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Campus to fill OSE positions Christian Richey Editor-in-Chief

The college is searching for job candidates to fill the vacant positions in the Office of Student Engagement that oversee student clubs and campus events, and will begin a national search for a new director of student engagement within a few weeks.

In the meantime, Dean of Student Engagement Tiffany Boykin said, club presidents can contact her to resolve

their issues as she and Student Engagement’s basic needs coordinator, Caitlin Silver, take over the duties of the director, who left the post in mid-February.

Former Director Leon Thomas III, who held the position for about a year, said he left AACC to finish his Ph.D. Officers and members of student clubs have complained that the office has not kept up with club finances, including requests for bill payments, purchases and reimbursements, for

Student Government Association President Mitchell Santos (left) says an understaffed Office of Student Engagement has left the Nest inefficient.

Photo by Daniel Salomon several months.

Boykin acknowledged that “there have been clubs and organizations who have

not had a very positive experience with respect to getting some of their transactions and planning done. There

20 there’s a reason for that,” English and gender studies professor Suzanne Spoor said. In writing classes, for example, "the professor would need a lot more one-on-one time with a student," she said.

The number of students the college allows in each online class has increased to 25.

Photo by Jake Brannon

Size of online classes grows to 25 students Christian Richey Editor-in-Chief

AACC increased online class sizes to a maximum of 25 this spring, up from 20 in prior semesters.

Vice President for Learning Mike Gavin said the

change allows more students to take classes rather than sign up for waitlists.

But some faculty objected to the higher class sizes, saying professors will not be able to spend as much time with each student.

“If a class was capped at

Credit Students Per Fiscal Year

Credit Students Enrolled

30000

25000

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Fiscal Year

Enrollment has been declining since 2011, college officials say.

Graphic by Mackenzie Airey

Continued on page 3

Enrollment at AACC decreases over time Christian Richey Editor-in-Chief

20000

15000

Continued on page 3

are a number of factors that have contributed to that and

Enrollment at AACC has decreased 28% since 2011, according to the vice president for learner support services.

According to Dr. Felicia Patterson, community college enrollment typically de-

creases when the economy is strong.

“Enrollment tends to be very cyclical,” Patterson said.

“It increased significantly during the recession, which is quite typical for community colleges. … Many individuals will return to college to either gain additional skills or … to pursue their careers.”

Patterson noted that enrollment typically stabilizes after a recession.

But enrollments in all community colleges have been slow to pick up, Patterson said. And the college could lose more students as the number of high school Continued on page 3

2 | Campus Current | 2020 | March

Editorial

Meet the Staff

Make change through votes Editorial Board

Editor-in-Chief Christian Richey Daily Editors Jacob Dear Adrianna Gonzalez Graphics Editor Mackenzie Airey Sports Editor Jake Brannon Photo Editor Daniel Salomon Reporters Johannes Haasbroek Jacob Hudson Brayden Nazarian Photographers Graig Bracey Ryan Kim Gage Savoy Faculty Adviser Sharon O’Malley

Photographers on Page 1, top Daniel Salomon Jacob Hudson Christian Richey Twitter @campus_current Facebook Facebook.com/ CampusCurrentPaper Instagram campuscurrentaacc

Contact 410-777-2296 CampusCurrent @gmail.com Advertising Manager Mason Hood 410-777-2803 CampusCurrentAdverts @gmail.com

101 College Parkway Arnold, MD 21012

The 2020 presidential election is getting closer every day, and it already feels stressful as we wait to see who will challenge the president.

If you’re not registered to vote or have been hesitant for whatever reason, reconsider.

We live in a volatile time in this country and our voices need to be heard.

As we approach one of the most important elections of our time, you must ask yourself if you want to be left in the dust on the sidelines of history.

If you want to help, then be a part of the change you want to see and register to vote.

Voting is one of the most important rights we have in a democracy and it is the most powerful tool to have your opinion heard.

Some may say that a

Staff Column

system that includes the Electoral College is flawed, but don’t let that discourage you.

The system may have failed us in the past but we can overcome it through an overwhelming swell of support.

We’ve already seen four states make their decisions while ours is still on the horizon.

The Maryland primaries are coming on April 28 and you can help decide who will be the nominee to take on the president.

Learn about the candidates, listen to what they have to say and create an informed opinion.

These last four years have weakened the freedoms of Muslims, LGBTQ people and Hispanic immigrants.

We’ve seen threats of cuts to healthcare while military spending balloons as we fear new wars and potential conflicts.

Students who register to vote could affect the outcome of the upcoming presidential election.

Photo by Jonathan Rogers/Associated Collegiate Press We’ve seen how powerful a single party can become, even though it controls only half of Congress, and we’ve seen a president who, for all intents and purposes, seems above the law.

These issues sit at the top of our minds as we address them across all social media, either through intense discussion or just some memes your friends make.

This is your chance to make an impact toward the world you want to see.

Voting is only as useless as we allow it to be, but if we put the time and effort into it, it can mean so much more than institutions like the Electoral College make it seem.

It only takes a few minutes to register online (https://voterservices.elections.maryland.gov) for something that will affect the next four years of all our lives and beyond.

So register to vote and change the world.

Let’s celebrate black history Christian Richey Editor-in-Chief

While I appreciate the college’s efforts, I feel AACC needs to do a better job representing its African-American student body during Black History Month.

