davis Bosley, a first-year mechani cal engineering student, said the “regular season was real ly good because around here in our region we were the best. We went to those games thinking like we’re better

than you; we’re going to beat you. Everybody [on the team] knows that we’re going to go out and prove them.”

Bosley was second in scoring with five goals during the season.

Midfielder Nehemias Ru bio said his favorite moment of the season was scoring the

game-winning goal against the Prince George’s Commu nity College Owls on Oct. 29 to win the NJCAA Region 20 championship tournament.

“There’s no better feel ing than that,” Rubio, a firstyear business student, said. “Those are the moments that you live for as a soccer player.”

Cross-country runner on All-Maryland team

Dan Elson Sports Editor

The Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference named a Riverhawk to the All-Maryland JUCO women’s cross-country team in No vember.

The All-Maryland JUCO team is a squad for the best athletes in a particular sport in the state.

Bailey Healy, a first-year transfer studies student, said she felt appreciated to

Coach calls women’s squad ‘hard working’

The Riverhawks wom en’s soccer team finished its regular fall season with four wins and seven losses after changing its status from club to Division III.

In the post-season, the team went 1-0 in regionals and 1-1 in nationals.

Still, the squad mostly competed against Division I and II teams this season, as AACC is the only Division III competitor in Region 20.

Head coach Jim Griffiths said the steep competition

contributed to the team’s first-round loss in the Na tional Junior College Athletic Association’s national tour nament in November.

“Our record wasn’t near ly as good as a lot of other teams,” Griffiths said. “So I think they opened a lot of eyes with their play. ... I mean, there’s nothing more they could have done.”

The Riverhawks got shut out in the nationals 4-0 in the first round by the returning champions, Dallas College.

Griffiths said the regular season was a “roller coaster.”

Defender and midfielder Ryann Brooks and midfield

er Cassidy Smith led in reg ular-season scoring with five goals each. Smith also led the team with seven assists.

“Tons of injuries, low numbers, but I have to give the girls a ton of credit,” Griffiths noted. “They per severed through everything. [They’re] really one of the hardest-working groups I’ve ever coached and at numer ous points during the sea son, they could have packed it in and they didn’t.”

Forward Taylor Stahl agreed.

“A lot of things were thrown our way that we weren’t expecting,” Stahl,

be selected for the team.

“It was cool because I was kind of taking the sea son not as competitively as I normally would,” Healy, who ran cross-country at Chesa peake High School, said. “So it felt good [and] I felt ac complished.”

Healy also earned the All-Region 20 honorable mention when she ran her best 5k time at approximate ly 23 minutes, which placed her second behind Nhaiky ia Smith of Howard County

Community College in the Na tional Junior College Athletic Association Region 20 Divi sion III Championship meet on Oct. 22. Healy’s average 5k time in 2022 was 24 minutes, 18 seconds.

Head women’s crosscountry coach Susan Noble said she wasn’t surprised Healy was selected.

“It’s nice for her to be recognized in our region,” Noble said. “It’s hard to get some attention sometimes in Maryland.”

a second-year psychology student, said. “[There were] game cancellations ... times [with] not enough players to have a sub. I think we did great. … We went into the season with 15 girls, and one

practically broke her foot, another sprained [her] knee, and then a girl randomly quit. Then two of us had con cussions at the same time.”

Griffiths said his goal for 2023 is to return to nationals.

The Riverhawks men’s soccer team finished its regular season with nine wins and four losses with a .692 win percentage—the highest in six years.

Photo by Megan Cunningham

The Riverhawks women’s soccer squad moved up to Division III this year after playing club games last season.

Photo by Dan Elson

Aidan Gunn Holden Smith Reporters

First-year transfer studies student Bailey Healy is one of two runners who made the All-Maryland JUCO team.

Photo by Dan Elson