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April 2018
Snowfall means extra days, Canvas projects Alexandra Radovic Associate Editor AACC professors may choose to extend their classes for two extra school days in May to make up for time lost to snow. The college has built-in make-up days on May 7 and 8 between the end of the usual semester and final exam
week, which begins on May 9. Since the semester began on Jan. 17, AACC has closed the campus on school days for two full days; opened late four times; and closed early once. The college is not requiring professors to hold classes on May 7 and 8, however. Instead, they may opt to cover missed class content via Canvas, the campus on-
line learning management system. “There needs to be a continuum of learning even if there is an interruption in the academic calendar,” Dr. Michael Gavin, AACC’s vice president for learning, said. That’s why professors have been required to use the
Continued on Page 6
MD lawmakers debate turf field health risks Raquel Hamner Photography Editor
Some groups claim the ingredients in artificial turf like that in AACC’s Siegert Stadium are unhealthy for athletes and the environment. Manufacturers disagree. Photo by Raquel Hamner
State legislators may decide synthetic turf, like the kind on AACC’s Siegert Stadium field, is too dangerous to play on. Maryland lawmakers are
AACC trustees ‘sit back’ on immigration issue Roxanne Ready Editor-in-Chief AACC officials say the college supports students who immigrated to the U.S. as children without legal permission. But they have not taken any public actions on those students’ behalf. “We clearly support these students and hope that they will be able to continue and finish their education here,” Dr. Larry Ulvila, the chair of AACC’s Board of Trustees,
said. “We feel strongly for our students.” But unlike some other Maryland colleges, AACC has not released any official statements on behalf of students who benefit from Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA—a 2012 law that temporarily blocks the government from deporting some immigrants who came here illegally as children. “We decided to just sit back right now,” Ulvila said.
Professors can choose whether to use extra days built into the semester to make up for the two days canceled so far this spring because of snow. Photo by Sarah Noble
“We don’t think that anything that we say is going to have an impact on [the issue].” President Donald Trump in September said he would end DACA, but multiple lawsuits have forced the U.S. government to continue accepting DACA applications until the courts decide otherwise. Congress could make the law permanent but has not done so, and the program’s future is uncertain. “I’m just kind of hoping that because of this, it seems,
debating whether the chemicals in synthetic turf make it unsafe for athletes and the environment. They are considering a bill that would stop schools and recreation centers in the state from using government funds to build or replace sports fields or
playgrounds with turf made of artificial materials like rubber, plastic or recycled tires. AACC has used synthetic turf in its stadium since 2010 when the college built it. Synthetic turf is on sports
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Marchers gather in Los Angeles on Sept. 5 to support immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children. AACC has not released any public statements about the issue. Photo courtesy of Flickr user Molly Adams lack of focus right now on it [in Congress] that it might just sort of blow over and [the students will] be allowed to continue [their educations],” Ulvila said.
Adil Qaiyumi, an AACC professor of homeland security and an immigration attorney, said he has spoken with
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2 | Campus Current | 2018 | April
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Election season isn’t the only time to care about politics; they matter year-round, and they affect simple, everyday things. Not all politics are about divisive, complicated issues. Many are about day-to-day things that make a big difference in the everyday life of college students like us. How many potholes are in the road on your way to classes? Do you face traffic jams in the morning because the roads aren’t wide enough? State legislators decide every year how much money to spend on fixing and updating roads. Or maybe you don’t have a car, but you also don’t have a bus route in your neighborhood that would take you to class—or the bus you have is unreliable or inconvenient. It’s state lawmakers who decide how much money goes to Maryland’s public transit. And think about your
time on campus. Do you think tuition is too high? Or maybe your professor doesn’t have enough office hours to help you because she is overwhelmed with too many students per class. Are you frustrated at sitting in line for an hour before you can see an adviser? Do you think the science department needs better equipment? AACC decides how many professors and advisers to hire, but it’s the county executive, the governor and the legislators who decide how much money to spend on community colleges. AACC relies on that money to keep tuition down while updating equipment and hiring faculty. And it’s you and I who decide who the legislators making all these decisions are. Whom we elect and what they do while in office affect all the little things that help a community function. So what can you do about it? What should you do? The obvious answer is to vote, but how do you know
who or what to vote for? biggest news in one place— Where do you even start? iPhones even have a free An easy way to stay up news app installed when you to date is to follow a local buy them. newspaper on social What it all really comes media, so you can down to is paying atcatch up with tention and stayevents while ing involved. catching up We all learned with your in school how friends. And great it is that local news, we live in a dein particumocracy “of, by lar, will let and for the peoyou know what Bra ple.” nd lawmakers are But if we, the on Hamilton deciding about the people, don’t actually area you live in. It will also vote, we end up with lawhelp make sense of how big, makers who don’t reflect us, national events affect your no matter what our Constitulife right here in Anne Arun- tion says. del County. And we end up with Podcasts are another terrible public transit and great way to get information potholes and underfunded about current events, even on schools. a 10-minute drive to campus, That’s why Campus Curwithout any extra time tak- rent is sponsoring a voter en out of your day. You can registration drive April 17 on search your favorite podcast the Quad. We want you to app for names of news out- speak up for what you think lets, both local and national. our city, state and country If you like to read, there should be doing better. are apps that compile the We want you to vote. y ob
Daniel Salomon
Roxanne Ready Editor-in-Chief
t Pho
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Why vote: Potholes are politics
Demand change: Stand up, speak out, be heard Editorial Board
such threats and violence, but that doesn’t mean students here shouldn’t react. According to The Washington Post, after the Parkland shooting, more than 1,000 people at the University of Virginia joined in a protest against gun violence. The call to action resonated with the students and faculty at Wayne State College, Tulane University, Southwest Minnesota State University and Georgetown University, who participated in a walk-out last month. By not joining forces with other schools protesting these shootings, AACC students are sending the message that it’s OK for others to feel unsafe at
school, as long as we don’t. Doing nothing in reIn the face of local school sponse to these traumatic shootings and threats of vioevents is slowly allowing brulence, AACC students need to tality to become normality. take a stand and speak out. School shootings don’t According to The Baltiaffect our school in particumore Sun, this country has lar, but that doesn’t mean the had six school shootings problem has disappeared. since February. And while our police ofLast month, a 17-year-old ficers prepare for the worst, student at Great Mills High the worst is already happenSchool in southern Maryland ing around the corner. shot two other students beChange is needed, but fore a school resource officer the only way it’s possible is shot and killed him. One of if we combine forces so our those classmates–Jaelynn voices can be heard. Willey, 16–died. We call on our electJust a week before, a ed student representatives ninth-grade student allegedto step up and organize the ly threatened gun violence at campus community. Broadneck High School, just The Student Governa few minutes from the ment Association has college. The suspect a responsibility to claimed the threat was lead the campus rea “joke.” sponse to important And just a month issues like these, and before that, a shooting what could be more at Marjory Stoneman important than the Douglas High School lives of students? in Parkland, Florida, Let’s lead by exleft 17 people dead. Campus Current editors march with ample on behalf of AACC is a safe friends in Washington, D.C., on March those we lost. Let’s not campus, and we ha- 24 to protest gun violence. let violence become ven’t fallen victim to Photo by Raquel Hamner background noise.