In the Pascal Gallery in the Student Union building, a display containing documents, images and a video explaining the history of lynching in Anne Arundel County and Maryland went up at the end of January. The graphic details of 41 lynchings were on full display during what was coined a pre-Black History Month exhibit.

Black History Month on campus every February seems to revolve mostly around the painful history of black people in this country, or on some type of dialogue around race meant more for non-black students.

The college hosted a Race Card event, in which students were asked to put their thoughts on race into six words on a card and stick it to a wall. This culminated in a “Meeting of the Minds” dialogue on race, but to me

this serves no purpose in representing black history or serving the black members of this college.

I don’t feel the black student body here needs to be exposed to images of brutality or subjected to moderated, simple conversations around race. These seem to serve more as a history lesson for non-black students, and have the effect of bogging down in sadness what should be a celebration.

Black History Month should celebrate black history, not be used as a meditation on race.

Despite this, I did enjoy some parts of the school’s Black History Month celebration.

The Cade Center Gallery hosted an amazing exhibit called “Grey Matter: A Response to Blackness,” which featured haunting yet beautiful imagery about what it means to be African American, all from black artists.

Another exhibit went up in the Pascal Gallery as Black History Month started and was filled with items from throughout black history.

While it featured a few racially insensitive items, like a

Campus Current Editor-in-Chief Christian Richey would like to see more positive events during the school’s Black History Month celebrations.

Photo by Ryan Kim mammy doll, the display was dominated by beautiful African art.

These kinds of events should dominate AACC’s Black History Month festivities. And the celebration should go beyond gallery exhibits and include events featuring black art as showcased in film and music that highlight interesting parts of black history.

We should highlight the achievements of black people in this country, not just their anguish.

The history of African Americans in this country

was born from horror, and it is filled with it. However, Black History Month should serve to help us remember triumph through this pain, not scar us with images in remembrance of it.

To me, Black History Month is meant to be a month of celebration. It should be a celebration of black culture and black achievement spanning far past the history of chattel slavery.

Instead, here at AACC, it seems to serve only as a platform for black pain and a watered-down discussion of racial equality.

Campus Current | 2020 | March | 3

Faculty object to online caps Continued from page 1

classes,” he said.

According to Gavin, lowSpoor said the change er enrollment also led the could affect student success. college to increase online “If you add five students class sizes. to a class that was capped at Gavin said increasing the 20, you’re adding 25% more online caps allowed more students, which means those students to enroll in previstudents are not going to get ously full classes. In the past, the same kind of one-on-one he said, AACC sometimes attention that would add anthey would “Students are not other section going to get the need,” Spoor of the course said. same kind of one- with half the But Gavin on-one attention.” students. said the col- Professor Suzanne Spoor Opening lege had mulfewer additiple course sections with tional sections this semesstudents on waitlists who ter has saved the college might not have been able to $135,000, he said. take those classes without Gavin said enrollment the change. went from a 10% decrease Increasing class sizes going into the semester be“ensure[s] that students fore the change to a 5% dewould be able to take crease after.

College looks for OSE head

News

Some professors question acts Some faculty members have complained that college administrators should not have increased the size of online classes without consulting professors.

English professor Suzanne Spoor said some faculty members learned about the change only after seeing their student rosters.

“We thought it was a

mistake,” Spoor said. “A lot of people ... called up records and said, ‘Wait, why do I have five more students in here?’”

Spoor said the college is supposed to follow a policy of “shared governance.”

“It says in our [college] manual that [administrators] must give faculty time to consider decisions and

make plans for anything that affects faculty,” Spoor said.

Biology professor Tammy Domanski said the change could have been better communicated.

“I understand that it’s necessary,” Domanski said.

“I think the way it was implemented could have been done better.”

He said approximately 75% of online courses already enrolled 24 or 25 students last semester.

English professor Candice Hill said the increase could help some students, but a cap of 25 may be too high.

“I think in some classes, the class cap did need to be raised so that students have more access to seats in the class,” she said. “But I’m not sure that for all classes, the cap should be as high as it is.”

Communications professors have requested that their online classes, which require a high level of teacher-student interaction, be capped at 20 students rather than 25.

Gavin said some English and health sciences classes are exempt from the higher cap because the change would negatively affect student success.

Third-year electrical engineering student Matthew

Barzal said the change probably won't affect his success.

“I don’t see how it could be negative, really,” Barzal said. “Maybe if it was like 50 people per class, it would be."

Second-year engineering student Kevin Butler disagreed.

“I don’t really feel too good about [the cap increase] because AACC has that small class size, which … provides a better learning environment,” he said.

Continued from page 1

graduates coming to college continues to decline, she said.

Patterson said some high school graduates may focus on finding jobs rather than going to college.

AACC has increased its outreach to high school students in response to the dip in enrollment, Patterson said.

Vice President for Learning Mike Gavin said the dwindling enrollments led the college to increase the size of online courses this semester. Offering fewer, fuller sections, he said, is saving the college money.

Increasing online class sizes allowed 100 students to enroll in courses they would otherwise not have had access to, Gavin said.

Gavin said the college saved $135,000 because it did not have to open ad-

ditional sections of some courses to accommodate students on waitlists.

“Given the fact that we were so far down in enrollment … it was something that the institution [needed] to do in order to be fiscally responsible,” Gavin said.

Third-year history student Luke Vogel said the college seems emptier this semester than it has in previous years.

“I was here for … three years now and it’s a lot emptier than it used to be,” Vogel said.

Second-year biology student Nick Donnelly pointed to a downside of having fewer students on campus: less participation in clubs.

“I think the lessened enrollment means not a lot of people will be active in the social groups and in a lot of the student help centers,” Donnelly said.

AACC's Board of Trustees has approved a tuition increase for the next school year.

Tuition will increase by

$4 a credit hour, or an average of $48 for a full-time student taking 12 credits.

Read the story at www.

TheCampusCurrent.com.

Continued from page 1 we’ve put structures in place to address them.”

Bonsai Club founder Kevin Kohler, who had complained that the office had not paid a guest speaker who came to a club meeting, said Boykin has been working with him to resolve the issue.

Still, another club president, who spoke with Campus Current on the condition of anonymity, said the Nest—the online system that student groups use to request space for events and bill payments, hasn’t been working well.

That president said the sparse staff in Student Engagement “basically don’t seem to care and have been ignoring [our adviser’s] emails.”

SGA President Mitchell Santos said he found the criticism valid.

“Right now, the Nest is very difficult to run when there is no personnel to run it,” Santos, a second-year creative writing student, said. “We’re extremely understaffed in Student Engagement, and that means the Nest right now isn’t running very efficiently.”

SGA Executive Vice President Matthew Barzal said the Nest system has flaws.

The director of the Office of Student Engagement advises the SGA. Pictured, SGA President Mitchell Santos.

Photo by Daniel Salomon “Unfortunately, we are contractually bound to the Nest for right now,” Barzal, a third-year electrical engineering and Spanish student, said, “which is a bummer because we recognize that it has its faults. … That said, I know that the people in the Office of Student Engagement [are] working as hard as they can as much as they can.”

Aside from the director’s position, one of the main jobs in Student Engagement has been vacant since last spring and another has been empty since December.

The director manages

the office, which oversees clubs and events on campus.

In addition, Student Engagement runs AACC’s food pantry and Emergency Support Services, which helps connect students with emergency funds and other resources during crises.

The Student Engagement director also is the adviser for the Student Government Association.

The position "is a very critical position here at the college,” Boykin said. “The position is critical to our students’ experiences and … how they achieve their goals.”

Fewer taking AACC classes

Trustees hike tuition $4 per credit in ’21

4 | Campus Current | 2020 | March

News

AACC PD hires retired Baltimore detective Jacob Dear Daily Editor

A former Baltimore homicide detective became the second female officer on campus in August.

Officer Kimberly Starr served as a detective and special response team member in Baltimore for 25 years before retiring last March.

She joined the AACC police force in August.

Police Chief Sean Kapfhammer said he “knew when she was coming up that she’d be a great asset to our organization.”

He added: “I’ve known Kim for many years. We’ve worked in the Baltimore Police Department back in the early ’90s, and then for several years past the ’90s in various groups, so I know

Kim’s work. Her reputation precedes itself. She’s an excellent police officer.”

In her former role, Starr investigated fatal shootings.

On campus, she looks to see if students need help.

“I stay on the campus and I [help] if someone locks their keys in their car,” Starr said.

“You know [police officers on campus] can do things we never had time to do in the city. It’s very low key here, more relaxed, you know.

There’s less going on compared to what I’m used to.”

She said she doesn’t “really give … much thought” to being one of just two women police offers on campus. “I’m just an officer, like my male counterparts,” she said.

Students said the addition of another woman to the campus police force is a

positive move.

“It’s great to have female officers,” Kshitiz Karki, a firstyear physical therapy student, said. “It’s great to know that AACC puts more emphasis on diversity. It’s not about the gender; it’s about how good you are at your job.”

Business management student Sammy Daniel agreed.

“I think that’s dope because we need more female leaders on campus,” he said.

“And sometimes students feel very intimidated by a male … police officer, so maybe they’ll be more likely to listen to a female officer than a male officer.”

Kapfhammer said he chose Starr based on her skill, not her gender.

“I’d just want [students] to know that we choose offi-

system where students can access financial aid, class grades and schedules—with one that offers “a new look and feel [and] a better user experience.”

The new portal, called Self-Service, will offer the same self-service options as the existing one but will be more responsive and have a more mobile-friendly design than WebAdvisor, which the college is phasing

AACC will upgrade its self-service student portal next year.

Screenshot of Self-Service website

Online portal gets upgrade Christian Richey Editor-in-Chief

AACC students will have an easier time checking their grades online, applying for financial aid, registering for classes and reviewing their class schedules next spring.

Sheela Becton, AACC’s director of application services, said the college is replacing its 19-year-old student portal—an online

out, Becton said.

The decision to change portals came after Ellucian, the vendor that makes both online platforms, announced it will end support for WebAdvisor in 2022.

“We still have two years [to move to Self-Service] but because this is quite a large project and quite a large

Kimberly Starr, who served as a homicide detective in Baltimore, is one of two female officers on campus.

Photo by Jacob Dear cers on experience and also their temperament working in a college environment working with diverse groups of people,” Kapfhammer said. “We love for people to have friendly officers that would get along with every-

amount of features and functions that we need to transition, we’re getting started now,” Becton said.

Becton said she hopes to see the system in place by the end of 2021.

Second-year transfer studies student Dominic Fatzinger said WebAdvisor works well, but it looks old.

body, and I know that’s what we have with Kim.” Starr said students should “understand that police are also just regular people. If they are concerned about anything, please come talk to me.”

“I find it pretty easy to navigate," said Fatzinger, who added, “I feel like it definitely looks a little outdated.”