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College to delay 1 year on applied bachelor’s Alexandra Radovic Associate Editor
design—in January. If the commission approves it, the degree will be The Maryland Higher Ed- the first bachelor’s in interior ucation Commission has put design in Maryland. In addiAACC’s proposal to offer its tion, it will be the first bachefirst four-year applied bache- lor’s degree offered by a comlor’s degree on hold for a year. munity college in the state. AACC Vice President for AACC President Dawn Learning Michael Gavin said Lindsay will chair the comAACC adminstrators expect- mission’s subcommittee, and ed the delay. Gavin will be a member. Some four-year universi“We believe that it’s the ties in the state “aren’t very right thing for community happy with the colleges notion of com“We believe that it’s to have munity colleges bachethe right thing for offering bachelor’s decommunity colleges grees,” lor’s degrees,” to have bachelor’s Gavin said. Gavin Gavin said said. degrees.” the commission “If —Dr. Michael Gavin s t u has created a subcommittee dents “to look at what a bachelor’s are interested in taking the degree at a community col- bachelor’s program at Anne lege would require” in terms Arundel, we want that, too. of course requirements. … We are fighting pretty AACC’s Board of Trustees hard on the state to get this approved AACC’s first applied to happen as soon as possibachelor’s degree—in interior ble.”
He said the state’s 16 community colleges agree it is part of their mission to offer applied bachelor’s degrees in fields that require them. “The community colleges would argue that as drivers of the work forces in the counties where we work we have a responsibility to send our students into the work force as ready as possible,” Gavin explained. Gavin said interior design students need bachelor’s degrees to get jobs in Maryland. “We believe that because we have the best interior design program in the state, and there isn’t one at the fouryear schools, we should be the ones offering that degree,” Gavin added. “The four-years see that as a threat, because they think we will be expanding into what they perceive their business to be.” “It’s a problem that they did put it on hold because if they’ve been discussing about doing it, and then just
AACC plans to offer an applied bachelor’s degree in interior design but must wait for approval from the Maryland Higher Education Commission. Photo by Daniel Salomon not giving you a definitive answer, I think that’s really going to mess some people up,” first-year interior design student Laura Adams said. First-year student Rory Joy said she hopes the degree is approved.
“To be able to actually get a bigger degree, to be able to get a bachelor’s, I think, would be really great here because I like this school,” she said. “I feel limited by being able to only get the associate’s.”
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Faculty assists with tax filings Alexandra Radovic Associate Editor Volunteers on campus can prepare and file taxes for students and community members on campus in just one hour. Anyone with an income of less than $54,000 per tax year can go to the Careers Center, Room 326, to have student and faculty volunteers prepare, review and electronically file both federal and state taxes. Professor Robert Beatty, a certified public accountant who files the taxes and oversees the service, said typically a quarter of the people who use the service each year are AACC students, faculty or staff, and the rest are community members. He said he expects the college will file approximately 200 tax returns for people using the service this year. “Theoretically, you could live in California and come
here to get your taxes done,” Beatty said. “We market it toward this college and this county, but we have had people from Baltimore city come.” “We’ve helped students, elderly people, those in the military and even small businesses,” said student volunteer Jana Barnes, who helps Professor Robert Beatty helps AACC students and community members like Suanne Roueche file their taxes for free. prepare taxes. People who work from Photo by Britney Pieraldi home or are undergoing an IRS audit cannot use the ser- partnership or corporation According to Beatty, the The free service will run vice, according to the IRS. returns and cannot file re- service is offered on Thurs- until April 7, even though tax If people own their own turns with business use of day and Saturday. Two ad- season doesn’t officially end businesses, home expenses. ditional certified public until April 17, because “we they must The volun- accountants, who also are don’t want people coming in “We’ve helped be sole proteers help peo- faculty members, assist Beat- last minute without the docstudents, elderly prietors or ple by appoint- ty, so each return gets a two- umentation they need, and able to file a people, those in the ment only. part review. we don’t want to get to the Schedule C military and even “The goal “Registered accountants point where we are running tax form to small businesses.” of our program oversee every return, so there around with our heads cut use the ser—Student Jana Barnes is to get people is less likeliness for errors,” off trying to get things done,” vice, accordin, have their Barnes said. “We are trained said Beatty. ing to Beatty. returns pre- by the IRS and sign a contract Although Beatty said the Beatty said the service, pared, reviewed and e-filed stating that we will file your volunteers discourage it, they part of the IRS’s Volunteer within an hour [to] an hour taxes as truthfully as possible are able to file extensions for Income Tax Assistance pro- and 15 minutes the same based on the information you taxpayers who want more gram, does not deal with day,” Beatty said. give us.” time to do their taxes.
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College approves new data literacy program Alexandra Radovic Associate Editor AACC’s Board of Trustees approved a new 18-credit data literacy certificate program in February. According to Vice President for Learning Michael Gavin, data literacy is the ability to understand what questions to ask and how to find data to support decisions. Professors Paul Lawson and Gretchen Mester from the School of Business and Law created the program. “We hope [employees and adjunct professors] internally within the college will want to take that program because of the changing nature of their job,” Gavin said. Gavin explained the job market has changed in such a way that mid-level managers are expected to use data in a strategic way. In the past, he said, their bosses were supposed to do that. “We are trying to keep up with industry changes so that we can train people who already have such jobs,
but their expectations have changed,” said Gavin. The college researched the need for this program in part by reviewing occupational descriptions for published jobs that include data management and data literacy, but not at the level of a data scientist. “Data analytics is a much more complex endeavor,” Gavin said. “It’s developing databases and running actual what-if scenarios, which is a little beyond what this certificate is offering.” At the board meeting, Gavin said more than 80 percent of analysis-related jobs
require employees to understand how to read data. “We’re not seeing a lot of programs out there that prepare people for that kind of level of analysis,” said Gavin. This program is the first of its kind in Maryland, and it will be ready for publication in the college catalog in fall 2018. “This certificate is so that people can understand data in a way that is rational and responsible, but it’s not necessarily for them to be developing data,” Gavin said. “The developing of the data is a level beyond what the certificate offers.”
AACC’s Vice President for Learning Michael Gavin says the new data literacy certificate program will be useful to mid-level managers. Photo by Daniel Salomon
April 2018 | Campus Current | 5
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AACC students are able to earn 4-year degrees Alexandra Radovic Associate Editor Students can receive a bachelor’s degree from any of four, four-year universities while taking classes at an AACC campus. Anyone may enroll, but partnering schools only offer junior- and senior-level classes at the Arundel Mills and Arnold campuses, so students must have an associate degree to qualify. The universities making up the consortium are: Frostburg State University, Stevenson University, Notre Dame of Maryland University and University of Maryland University College. According to Kathleen Beauman, executive director for the Office of Instructional Partnerships, the arrangement between AACC and the universities began when the college was building the Arundel Mills campus.