Idris Kaka, a first-year transfer studies student, said he welcomes the updated look. “I am curious to see what it [will look] like,” he said.

Transfering to 4-year? Here are the early deadlines School

Goucher College Johns Hopkins University Loyola (Maryland) University Maryland Institute College of Art Maryland University of Integ. Health McDaniel College Mount St. Mary’s University St John's College Bowie State University Coppin State University Morgan State University Salisbury University St. Mary's College of Maryland

Deadline May 1 March 1 March 15 Feb. 15 July 3 March 1 June 1 Jan. 15 June 1 May 1 Nov. 15 March 1 June 1

School Towson University University of Baltimore U. of Maryland, Baltimore County U. of Maryland College Park U. of Maryland Eastern Shore Capitol Technology University Hood College Notre Dame of Maryland University Stevenson University Washington Adventist University Washington College Frostburg State University U. of Maryland Global Campus

Deadline June 1 Jan. 15 Aug. 1 March 1 March 1 April 15 March 1 Rolling Admission Rolling Admission Rolling Admission Rolling Admission Rolling Admission Rolling Admission

Campus Current | 2020 | March | 5

News

Actors stand in for patients Christian Richey Editor-in-Chief

Cindy Huebler hurried into the hospital with complications related to her pregnancy. Nurses rushed her into the emergency room and tried to determine what was wrong.

They did their best to understand her problem, but Huebler and the baby died.

At least that’s how it seemed. In reality, Huebler was never in danger.

Huebler, a stay-at-home mother of three, is a paid actor in a Nursing Department program designed to give nursing students experience dealing with emergencies.

According to professor Myra Dennis, the Nursing Department simulation coordinator, the actors, known as "standardized patients," perform as part of all six nursing courses at AACC to mimic real-life situations in-

volving issues like dying or aggressive patients that students will face during their careers.

Dennis said one scenario has “a patient who is very depressed [and] has a history of cutting themselves, and we actually [put makeup on] the patient … so that they have a place where they can actually [pretend to] cut themselves and make it bleed.”

Dennis said in another situation nurses must help “the patient understand what hospice means [and] what end of life [care] is all about.”

Dennis said the program pays actors an hourly rate slightly higher than minimum wage.

Actors sign up online for hourly sessions during simulation labs, according to Dennis.

“They’re hired as a temporary employee of the college,” Dennis said. “Then,

In one of her performances as an actor in Nursing Department lab simulations, Cindy Huebler (back) pretends to be a mother worried about her child.

Photo by Gage Savoy they go through some training that myself and some of the other faculty will do to prepare them.”

The actors receive a script featuring dialogue and information about the patients they will play.

“I enjoy it,” Huebler said.

“I think they really benefit from … as close to a real-life situation as possible, and I try to make it as real as possible.”

Dennis said approximately eight actors have signed up to portray patients.

When the actors are un-

SGA members pledge support for MD bills Adrianna Gonzalez Daily Editor

Student Government Association members met with state legislators in February to advocate for proposed education laws that would benefit AACC and other Maryland community colleges.

The students focused on four pieces of legislation: Community College Promise Scholarship One proposal under consideration would open up the Maryland Community College Promise Scholarship—$5,000 tuition grants to qualified community college students—to more recipients.

The legislation would remove the requirement that applicants must have graduated from high school within two years of receiving the scholarship.

AACC’s assistant director of financial aid Shanna Kibler said prior applicants for the scholarship, which began last fall, had to have graduated from high school in 2018 or 2019 to qualify.

The state already lifted

another restriction for the next round of applicants: They no longer need to be enrolled in for-credit classes.

Previously the program was open only to students taking at least 12 credits per semester.

Transfer with Success Act The Transfer with Success Act would require fouryear universities to explain their reasons when they do not accept credits for a course that a transfer student completed at a community college.

Eden Durbin, the chief of staff for the bill’s main sponsor, Delegate Jared Solomon of Montgomery County, said the bill would help community college administrators and students understand why some credits do not transfer.

Durbin said she has met “young people who [try to] transfer from community colleges into four-year institutions and have been told that … one or two classes, in fact, did not transfer.”

Student Government Association President Mitchell

Santos, a second-year creative writing student, said the bill is “really important to me” because he is transferring to a four-year school in the fall.

Supplemental Services and Supports for Students with Disabilities Grant Program Designed to fund a 14-year-old grant program to help community colleges pay for services for students with disabilities, the bill would designate $2.5 million for that purpose.

The grant has not been funded since 2008. Community colleges waive tuition for students with disabilities.

The Legislature “eliminated the funding entirely and we haven’t been able to get that replenished since,” Jody Kallis, legislative director of the Maryland Association of Community Colleges, said.

The bill would designate money for “a number of wraparound services needed [by] students with disabilities,” Kallis said.

Santos said the program

available, simulations use mannequins with professors talking through a speaker so students hear their voices through the mannequins.

Nursing professor Alice Stephens said the actors are more helpful than mannequins to students.

“It makes the simulation more real for them,” Stephens said. “So they have a real person that they can talk to as part of it, rather than just dealing with a plastic mannequin and a voice that’s coming through that mannequin.”

Tenth-year nursing stu-

dent Vanessa Franck said the actors intimidate her sometimes, but they teach her more about nursing.

“It’s easy to get frazzled but it’s easier that we can react when she speaks rather than waiting a second to hear what they’re saying,” Franck said.