Beauman said Arundel an option for registered nursMills was the largest grow- es who want to complete a ing area in the county at the bachelor’s degree in nursing. time, and Martha Smith, then Students can earn a BachAACC’s president, thought it elor of Science degree in engiwould be a good idea to offer neering, with a concentration higher-level degrees there. in electrical engineering, from Administrators decided Frostburg by taking classes at which degrees to offer based the Arundel Mills campus. on the industries of growth Notre Dame of Maryland in the western part of Anne offers classes on the Arundel Arundel County: education, Mills and Arnold campuses. business and engineering, Students can obtain a Bachaccording to Beauman. elor of Arts degree in liberal “Arundel Mills has done arts studies or in elementary a lot of work over the past education with a dual certifi16 years to create pathways cation in early childhood or that move students from high special education. school into plans of study here Students on the Arnold at the college, campus can so we thought, “It’s definitely a earn a Master ‘Why not expand more convenient of Arts degree that model and in teaching option.” develop one that or leadership moves students — Student Elis Contee teaching from from AACC deNotre Dame grees into bachelor’s de- of Maryland. The school also grees?’” Beauman said. offers library media specialist On the Arnold campus, and reading specialist certifiStevenson University offers cations, and certifications in
GBTC upgrades tutoring center Mary Kane Graphic Designer AACC’s Glen Burnie Town Center campus added math, reading and science tutors and a Technology Learning Center in March. The new Learning Success Center, in Room 314 on the remote campus, is a place where students can study or receive tutoring. It opened after students who take classes at GBTC requested study-related services like the ones available at the Arnold location. “It is a pilot project for the GBTC location to better serve the GBTC college community of students and faculty who are in need of tutoring services face-to-face in a decent environment,” said Fran Kasinof, an academic adviser at Glen Burnie who spearheaded the new learning center’s creation. She said the new services will save GBTC students from having to travel to Arnold for them. “I usually don’t study or do school work at [the GBTC] campus because there’s not many places to
study, and they’re not very comfortable,” said thirdyear student Samantha Han. The expanded learning center, she said, will “help a lot with bringing the students together and making it feel more like a community like at Arnold.” Tutors in math, science, reading, writing and English are available in the Learning Success Center on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4-7 p.m., Tuesdays from 3-5 p.m., Thursdays from 5-7 p.m. and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Math tutors can help students with classes ranging from remedial to high level in college algebra, pre-calculus and calculus, Kasinof said. Science tutors can help students with biology, chemistry and physical sciences. In addition, Kasinof said, students trained in the Supplemental Instruction program for STEM—science, technology, engineering and math—courses will join the tutors in the future. The Writing Center on the Arnold campus will not set up shop in the new GBTC location, however. Writing Center Director Jessica
Students can earn a bachelor’s degree from Frostburg State and three other universities without leaving AACC campuses. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons user XDPoet administration and supervision and special education. At Arundel Mills, the University of Maryland University College offers Bachelor of Science degrees in business administration, cyber security, information systems management, management studies and public safety administration. “Some students don’t want to commute, [and] some don’t have the financial resources to live at an institution,” said Beauman. “We have a number of adult students who have lives, and
families and children.” “It’s definitely a more convenient option, because you don’t need to travel so far to get the same degree,” Elis Contee, a third-year English student, said. Between fall 2004 and fall 2018, 10,399 students—7,838 at Arundel Mills and 2,561 at Arnold—enrolled in the university consortium. “You don’t have to worry so much about changing your lifestyle … since you’re used to the campus environment,” said first-year undecided student Simon Hertz.
Trustees to vote on protests Raquel Hamner Photography Editor
The Glen Burnie campus recently added a Learning Success Center where students can use college computers and receive tutoring in five subjects. Photo by Sarah Sutherland Rabin said students at all AACC campuses may visit the Writing Center virtually. Students can access the Virtual Writing Center through the AACC website. The Technology Learning Center—or TLC—inside the GBTC learning center offers software and links to videos on computers at the new learning center, according to Kasinof. The upgraded center has room for students to study
and use computers. “I have the ability to print papers and assignments,” said second-year student Daniela Tamayo, who takes classes at Glen Burnie. “If I need a quiet place to study, I can go to the learning center. They have a lot of resources.” First-year student Destiney Battle agreed. “I do occasionally go there to study and do class work,” she said. “It’s really quiet and the staff is very nice and helpful.”
AACC’s Board of Trustees will vote on a policy at its April 10 meeting to allow the college’s president to create guidelines for student protests and free speech. The proposed Free Speech and Peaceable Assembly Policy says the board “supports the rights of individuals and groups to assemble, demonstrate and express their views for or against actions and opinions.” Trustee Sandra Moore proposed the policy, which the board had scheduled for discussion at its March 21 meeting that it canceled because of snow. SGA President Johnathan O’Dea called the policy “just the beginning. ... I think it’s important that we have something like this because it gives the college direction.” Student trustee Nyia Curtis agreed. “I think this is a way for students to ... be able to advocate, and that’s a good thing because as citizens of the United States we have this right,” she said.
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‘Wait and see’ on DACA, say trustees of college Continued from Page 1
to Maryland’s congressional delegation. Gabriella Flores, a second-year business administration student, said she was born in the U.S. to parents who immigrated here from El Salvador. “[DACA] allows [immigrants] to not only have opportunities, but to be less scared,” Flores said. “When you have fear, you are con-
high school, among other requirements. “a number of students” who The Dream Act is a are hesitant to sign up for state law and separate from DACA because they worry the DACA. But many students government will deport them who qualify for it are also or their families if it ends. DACA recipients. “Anyone who comes to In a September email see me has ... anxiety, because to faculty, AACC President their future is a little uncerDawn Lindsay said the coltain; their family’s future is lege admits “all qualified inuncertain,” Qaiyumi said. dividuals regardless of U.S. Five of Maryland’s 16 citizenship” and that employpublic community ees have a “shared colleges have repledge to support leased public stateour students in evments in support of ery way.” students benefiting An FAQ atfrom DACA, either tached to the email in press releases or said the college will by signing an open cooperate with all letter on Pomona federal and state College’s website. laws, adding that The Pomona AACC does not letter, which the have the authority California college to prevent federal posted in Novem- President Donald Trump speaks to a officers from comber 2016, asks “our crowd in Arizona. He announced in ing on campus. country’s leaders” September he would end protections for The FAQ also to make sure DACA immigrants who came to the U.S. illegalsaid the college is “upheld, contin- ly as children. will not share a ued and expanded.” Photo courtesy of Flickr user Gage Skidmore student’s personal “America needs information with talent,” the letter reads, “and stantly distracted. … But this anyone, including federal these students, who have program, it helps get rid of immigration agents, without been raised and educated in the majority of the fear so written consent of the stuthe United States ... represent they can work toward some- dent, a subpoena or a court what is best about America.” thing that will give them a order, in line with the Family The website lists 703 sig- better future.” Educational Rights and Prinatures from public and priAccording to Ulvila, 103 vacy Act. vate colleges and universities degree-seeking AACC stuPolice Chief Sean Kapfaround the country. dents benefit from the Mary- hammer said if Immigration Presidents from all 12 land Dream Act, a program and Customs Enforcement colleges in the University that grants in-state tuition agents arrived on campus System of Maryland sent a to non-U.S. citizens if they with a warrant for a student— similar letter in September graduate from a Maryland whether one signed by a judge
What is DACA? Roxanne Ready Editor-in-Chief Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals—DACA—is a 2012 law that temporarily blocks the government from deporting immigrants who came here illegally as children before June 2007. It also allows them to legally work. To receive DACA status, immigrants must apply every two years. They must be at least 15 years old, cannot have any felony convictions and must have lived in the U.S. continuously since June 2007. The application costs $495. Why is DACA in the news? President Donald Trump in September said he was going to end DACA, setting it to expire in March unless Congress reinstated it. Trump claimed President Barack Obama overstepped his authority by creating the program. In February, lawmakers allowed the government to shut down because they could not agree on DACA. Although the March deadline passed, multiple lawsuits have forced the U.S. government to continue accepting DACA applications until the Trump administration can prove it has the right to end the program. Congress has not passed any legislation relating to DACA, and discussions have ended in deadlocks. The future of the program remains uncertain. What happens if DACA ends? If the courts rule in favor of the Trump administration, DACA will end, unless Congress passes laws to protect it or create a similar program. Without DACA, the immigrants benefiting from it will be eligible for deportation and will no longer be legally allowed to work. or a special ICE warrant—his officers would find out where that student was, lead the agents to the classroom and then “take a hands-off approach” unless the student became combative. “In the unlikelihood they would ever come here … we would want to get the ICE agents on and off the campus as quickly as possible,” Kapfhammer said. “We’d rather have as little disruption as
possible to the campus.” Ulvila also said AACC will comply with federal agents. “We are not going to try to write our own law,” Ulvila said. “‘Wait and see’ is probably the best way to characterize what we’re doing. … We don’t want to wave any flags. In part, I guess, the reason we haven’t made a real statement is we don’t want people to focus on us, either, or our students.”