Fifth-year nursing student Essence Bennett said the actors "keep you on your toes [and help] with [our] communication skills.”

Students interested in becoming standardized patients can contact Dennis at mgdennis@aacc.edu.

Students join President Dawn Lindsay (center) to meet with state legislators to discuss upcoming bills.

Photo courtesy of Victory Ho would “basically [be] giving [AACC] more funding so we can better accommodate students that have different disabilities.”

Governor’s Budget Reconciliation and Finance Act of 2020 Kallis said the governor’s Budget Reconciliation and Finance Act lowers funding for community colleges.

Kallis said the budget for community colleges has been reduced eight times “since the downturn of the economy.”

Santos said he strongly opposes BRFA.

“That’s a huge [issue] because it would cut [AACC's state] funding … and that’s not good at all,” Santos said.

Second-year graphic design student Victory Ho said she opposes BRFA. “If we don’t have this, many of the students coming to community college won’t have the opportunity to get the education they need,” Ho said. “Personally, I am attending community college because I can’t afford a university. Being able to have some support from the government gives me peace.”

6 | Campus Current | 2020 | March

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Campus Current | 2020 | March | 7

Campus Life

Nurse gives advice on fighting Coronavirus Christian Richey Editor-in-Chief

AACC students can avoid getting the Coronavirus by getting enough sleep, drinking plenty of water and regularly washing their hands with soap and water.

Beth Mays, a nurse who manages AACC’s Health and Wellness Center, said a focus on cleanliness and eating a well-balanced diet can help stave off the deadly virus.

Coronavirus has infected more than 79,000 people worldwide and killed more than 2,600, mostly in China,

where it originated.

Mays said the college plans to add more hand sanitizer stations across campus and put up posters urging students to cover their mouths when coughing and to wash their hands.

According to Dr. Felicia Patterson, vice president for learner support services, symptoms include fatigue, fever, chills, coughing and shortness of breath. “Those are things that students would want to watch for,” she said.

Patterson said the college will alert students if the

Transfers pick custom major Jacob Hudson Reporter

AACC’s transfer studies program has more students than any other field of study, according to college statistics.

About 2,062 transfer studies students enrolled here in fall 2019, said Dr. Marjorie Rawhouser, assistant dean of liberal arts.

That’s 16.3% of all students at AACC. Rawhouser said the program is popular because it “is really flexible in what you can take.”

Transfer studies students enroll in classes based on

what they intend to study at a four-year university. They must have completed 12 credits in a specific concentration and 14 electives to meet the requirements for an associate degree in transfer studies, she said.

Students may choose how to customize their degrees.

Rawhouser pointed to a custom transfer studies page on the Nest that features links to application deadlines for four-year schools and information about upcoming activities.

“I really encourage students to use that page,” Rawhouser said.

Coronavirus reaches Maryland. As of late February, at least 34 people in the United States were infected, but none in Maryland. No U.S. deaths have been reported.

“We do have a pandemic team [and plan] at the college, which was actually put in place at the time of the H1N1 flu,” Patterson said.

“Fortunately, we have not had to go back to that pandemic team or plan on a regular basis. We did so with Ebola and now, with Coronavirus, we’re regrouping as well.”

As part of the plan, Patterson sent an email to stu-

A new book on leadership in community colleges features a section on the work AACC has done to engage students.

“Team Leadership in Community Colleges” discusses the development of the Engagement Matters program at the college.

“I’m thrilled to have the college be recognized for the work the faculty and the staff have done here,” AACC President Dawn Lindsay

said. “[It’s] quite a testimony to what I always talk about: AACC being such a great school to work with.”

Engagement Matters is part of AACC’s strategic plan to help students succeed, in part, by focusing the college on equal opportunities for all students and on helping students achieve their educational goals, like graduation.

Dr. Christine Johnson McPhail, one of the book’s editors, said she included AACC’s story as a good example of team leadership.

dents informing them of the virus and listing symptoms.

Patterson said students who have traveled to China recently should see their doctors.

Students said they hope their classmates will heed the advice about how to prevent the spread of the disease.

Jalil Amaya-Acosta, a first-year business admin-

istration student, urged students to “clean up [and] wash your hands.”

First-year nursing student Kaylin Turner said she hopes the school adds more posters about the virus around campus.

“I think there should be more [info] … about what it is and how to prevent it,” Turner said.

Dr. Marjorie Rawhouser says 16.3% of AACC students chose transfer studies as their field of study.

Photo by Christian Richey Still, Rawhouser said students can transfer to their four-year schools without the transfer studies degree.

“Some students think you have to be a transfer studies student to transfer,” Rawhouser said. “If you want to major in engineering, math, physics, English, communications, business [or] psychology [you can].

You don’t necessarily have to

Book about colleges highlights AACC plan Mason Hood Advertising Manager

Students can sanitize their hands to avoid catching the Coronavirus.

Photo by Daniel Salomon

“I think what we want to do is highlight some best practices in the book,” co-editor Dr. George Boggs said, “in terms of how a college can use leadership teams to create institutional transformations.”

Students said they are proud of the work done by the college that convinced the editors to include AACC in the book.

“If that puts us in a historical book … that was really well done by the president and I highly appreciate it because I probably wouldn’t be

do transfer studies.”

She added, “You can make sure you take … the courses that you need that will give you the best transfer and would give you the most credits that transfer towards your major.”

Transfer studies students said they see the benefit of the degree.

“You are taking courses here that are saving a lot

more money versus going to a university,” first-year transfer-studies student John Lorenzana said.

Third-year transfer studies student Owen Keys said the degree satisfied his needs.

“I have this constant quench for knowledge and satisfaction for my own personal needs and feel like [a transfer studies degree] can really help me,” Keys said.

A book on community colleges features AACC’s Engagement Matters program.

Photo courtesy of Dr. George Boggs here” without the effort to engage students, Daniel Molla, a third-year computer information systems student, said.

Oluwagbemiga Ayeni,

a third-year transfer studies student, said academic advisers on campus have helped to engage him.

“It’s always nice to have a helping hand,” Ayeni said.

8 | Campus Current | 2020 | March

Campus Life

Class studies in Costa Rica Jacob Hudson Reporter

Fun and Games

AACC biology students spent part of their winter break taking classes in Costa Rica.

Students enrolled in Fundamentals of Ecology Travel Study, a science class, blended beach time with lab study in the Central American country, where they learned about ecology, ecosystems, climate, geology, culture, organisms and the people of Costa Rica.

“Travel study is the best way to learn,” professor Benjamin Weibell, the trip’s organizer, said. “When we are put in new experiences … the process of being someplace totally new opens our mind up and exposes us to so many different things.”

Eight credit students and three non-credit students traveled with Weibell and Dr. Jessamy Rango, a biology professor.

The class spent 13 days

traveling to four areas of Costa Rica to study different ecosystems. They also spent time kayaking, hiking, snorkeling, zip-lining and visiting indigenous groups.

“We could apply what we learned in the classroom to actually seeing [different ecosystems] in nature,” Rango said.

Rango emphasized that travel study opportunities are here to stay.

“We are hoping that every year we can have a travel study course,” Rango said.

“We are hoping our next class goes to the Galapagos.”

Students said the experience fascinated them.

“Costa Rica was very biodiverse, so we saw a lot of species and it was a cool cultural experience,” second-year biology student Nicole Newell said.

Second-year transfer studies student Alexis Torres agreed.

“At first I was a little hes-

Dr. Benjamin Weibell’s Fundamentals of Ecology Travel Study class celebrates on the beach in Costa Rica.

Photo courtesy of Dr. Benjamin Weibell itant because I was going to be by myself as an adult for the first time,” Torres said. “I just wanted to do something different. I was tired of regular classes and wanted to see what I was actually learning.”

Torres recommended

Did you know?

that students take advantage of travel study opportunities available to them.

“If you have the time, it is a great thing to do and a great experience,” Torres added.

Weibell agreed. “From

a teacher’s perspective, it is awesome because people actually learn stuff,” Weibell said. “It is really a great opportunity for learning.”

Students who participated paid tuition plus travel expenses for the experience.

Sudoku

More AACC transfers go to UMGC than anywhere else 31% of AACC students who transfer to in-state colleges go to University of Maryland Global Campus (formerly UMUC).

UMGC has an office in Room 111 at AACC’s Arundel Mills campus.

Reporting by Jacob Hudson Photo by Mattysc/Flickr

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Campus Current | 2020 | March | 9

Campus Life

Prof wins MLK diversity honor Daniel Salomon Photo Editor

Dr. Heather Rellihan walked across the Arnold campus last fall looking at her phone when she noticed an email saying she had won the coveted Martin Luther King Jr. Zeitgeist award.

“I was so honored and completely surprised,” Rellihan, AACC’s academic chair for interdisciplinary studies, said. “It made me feel very valued at the college.”

Rellihan won the award for her work to advance diversity at AACC. Suzanne Spoor, a professor of English and gender studies, nominated Rellihan for the award.

“Heather’s impact on diversity cannot be overstated,” Spoor said in her nomination letter. “She de-centers authority when she lectures, uses strategies to draw all of her students into discussions and creates assignments that

make it possible for differently abled learners to succeed.”

She added, “Heather works every day to make her classroom a space where every single student, regardless of class, race, gender, religion, culture and ability, can succeed.”

Marlee Giles, a first-year transfer studies student who took GSS 101: Introduction to Women’s Studies with Rellihan, said her professor deserves the award. “She does a very good job at bringing to light many of the issues that we don’t see as a people.”

Rellihan also recently published the book “Theory and Praxis: Women’s and Gender Studies at Community Colleges,” an anthology of essays written by community college students and faculty.

“There are essays that are about the process of teaching and thinking about it from a more pedagogical or philosophical perspec-

Dr. Heather Rellihan recently published a book called “Theory and Praxis.”

Photo courtesy of Dr. Heather Rellihan tive,” Rellihan said. “There are also these highlighted pieces that tell a little bit about the student and why the student has chosen this field and what they want to do with it.”

Rellihan said she spent three years putting the book together.

Richard Otten, adjunct instructor in interdisciplinary studies, contributed an essay to the book.

“I was honored that she asked,” he said.

He added, “She’s a great

boss. … She doesn’t do things for the sake of building up her [resume] or trying to accomplish the next promotion.

She tries to do things in the interest of the college and in the interest of the students.”

Rellihan said teaching is her form of activism.

“When I think of my classroom as a form of activism, it’s not because I want people to leave having the same politics as me,” Rellihan said. “That’s not it at all.

It’s that I want them to be able to ask good questions

and try to hear what other people have to say.”

Jonathan Garcia-Ventura, a second-year psychology student, said taking Rellihan’s classes has changed him.