“If more delays and closures occur, then we may have to use the [built-in] make-up days,” Santorelli said. “It would be challenging to get students to attend.” The college introduced the two optional make-up days this semester. “The goal is to use technology to make sure learning is occurring at all times and there is some fluidity to it,” Gavin said. “With lab classes that’s obviously a huge complication.” Even so, some students without labs said they have also been inconvenienced by the snow day closures. “My American govern-
ment class is early and it gets canceled even if school just opens late, and now I’ve missed four classes,” first-year international studies student McKenna Austin-Ward said. “My teacher says we’re really behind.” However, some other students said the extra days are not needed and wouldn’t benefit them. Undecided student Ashton Thornton said his classes depend on readings that are assigned in advance via a syllabus on Canvas. “The extra days wouldn’t make a difference to me,” Thornton said.
Snow days might mean extra school for some Continued from Page 1
Heavy snowfall gives students time off this semester, but they may have to make up the days in May. Photo by Michael Garvey
Canvas system since last fall, he said. Even so, some professors have said they can only cover content appropriately by meeting for additional inclass hours. “I need to make up our missed physical science lab from March 21, but lab make-ups are easier in the spring, because we end the lab course on the start date of the last week of class,” said physical science professor Dr. Anthony Santorelli. Santorelli said he will extend the end date of his lab course from May 1 to May 3.
April 2018 | Campus Current | 7
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Legislators fail to vote on 2 faculty union bills Roxanne Ready Editor-in-Chief For the fifth consecutive year, state lawmakers chose on March 20 not to vote on a pair of bills that would allow community college faculty members to form and join unions. Unions allow workers to join together in a process called collective bargaining to negotiate for better pay, benefits or working conditions. Without a union, employees have to accept whatever legal working conditions their employers set or quit their jobs, and employers have no obligation to negotiate with them. Under Maryland law, most community college employees do not have collective bargaining rights. Non-faculty employees at Baltimore City Community College, the Community College of Baltimore County, Montgomery College and Prince George’s
Community College have the right to unionize. Only Montgomery College has the right for faculty to do so. If legislators had approved them, the bills would have allowed most community college employees, including full- and part-time faculty, to unionize. The bills excluded student employees and public safety officers. Sen. Guy Guzzone, D-Howard County, who sponsored the Senate bill, withdrew it when the Senate Finance Committee decided not to vote on it. Guzzone has unsuccessfully introduced similar bills every year since 2014. Dr. Richard Otten, an AACC adjunct professor of gender and sexuality studies and American studies, said unionization could improve the job of adjunct faculty. AACC President Dawn Lindsay disagreed. “We don’t feel we need unionization,” Lindsay said. “We actually
feel that unionization would jeopardize and harm the system of shared governance that we have at the college.” Del. Keith Haynes, D-Baltimore—who sponsored the House bill and has been working on its various iterations for three years— told Campus Current he believes collective bargaining improves the likelihood that employees will be treated fairly. Through collective bargaining, grievances “can be handled in a standardized process,” Haynes said, “as opposed to individually, where there’s sometimes opportunity for subjectivity to come into play, and some outcome that may be inequitable to some employee versus others.” “We don’t have that problem,” Lindsay said, noting the college is “actively addressing” inequities as it finds them. “I don’t see how [unionization] could im-
Dr. Richard Otten, a gender and sexuality studies professor, is an advocate for allowing faculty unions. Photo by Raquel Hamner prove a system we already have that’s working.” AACC has a standardized system for determining pay and benefits to keep them fair and within market value, Lindsay said. A 2011 study in the Journal of Labor Research showed that collective bargaining rights for community college faculty increased
salaries by 3 percent. The bills did not include increased funding for community colleges if new unions forced colleges to pay their workers more. Lindsay said that cost would “fall on the backs of our students.” More than 500 U.S. colleges and universities had faculty unions in 2012, according to the proposal.
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8 | Campus Current | 2018 | April
Campus Life
Profs put Earth 1st on campus Sarah Noble Social Media Manager Karen Israel’s office is filled with recycled items. Shelves are lined with nutrition books and objects she’s found a second use for, like her recycled notepads, made from old, cut-up academic integrity forms, and mason jars filled with office supplies. “I find that most things have another life,” she said. On top of her file cabinet, three cups hold old plastic cutlery and chopsticks next to ceramic mugs. Every time Israel eats lunch at a school event, like at orientation, she saves the plastic silverware for future uses. She said some of the plastic forks she has are “probably five years old.” Below her desk, she keeps an old paper box as a recycling bin. Even after she puts materials in the box for recycling, she still tries to find other ways to use them. Israel, a nutrition professor, is not only environmentally conscious at work, but at home, too. She has had a compost bin behind her house for a decade. Like Israel, other professors are environmentally conscious. Kelly McBride, an instructional coordinator for
science, said she has drastically changed her shopping habits over the past years. McBride purchases items in bulk and, when she can, foods without packaging. “You have to take care of the environment, and a lot of that is by recycling,” she said. “I’m aware of it now. I’m aware of all of the resources.” Down the hall from McBride, chemistry professor Maureen Sherer thinks about how to teach her students to help the environment. “As a chemist, I’m very interested in environmental chemistry and what we can do,” she said. In her Chemistry 112 class, she tries to relate topics to the environment because “students love it.” “They are always interested when the subject pertains to real life and things they care about and things that are in the news,” Sherer said. Sherer said she tries putting an emphasis on how much humans affect greenhouse gases by burning fossil fuels and creating carbon dioxide. “We human beings alter the natural environment. We have to talk about these serious subjects.” Around campus, students can see some of the
Nutrition professor Karen Israel has filled her office with items she has found a second use for, like Mason jars, plastic silverware and paper products. Photo by Sarah Noble eco-friendly features. In 2011, the college put in the overhead solar panels across Parking Lot B as a part of Project Sunburst. Physics professor Eric Fons said the college should add more solar panels across campus. “There has been a reasonable amount of interest in sustainability but there’s always more that could be done,” he said. Fons takes his students outside to explain how the panels work. But he said he believes the college should move faster to be more environmentally friendly. Outside of his work at AACC, Fons and biology professor Paul Bushmann are heavily involved in research
Black Male Initiative helps minority youth Raquel Hamner Photography Editor
“[BMI] gives me a sense of home away from home,” Rogers said. “Having people on Minority men planning your side is such a big part of to attend AACC can receive this journey.” scholarships, attend retreats Olorunjuwon Ajayi, a and find community support. second-year engineering stuDespite its name, the dent, found out about the Black Male Initiative is for all BMI while participating in a minority men, Leon Thom- summer program at AACC. as, BMI’s program manager “I got help from advisers and coordinator, said. for classes, tips on time manThomas and former agement and how to adjust Dean of Student Services to the college environment,” Ivan Harrel started BMI in he said. “My favorite part is spring 2011 to help young knowing I’m not doing this men “transition from high alone. There is always someschool to college,” especially one who can give advice and if they struggle academically, guide us.” Thomas said. Students in the program Torrington Rogers, a sec- can receive an incentive ond-year transfer studies scholarship of up to $1,000, student, entered the pro- participate in the annugram shortly after enrolling al BMI leadership retreat, at AACC when he was 13. and form connections with
administration, faculty and staff. To join BMI, students must be college freshmen and qualify for SASP—the Student Achievement and Success Program. To qualify, students must meet one of the following criteria: their parents do not have bachelor’s degrees; they are required as freshmen to take at least one developmental course; they qualify for financial aid on the FAFSA— Free Application for Federal Student Aid—form; they belong to a minority group; or they are military or veteran students. Minority high school students interested in attending AACC can join the BMI Early Arrival program, a one-day event that introduces stu-
on the Chesapeake Bay. Since 2013, Fons has worked on coastal beach profiles, coastal erosion surveys and numerical analyses on the Chesapeake Bay. He said global climate change might be causing the bay to erode in several areas in southern Maryland. In the summer, other faculty members and students work alongside Fons and Bushmann to calculate the population shifts in horseshoe crabs. “Some students [care] and some don’t,” he said. First-year engineering student Emily Billings said the college should be more environmentally conscious. Billings said she would like to see more recycling
bins in the Dragun Science building hallways. She also pointed to her 23-ounce, plastic Deer Park water bottle. “I bring this water bottle to school every day and go through about three of these, and probably two out of three of them go into the trash bins” because of the lack of recycling containers, she said. Billings suggested the college should give students reusable water bottles. And Israel said there is “so much more we could do.” She suggested designing new courses on composting and bringing in speakers to talk about recycling. “It’s just so important for us to do,” she said.
Program Manager Leon Thomas talks with minority students and community members during the Black Male Initiative Summit on campus in February. Photo by Daniel Salomon dents to staff and faculty. To be a part of the early arrival program, students
must apply to the college and RSVP to the orientation by July 30.
April 2018 | Campus Current | 9
Campus Life
Showing films violates US law Daniel Salomon Digital Editor Clubs at AACC may have unknowingly shown movies illegally and violated copyright law. “Using a film for a club is something that we can’t do without paying the rights holder,” Cynthia Steinhoff, director of the Truxal Library, said. The rights holder owns the copyright to the film, granting that person the exclusive right to use and distribute an artistic work. Steinhoff said some clubs like to show movies, but their officers aren’t aware that the way they’re viewing the films is a violation of copyright. Most rights holders will give others permission to show their films, though they may charge a fee. The rights to new movies can cost up to $600, accord-1 SU_CC_10x8-Ad042018.qxp_Layout ing to Steinhoff.
“You got to pay to play,” Steinhoff said. An instructor in a formal classroom can show parts of a film without permission, according to copyright law. But a professor who wants to show a whole movie needs to have a licensed version that allows for that, according to professor Kelly Koermer, a lawyer. Some clubs have advertised the movies without using their titles, but that doesn’t satisfy copyright law. The Coalition for Christian Outreach, for example, showed “Arrival,” a 2016 film about aliens, according to Isaac Vineyard, a minister who advises the Coalition’s campus chapter. “We contacted the Office of Student Engagement, and we were told that if we wanted to advertise a movie— specifically using plot, actors or the name of the movie— we had to PM have a public per3/22/18 12:21 Page 1 formance license,” Vineyard
Watching a movie outside of a classroom could be a violation of copyright if the club showing the film does not pay for performance rights. Photo by Raquel Hamner said. “But if we didn’t advertise in those ways, we were allowed to show the movie.” Later, Vineyard recalled, “I looked up what the actual law is, and it seems like we were breaking the law.” In response to the allegation, Chris Storck–director of the Office of Student Engagment–said “that was our position previously … [but] that is no longer our policy.” Instruction librarian Brandy Whitlock told Campus Current adviser Sharon O’Malley that showing historical journalism films outside of the classroom without paying for performance
rights would be a violation of copyright law. Campus Current canceled a planned film series. “We’re all writers and artists; we have reporters and photographers and graphic designers,” O’Malley said. “We publish a product that we sweat over; we stay till 2 in the morning doing this. We really, really work on this, and it’s copyrighted. I don’t want anyone to steal that without permission, and I don’t want to steal from another artist without permission.” AACC copyright policy does not specifically address the showing of movies, but it
does say: “The rights of the owner of copyrighted material shall be respected and not be infringed.” Some rights holders will agree to let a campus show a movie for educational purposes. Storck gave the example of a group that wanted to show the documentary “13TH” for Black History Month. The group got permission from the movie’s official website to screen it one time for free in an educational setting. Clubs that want to pay for rights can contact a film distribution center or ask the Office of Student Engagement to do so for them.
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10 | Campus Current | 2018 | April
Campus Life
Special topics classes available for fall term Alexandra Radovic Associate Editor AACC students can learn about President Donald Trump’s relationship with the media, horror in popular literature and fake news by taking special topics classes next fall. One special topics class that students can take for the first time next fall is called “American Nightmares.” English professor Brian Riley, who will teach the course, said it will focus on analyzing popular best-selling horror fiction novels that highlight a darker side of American life, such as “Psycho,” “Silence of The Lambs” and “The Exorcist.” “The literature covered in the course is very well known, and a lot of them have become movies,” Riley said. “Why are these such iconic or touchstone works, and what does that say about our culture?”
Riley said he had the public today, according to idea for the class because in English professor Timothy his more traditional English May, who is teaching the classes, Gothic literature, by course for the last time this authors like Edgar Allen Poe, semester. is usually the most popular Although they aren’t speamong students. cial topics classes, some on“It seemed like there was going classes are based on a real interest, and a lot of relevancy as well. students read horror fiction A communications class, and want to talk about it,” he “Current Events in Globsaid. al Context,” is Riley, like “It seemed like already on the any professor there was a real books as a reguwho wish- interest, and a lot lar class, but the es to teach a topic changes of students read special topics every time it is class, has to horror fiction and taught. want to talk get approvAccording to about it.” al from his journalism prodepartment fessor Sharon —Dr. Brian Riley and from the O’Malley, who faculty-run Educational Pol- will teach the course this fall, icies and Curriculum com- the topic is going to be “presmittee. idents and the press.” Another special topics O’Malley said the course course, called “The Works of will deal with the relationJohn Milton: Rebellion, Rev- ship between the White olution and Regicide,” focus- House and the media—today es on how the author’s hatred and throughout history. of tyranny is relevant to the “In the fall, we will be in
Did you know?
The floor in the CALT building represents the shoreline of Anne Arundel County On the main floor of the CALT building, visitors can see an abstract map of the Anne Arundel County shoreline. The darker shading represents beaches and shores around the water. The lighter color depicts the water. A star on the map represents the Arnold location of AACC. The school installed the map during construction in fall 2004.