“I’ve been here … for four semesters,” he said. “I’ve taken 20 courses now and I believe taking a class with her is the most life-changing experience I’ve had. ... I thought that she was an amazing professor to have and she really brings in a deep sense of focus and open mindedness.”

Fun and Games

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10 | Campus Current | 2020 | March

Campus Life

Gift card offer could be scam Christian Richey Editor-in-Chief

AACC’s information securities director is advising students not to accept gift card offers through the campus email, as the senders might steal their credit card information.

John Williams said students may fall victim to email phishing schemes, in which fraudsters pose as legitimate companies offering deals such as free gift cards or product discounts.

“You’ll get what looks like something from a company, saying, ‘You’ve just been awarded [a] $300 gift card,’ and … in order to get the gift card you have to give up all sorts of personal information,” Williams said.

Williams said the scammers often pose as companies like Amazon and Apple.

“We get a lot of Amazon [and] we get a lot of Apple iTunes accounts that are

getting spoofed,” Williams said. “They will take the basic advertisement that [the legitimate company] uses, rework the actual email, change the links to their own link and send it right back out. So it may look like an exact copy of an email you got from another company.”

Williams said links could lead to fake pages asking for credit card information.

“If you have to pay for anything, even if it’s a nominal amount [like] $2, to get a year’s subscription of magazines … they can use that information basically for anything they want,” Williams said.

Williams said the emails could also lead students to fake sign-in pages at places like Amazon, which give the shopper’s account credentials to the fraudsters.

Williams said AACC attempts to filter fraudulent emails out of the campus

Emails offering gift cards to students could be phishing scams, according to AACC's information securities director.

Photo by Mackenzie Airey system before students can see them and removes those that get through.

In February, a scam offering $250 a week to students who would wrap their cars with an ad for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics made its way around campus email.

Another advertised a fake job listing with a link that asked students for their personal information, which the scammers stole.

“We will delete emails if we find that it’s affecting a lot of people,” Williams said.

Williams said students should delete any hacked accounts after a scammer steals their information.

“You have to actively go to the company [your information was stolen from] and say, ‘I need to disable this account and get a new account’ to stop the fraud,” he said.

“Otherwise [the scammers will] just keep [using your account].”

Williams also said students should check their monthly credit card statements regularly for charges

IMPORTANT DATES APRIL 2

APRIL 16

APRIL 30

Business Pitch Competition application due by noon online

Business Pitch Competition finalists announced

Business Pitch Competition live pitch and awards ceremony 2:30-5 p.m., HUM Room 112

Stephanie Goldenberg, slgoldenberg@aacc.edu or www.aacc.edu/esi

they did not authorize.

Students said scams harm the people who fall for them.

“It’s basically like getting your identity stolen,” firstyear media production student Jacob May said. “People are going buy stuff with [your card]. They’re going to scam you.”

“If their information is stolen, that’s a big issue,” Kevin Butler, a second-year engineering student, said.

“Just stay away from scams like that.”

Campus Current | 2020 | March | 11

Campus Life

Group offers free tax prep Adrianna Gonzalez Daily Editor

For the seventh year, a business professor and students are volunteering to help members of the AACC community and residents of Anne Arundel County file their taxes for free.

Until April 4, the group is working through VITA, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, to fill out taxes for students, faculty, staff and community members earning $55,000 or less at no charge.

Professor Michael Gavin is in his third year as the volunteer coordinator of the VITA program at AACC. “There’s a need and we provide good service at zero cost,” Gavin said. “Taxes are complicated, and taxes are expensive.”

Gavin said the program uses business students as volunteers.

“We have a lot of new

volunteers this year,” Gavin said. “That’s why we’re a bit slower, because newer volunteers take a little time [to learn], but it’s so wonderful.”

The volunteers finish most clients' taxes in less than an hour.

Gavin noted business students who want to volunteer must go through a certification process.

“Once they go through the training program, they must pass four IRS-administered tests with an 80% or better,” Gavin said. “That then enables them to be certified to prepare taxes in the program.”

This year, 28 volunteers are filling out tax forms.

Second-year financial accounting student Cheyenne Douglas said she is volunteering because Gavin, her personal and consumer finance professor, asked her to.

“This gives the people in our area the ability to have somebody to do their tax-

Second-year business administration student Yen Truong helps a member of the community with her taxes.

Photo by Adrianna Gonzalez es and gives the students the ability to learn and put the knowledge that they’re learning in their major to practical application,” Douglas said.

First-year business administration transfer student Lina Patel said this is her first time as a volunteer

for the VITA program.

“I did it because it looks good on your resume and I wanted that,” she said. “I think it’s worth it.”

Third-year mechatronics student Banchuen Saenkot brought her taxes to the volunteers for help for the first time this year.

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“This is pretty good; it’s helpful,” Saenkot said. “It is free of charge and the people here are kind and eager to help.”

Community members, students, faculty and staff can make appointments by searching “VITA” on AACC’s website.

12 | Campus Current | 2020 | March

Best of the Web

3 from AACC win MLK annual diversity nod Christian Richey Editor-in-Chief

Three AACC employees won awards at the 39th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast in January.

The Jan. 20 breakfast centered around King’s quote, “The time is always right to do what is right,” and honored community leaders across Anne Arundel County.

AACC professors Heather Rellihan and Melissa Spurlock, and coordinator Carolyn Patton received the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Zeitgeist award.