Reporting and photo by Sarah Noble
English professor Brian Riley will teach the upcoming special topics course “American Nightmares,” about horror in popular culture. Photo by Daniel Salomon an election cycle and the midterm elections are going to reflect on the popularity of the president,” said O’Malley. According to O’Malley, the course will also focus on how the leaders of other countries interact with the media. O’Malley said the course also will touch on fake news,
a topic covered in a special topics class, “Calling Out Bullshit.” That class covers how to spot falsehoods and misrepresentation in advertising, medicine, news and politics. Philosophy professor David Tengwall will run that class for the second time next fall.
have been here,” second-year graphic design student Katie Bradfield said. “I have also used the Adobe products with the discounted rate as soon as I heard about it.” SUN 225 has a food pantry where students in need can pick up free food. The Health Center offers free tampons, sanitary pads, cough drops, Band-Aids, condoms and dental dams. Those with an AACC student ID can get discounts on campus at Subway and Chick-fil-A. “Having a student ID is something that I have always
had [since] I found out that I could get discounts with it,” second-year transfer studies student Bryan Howard said. The discount at the AACC Subway is 15 percent for students who show their ID cards. Free emergency services from Public Safety are available during school hours students who run out of gas or have a flat tire, dead car battery or other mechanical issue on campus. AACC employs two mechanics—Ivan Knee and Mike Engels—to help with such emergencies.
Students have access to free stuff on campus Mary Kane Graphic Designer Anne Arundel Community College students have access to free campus services and health products and to discounted tickets for off-campus events. Discounted tickets to the National Aquarium in Baltimore and to local movie theaters and museums are available through the Office of Student Engagement in SUN 225. Students who can’t afford to pay for textbooks may be eligible for discounted ones. The library also lends textbooks to students who use them in that building. And the bookstore can offer discounts on Microsoft Office programs. “The bookstore works very closely with the faculty to help with reduced textbook costs,” Executive Director of Public Relations and Marketing Dan Baum said. Adobe products, Hulu, FedEx, Apple and Spotify also offer discounts to students. “I have used the Spotify discount for as long as I
Condoms, lubricant and dental dams are some things students can get for free at the Health Center in SUN. Photo by Daniel Salomon
April 2018 | Campus Current |11
Campus Life
AACC students say they feel secure on campus Daniel Salomon Digital Editor Just weeks after the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, students at AACC said they don’t think it could happen here. In an informal poll of 10 students, most said they feel the campus is safe because of constant patrols by campus Public Safety officers. “I’m generally not too worried about [a shooting],” Luke Adams, a fourth-year transfer studies student, said. “It’s nice to see the security guards all over the place.” According to Police Chief Sean Kapfhammer, if a shooting does happen here, the campus is prepared. Kapfhammer said all employees on campus take active shooter training, which teaches them to run if they hear gunshots; how to hide in a classroom if a
shooter is close; and how to disarm a shooter if one comes into a room. AACC’s Department of Public Safety and Police posted an active shooter safety video at aacc.edu/ campus-safety. In addition, if an active shooter is on AACC’s campus, Public Safety calls all campus phones; sends texts and emails to all students; sends messages to all computers; and sounds a siren located at the top of the Truxal Library. “If something occurs on campus … we are trained to make a direct entry and eliminate the threat, and in the unlikelihood [a shooting] should happen, that’s what we’re going to do,” Kapfhammer said. And if a shooting were to occur on campus, AACC has resources in place to help cope with the aftermath. AACC has three counselors on campus available to
discuss any problem a student might have. Students may visit a counselor up to three times for every one problem. Each session is about an hour long. Students can schedule appointments at 410-777-7111. “It’s a safe space to come and process the emotions that you’re feeling and to process some of the confusion that you might be experiencing,” Diane Passero, a personal and career counselor, said. According to nurse Loretta Lawson-Munsey, the Health Center has a “StressLess Room,” which has a massage chair, relaxing music and DVDs, and other chairs where students can take naps for up to 20 minutes. “It doesn’t feel real,” Kim Tran, a first-year nursing student, said. “… You think [a shooting’s] not going to happen to you … but you never know.” “I’ve never felt unsafe
Students say they don’t worry about their safety on campus because of constant police patrols. Shown, Officer Duane Gottschalk. Photo by Sarah Noble here, but you can’t really prepare for tragic situations like that,” Madelin Stiegman, a fourth-year nursing student, said. “There’s only so much you can do.” Maryland law requires each local school system to develop and implement an
annual schedule of drills for each school within the system. In addition to fire drills, the state requires six others: evacuation, reverse evacuation, severe weather, shelter in place, drop, cover, and hold and lockdown.
AACC students and faculty joined marchers from around the country in Washington, D.C., and Annapolis on March 24 to protest gun violence.
Gender and sexuality studies professor Heather Rellihan marches with students.
Photo by Suzanne Spoor
Campus Current photography editor Raquel Hamner takes photos of the crowd.
Photo by Roxanne Ready
Photo by Mea Lee
Five-year-old Yu-Mi Lee, who attends the campus Child Development Center, joins her mother, AACC librarian Mea Lee, at the march.
Photo by Roxanne Ready
March for Our Lives
Photo by Emily Clancy
Photo by Edgar Salomon
AACC English professors Suzanne Spoor and Rob Hurd and gender and sexuality studies professor Richard Otten march in Annapolis.
AACC students Roxanne Ready, Raquel Hamner, Sanyee Barjagar, Daniel Salomon, Fernando Aguilera and Scout Bender join other marchers in D.C.
Jump Start student Ruth Stimely (third from left) marches with her father and friends.
12 | Campus Current | 2018 | April
Campus Life
Student veterans face distinctive challenges Michael Garvey Newsroom Manager
Fun and Games
Student veterans encounter unique difficulties that faculty sometimes overlook, veterans on campus told Campus Current. Veteran undergraduate students make up 4 percent of the national student body, according to the National Council of State Legislatures. A small population means their unique needs can fall through the cracks. A common reason veterans decide to attend college is “because they didn’t have any formal training in the military with a job that would translate in the civilian workforce,” said Harlan Harrell, AACC’s military/ veterans student success and retention adviser. “I decided to go to college because being a grunt isn’t a job in regular society,” said Drew Chrostowski, an Army veteran and
first-year business administration student. “They retrain me to have another job because of my disabilities from the Army,” said Mike Kulikowski, a second-year homeland security student. “I picked homeland security [as a major] because it’s close to what I did in the military.” Veteran students make up a subculture that brings their unique experiences and challenges to the classroom. “I don’t want people getting the wrong impression that every vet is going to go postal, but there are a lot of vets who have a lot of different problems,” said Kulikowski, who is a peer adviser at AACC’s Military/ Veteran Resource Center. “Some have a low tolerance for stupidity. Sometimes it’s an anger management thing. Any little thing can usually trigger a vet to outburst.” Ben Beares, a sec-
ond-year homeland security student who serves in the Army National Guard, has difficulty when “students give speeches on things they don’t understand”— like suicide. “I lost a significant amount of buddies in my unit to that,” he said. He said he held in his frustration until he could speak after class to the student presenter who talked about suicide. Student veterans have to deal with classmates and professors who misunderstand their military service. Harrell recalls a time at AACC’s Arundel Mills campus when students vandalized a veteran’s car after they recognized him from an HBO documentary about his unit in Afghanistan. On another occasion “a veteran wrote about the war [for a class project] and [faculty] tried to turn him in for student conduct like he was going to do something,
The Military/Veteran Resource Center in the library is open every weekday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Photo by Daniel Salomon
when basically he was just writing about his military experience,” Harrell said. “My biggest stressor is restraining my opposing views in class,” Chrostowski said. “I’ve had professors say things like, ‘You’re not a real soldier; you didn’t serve in the real military.’ These are people who never served, making comments about somebody’s branch [and saying] ‘baby killer.’” One of the biggest mistakes veterans attending AACC make is “not reaching out to fellow veterans,” Harrell said. “I tend to find them after they get in trouble. After they get reported for talking
about killing in class.”
“I’d encourage veterans to visit the Veterans Resource Center,” Beares said. “It’s a good source. Utilize the benefits and assets we have here.” The Veteran Center is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Room 112 of the library. To help bridge the gap of understanding, AACC offers a course called “Meet the Military Learner” for faculty and staff, Harrell said, “to talk about these transitional challenges and educate the faculty and staff, so they can have good classroom management.”
My Daily Coffee Routine
?
Looking for answers? Check TheCampusCurrent.com on April 6.
?
Step 1: Wake up early and have a fresh cup of coffee to start my day right.
Step 2: But there is still loads of work left to do. So have another cup.
Step 3: Whoops! Forgot about that big project due today. More to keep motivated!
Step 4: Starting to crash midday? Spend even more cash on coffee.
Step 5: Realizing I had too much coffee and cant sleep.
Step 6: Wake up and start the cycle again.
Comic by AACC graphic design student Caitlin Carpenter
April 2018 | Campus Current | 13
Sports
AACC athletes look up to famous sports icons Vincent Moreland Sports Editor
To Men’s Soccer right wing Isaiah Goodman, pro soccer player Paul Pogba, 24, of Manchester United is someone to look up to. “He’s very versatile, very hard working and dedicated to the sport,” Goodman says of the French athlete. “And it’s amazing to see what he’s accomplished at such a young age. He’s an uprising legend. He makes [me] what I am today, a very dangerous baller on both ends, defense and offense. He does both. He’s great.” Like Goodman, other AACC athletes say they look up to professional athletes who play the same sports as they do. Some point to the stars’ performance on the court or field, while others admire their charity work and personalities. Second-year soccer player and transfer studies stu-
dent Edgar Odenbo says his favorite athlete is Wayne Rooney, another well-known soccer player who also plays in the Premier League. Rooney is second all-time in goals scored in that English soccer league. Rooney plays for Everton. “Back in the day, he was versatile and he could play anywhere on the field,” says Odenbo, a midfielder. Second-year basketball player Terry Kenner says he looks up to basketball great LeBron James. James has three championships under his belt and he has led the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers to the NBA Finals for seven consecutive years. “He’s a leader,” Kenner, a guard, says. “He leads his team and he’s a hard worker. He works hard for everything that he gets. He looks out for his team.” Some athletes say they admire athletes who play sports other than their own.
First-year lacrosse player and criminal justice student Camden Stramanak says his favorite athlete is Pittsburgh Penguins hockey player Evgeni Malkin, an alternate captain who has won three championships with the team. “Even though he doesn’t speak much English, he does his talking by skating through people and putting a puck in the back of the net,” Stramanak says. Lacrosse captain Dylan Morton, an attackman, says he looks up to Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. “I love his attitude, his work ethic and the way he looks at life,” says Morton, a second-year student. “I love his leadership on the field even though he’s retired now. I love how he donates to charities and gives back.” Lewis is a two-time Super Bowl champion and a Pro-Football Hall of Fame inductee, and many consider
Second-year basketball player Terry Kenner says Lebron James is the sports icon he looks up to. Photo courtesy of Flickr user Keith Allison him the best Ravens leader of all time. Second-year defense/ long stick midfield lacrosse player Justin Walsh says he looks up to another former Raven, wide receiver Torrey Smith. “He’s just a great overall guy,” Walsh says. “He’s not the best wide receiver in the
league. But he’s still one of the better guys in the league that are role models off the field.” Smith has hosted a charity basketball game in March for six consecutive years. The money from the game went to holiday meals, gifts and scholarships for financially struggling families.
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14 | Campus Current | 2018 | April
Sports
AACC athlete receives recognition for talents Vincent Moreland Sports Editor First-year Women's Basketball guard/forward Daja Burnett has won three regional and national designations for her athletic and academic performance. “Daja is a top-class athlete,” Athletics Director Duane Herr said. “She is a top-class human being. ... We’re just proud to have her in our uniform.” The Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference—or MD JUCO—named Burnett to its 2017-18 All-Conference Women's Basketball team. Burnett said she learned
she made the team on social media before Women’s Basketball coach Lionell Makell had a chance to tell her. “I was excited,” said Burnett. “The first person I told was my mom.” Burnett also made the National Junior College Athletic Association’s All-Tournament team for her performance during the Region 20 tournament in February, as well as its All-Region First Team for outstanding athletics and academics. Burnett, a music business student, averaged 18.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game during the season. She made 40.8 percent of her
shots. She ranks fifth among Women’s Basketball players at Maryland’s 16 community colleges for points per game. The athletic conferences base their All-Region and All-Conference teams on the student athlete’s performance in games and in the classroom. The All-Tournament team reflects performance during a specific tournament. Burnett recorded six double-doubles this season and scored a season high 35 points in the game against Community College of Baltimore County-Catonsville. She said she has a 3.5 GPA. She said she plans to at-
tend Middle Tennessee State University next fall. “I wish she was returning to our program,” Makell said. “The sky is the limit for her.” “She was very passionate about the game,” Burnett’s teammate and second-year cyber-security student Cailin Jones said. “I could definitely feel it every time she
passed me one of her bullet passes.” Two other Riverhawks won honorable mentions on the team: guard Jordan Graham, a second-year exercise science student, for Women’s Basketball; and guard Terry Kenner, a first-year business management student, for Men’s Basketball.
AACC is lowering the grade-point average it requires for some student athletes. Athletes who have completed one semester of college must show a GPA of 1.75 to play on a sports team in their second semester. That’s down from the 2.0 GPA the college previously required. Second-year athletes still have to maintain a 2.0 GPA to stay on their teams. The change for freshmen is in line with the requirements of the National Junior
College Athletic Association. Dr. Amy Allen-Chabot, chair of AACC’s Academic Forum/Council, announced the decision at the February meeting of AACC’s Board of Trustees. “We want to be consistent with what other colleges are doing,” Allen-Chabot said at the meeting. Some members of Men’s Lacrosse said the lower GPA will help recruit and keep players on their team. “We would get a lot more players,” said second-year defenseman Justin Walsh. A few students who hoped to play Men’s Lacrosse
this season are ineligible because their GPAs are too low, or they haven’t taken the 12 credits of classes they need to qualify, Walsh said. “It would definitely be a lot easier,” said second-year player Charles Ellis. “You wouldn’t have to focus more on your academics—even though you should.” “‘Student first, athlete second,’” he added, quoting a favorite saying of AACC coaches. Team captain Dylan Morton, a second-year student, said the team would be better if the GPA requirement were lower.
sanitized its synthetic field twice in the last eight years, most recently last summer. In addition, the turf field gets a monthly grooming. “We have had no incidents of infections reported from the turf,” said Bigelow. “I think if we saw that there was a reason to do it more often, then we would. … Our players’ and our student athletes’ safety is our No. 1 focus.” The Maryland Chapter of the Sierra Club suggests natural grass playing fields. But although it is less expensive to install a natural field, annual maintenance costs are higher: about
$30,000 compared with $4,000, according to the Maryland legislation. AACC athletes said they aren’t concerned with getting staph infections and said they weren’t aware that any of the materials in the turf may be harmful. “You can get staph from the turf, I heard, but I didn’t know there were any other health risks,” said first-year soccer player Isaiah Goodman. Second-year Men’s Lacrosse captain Dylan Morton said he did not know turf made from crushed tires carried health risks. “I’ve played sports almost
New GPA requirement will take effect next fall Vincent Moreland Sports Editor
Lacrosse players Payton Baronella-O’Toole and MacKenzie Schwartz practice for a game. Some athletes will have lower GPA requirements next fall. Photo by Raquel Hamner
First-year Women’s Basketball guard/forward Daja Burnett wins awards for her performance this season. Photo by Vincent Moreland
Turf is unhealthy, some claim Continued from Page 1 fields and playgrounds all over the country. Manufacturers have promoted it as durable and easy to maintain, but some question the safety of its ingredients. The black rubber beads that make the turf bouncy and support the plastic grass-like blades are made of pulverized tires. According to the Sierra Club—a national environmental advocacy organization—tire rubber is a mix of synthetic and natural rubber, petroleum and other chemicals that are known to cause cancer in humans. “[Tires] can’t even be
stored in landfills,” said Ginger Macomber, senior assistant to Del. Aruna Miller, D-Montgomery County. “Tires and other plastics indisputably include alarming contents like lead, mercury, 11 known human carcinogens [and] others.” There is no scientific consensus as to whether contact with synthetic turf actually causes cancer. Still, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shown that turf, if not properly sanitized, may transfer staph infections to athletes who play on it. Interim Athletics Director Keith Bigelow said AACC has
Lawmakers may decide not to pay for synthetic turf on school fields because of health concerns. Photo by Raquel Hamner my whole life, and I’ve never heard about that,” he said. If state legislators pass House Bill 505 and Senate Bill 763, the law would take effect July 1 and would affect any project for which money has not yet been allocated by the state.
April 2018 | Campus Current | 15
Sports
April Schedule Softball Wed. 4
Baseball
at Harford Community College at Harford Community College
Sat. 7
at Rowan College at Gloucester County
Mon. 9
at Chesapeake College at Chesapeake College
at Rowan College at Gloucester County
Wed. 11
at College of Southern Maryland at College of Southern Maryland CCBC Catonsville
Thur. 12
CCBC Catonsville
Sat. 14
Frederick Community College Frederick Community College
Sun. 15 Mon. 16 Wed. 18
at Butler County Community College - PA at Butler County Community College - PA
at Westmoreland County Community College 12:00 p.m. at Westmoreland County Community College 2:00 p.m. vs. Northern Virginia Community College @ TBA vs. Northern Virginia Community College @ TBA
Fri. 20
Delaware Technical Community College Delaware Technical Community College
Sat. 21
Rappahannock Community College Rappahannock Community College
Fri. 27 Sat. 28 Sun. 29
3:00 p.m. Tue. 3 5:00 p.m. Thur. 5 12:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. Sat. 7 3:00 p.m. Tue. 10 5:00 p.m. 3:00 p.m. Sat. 14 5:00 p.m. Sun. 15 3:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. Tue. 17 11:00 a.m. Thur. 19 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. Sat. 21 3:00 p.m.
T.B.A. (DIII Region 20 Tournament @ AACC) T.B.A. (DIII Region 20 Tournament @ AACC) T.B.A. (DIII Region 20 Tournament @ AACC)
Men’s Lacrosse
Wed. 25 3:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. Thur. 26 3:30 p.m. Fri. 27 5:30 p.m. Sun. 29 1:00 p.m. 3:00 p.m. T.B.A.. Tue. 3 T.B.A.. Tue. 10 T.B.A.. Thur. 12 Tue. 17
6:00 p.m. Thur. 19 5:00 p.m. Tue. 24 T.B.A.. Sat. 28
Mon. 9 Fri. 13 Tue. 24
vs. Northern Virginia Community College
Fri. 27
vs. T.B.A. @ Howard Community College Region 20 Tournament Semifinals
T.B.A..
vs. T.B.A. @ Howard Community College Region 20 Tournament Championship
T.B.A..
Sun. 29
Sat. 21
at CCBC Catonsville T.B.A. @ Region 20 Highest Seed Region 20 Tournament Quarterfinals
Mon. 30
3:30 p.m.
Cecil College
3:30 p.m. vs. Montgomery College @ U.S. Naval Academy 12:00 p.m. vs. Montgomery College @ U.S. Naval Academy 3:00 p.m. CCBC Dundalk 3:30 p.m. Lehigh Carbon Community College 12:00 p.m. Lehigh Carbon Community College 2:30 p.m. at Delaware Technical Community College 12:00 p.m. at Delaware Technical Community College 3:00 p.m. at Harford Community College 6:30 p.m. at CCBC Essex
3:30 p.m.
Prince George's Community College Frederick Community College Frederick Community College at Shenandoah University, VA - JV at Shenandoah University, VA - JV
12:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m.
at Camden County College at CCBC Dundalk Harford Community College at College of Southern Maryland at College of Southern Maryland
3:30 p.m. 12:00 p.m. 2:30 p.m.
Women’s Lacrosse Monroe Community College
4:00 p.m.
at College of Southern Maryland
5:00 p.m.
at Howard Community College
4:00 p.m.
at Harford Community College
5:00 p.m.
Frederick Community College at CCBC Essex
4:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m.
vs. T.B.A. @ Region 20 Highest Seed Region 20 Tournament Quarterfinals
T.B.A..
vs. T.B.A. @ Harford Community College Region 20 Tournament Semifinals
T.B.A..
Men’s Golf College of Southern Maryland
Thur. 5
Hosted at Swan Point Golf Course
Thur. 12 Thur. 19
Thur. 26
Allegany College of Maryland Hosted at Cumberland Country Club Garrett College Hosted at Wisp Resort
12:00 p.m. 12:00 p.m.
MD JUCO Championship Hosted by Hagerstown Community College at Beaver Creek Country Club
Riverhawk Report
12:00 p.m.
For scores and more information visit aaccathletics.com
12:00 p.m.
Riverhawk Report: A Campus Current Podcast
a podcast
News | Interviews | Beats Located on the Campus Current website under “Podcast” TheCampusCurrent.com
16 | Campus Current | 2018 | April
George has to perform tonight. The problem is, he doesn’t remember his lines.
BY
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Nig h Ch tm ris a
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Every actor’s worst nightmare comes true in this hilarious one-act by Christopher Durang.
to re ph er Du r
Plus, he’s pretty sure he’s an accountant.
an g
Or ever having attended a rehearsal.
Oth
Why do performers put themselves through the agonies of endless rejection, stage fright, self-absorbed divas and the minefield of public opinion?
er
A Mu sical
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Thea
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ta
ter R e
vue
Experience this hilarious, moving evening of musical theater revue as we turn our lens back on ourselves for an inspiring performance you’ll be sure to remember.
A DOUBLE-FEATURE NIGHT OF THEATER AT AACC!
Or what play he’s performing.
8 P.M. FRIDAY AND SATURDAY: APRIL 20, 21, 27 and 28 2 P.M. SUNDAY: APRIL 22 and 29 • HUMANITIES BUILDING, ROOM 112 TICKETS: $20 general admission $15 faculty, staff, senior citizens and students $10 AACC students, advance sales only $15 all students after April 20 CONTACT: AACC Box Office at 410-777-2547 or boxoffice@aacc.edu
Notice of Nondiscrimination: AACC is an equal opportunity, affirmative action, Title IX, ADA Title 504 compliant institution. Call Disability Support Services, 410-777-2306 or Maryland Relay 711, 72 hours in advance to request most accommodations. Requests for sign language interpreters, alternative format books or assistive technology require 30 days’ notice. For information on AACC’s compliance and complaints concerning sexual assault, sexual misconduct, discrimination or harassment, contact the federal compliance officer and Title IX coordinator at 410-777-1239, complianceofficer@aacc.edu or Maryland Relay 711. 3/18