Associate Judge Elizabeth

S. Morris was the keynote speaker for the event, ending the morning with a speech centered on King’s quote.

She spoke of times in her life when she felt it applied.

Professor Doug Byerly led the AACC Chamber Choir

“He was an excellent leader. He pushed for freedoms and equal rights.”

Student Drew Rice

in a performance of songs throughout the event, culminating wih the civil rights anthem "We Shall Overcome."

AACC students said they

feel King's impact in their lives.

First-year transfer studies student Drew Rice said King’s leadership affected many people.

“He’s very impactful as a symbol for equal rights,” Rice said. “He was an excellent leader. He pushed for freedoms and equal rights.”

First-year student Kyle Perry said he found King’s approach to mending race relations impactful.

“I think he was a really powerful figure and I definitely hold him in pretty high regards because he sacrificed his life for the cause of freedom,” Perry said.

Presidents of student clubs around campus expressed frustration in February with the Nest, the college’s online platform for student organizations.

At a meeting of the SGA’s General Forum—a gathering of club leaders—SGA President Mitchell Santos told the presidents to contact Dean of Student Engagement Tiffany

Gallery traces history of lynching in county Adrianna Gonzalez Daily Editor

An AACC sociology professor created an exhibit in the Pascal Gallery to highlight lynchings in Maryland.

Taka Ono created the exhibit to raise awareness of the history of lynching in the state, including Anne Arundel County.

The exhibit features imagery, text and a video showcasing the history of lynching in Maryland.

The Maryland Legislature created a commission last year to investigate 41 lynchings in Maryland throughout history, Ono said.

“The different counties are also trying to come to terms with this issue,” Ono said. “I would like to continue to raise awareness of this issue, if not in this exhibit, next year or next semester in different ways. This is an issue of racism that can take different forms. If I can address that in different forms, then I would be willing to do that.”

Second-year forensic science student Hannah Abell said the exhibit interested her.

“I think that it’s a very impressive one because it is a part of history that a lot of people aren’t taught or know about,” Abell said.

“It’s something that usually

Associate Judge Elizabeth S. Morris delivers the keynote speech at the MLK Memorial Breakfast.

Photo by Christian Richey

Club members voice frustration with Nest Jacob Hudson Reporter

The SGA General Forum in January focused partly on problems with the Nest.

Photo by Jacob Hudson

TheCampusCurrent.com

gets swept under the rug because Maryland was one of those states that really didn’t choose a side. It stood more neutral, but it doesn’t excuse the fact that [lynchings still happened] there in the background.”

She added: “People need to know their history, especially like in areas where they live. They can’t be ignorant because otherwise they would be doomed to make the same mistakes their ancestors did and all it's going to do is drive racial divides even further than they already are and it’s not what we need.”

First-year pre-med student Tara Moline said the ex-

Boykin to fix any problems they are having with the Nest.

Clubs use the Nest for administrative duties such as contacting club members and scheduling events.

Santos recommended that club members continue using the Nest.

“It’s a great system when used properly,” Santos said.

Santos also told the group that clubs now have the option to request up to seven cords for their mem-

bers in a variety of colors.

Graduates can wear the cords around the neck as part of their regalia.

“I am really excited about the club cord initiative,” Santos said. “I am looking forward to graduating and seeing all the different students with their different club cords on.”

The form to request a cord is on SGA’s Nest page.

The deadline for requests is March 1.

A visitor views a Pascal Gallery lynching exhibit.

Photo by Adrianna Gonzalez hibit enlightened her.

“It was really eye-opening,” Moline said. “The things they teach in school

aren’t nearly as informative as this. Honestly, seeing all the stories here was actually jarring.”

Campus Current | 2020 | March |13

TheCampusCurrent.com

Campus remembers legend Kobe Bryant Brayden Nazarian Reporter

Students, athletes and coaches said in January they will never forget former NBA legend Kobe Bryant.

The 41-year-old Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others died on Jan. 26 in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles.

Students said they saw Bryant as an icon in the sports world.

“I’ve always been a fan of basketball,” Seth Harrison, a third-year transfer studies student, said. “Kobe Bryant’s been my favorite basketball player since as long as I can remember. He’s the reason I love basketball.”

Men’s Basketball coach Joe Snowden said he will remember how much Bryant

grew personally over his career.

“Being a basketball guy like me, you see this as a tragedy,” Snowden explained. “But you can say to yourself, ‘At least he matured before he left us.’ From the earlier version of Kobe, to what we saw later, he matured a lot. And I think that really helped the game of basketball.”

Trey Anderson, the coordinator for student athlete success at AACC, said Bryant had an even bigger impact off the court.

“As an athlete, he’s like that golden standard … being an all-around player and mentor in the game of basketball,” Anderson said.

“He’s one of those guys who could translate wherever he went in the world and the

Health pop-up course starts Christian Richey Editor-in-Chief

AACC is offering a fiveweek class this semester centered around helping students make lifestyle changes.

Health 280, Building Wellness Inside and Out, covers mind-body wellness and teaches the connections among mindfulness, meditation, diet, sleep, technology and self-care in health.

“We firmly believe that

a person’s health and wellness impacts their ability to do their job,” said Dr. Tiffin Bumpass, the assistant dean of health, fitness and exercise studies.

Bumpass said the first section of the course, which ran from Jan. 21 to Feb. 25, offered students goals and strategies for handling all aspects of wellness, including diet and sleep habits.

The second section will run in April.

game of basketball was how he translated.”

Anderson added: “It’s bigger than just scoring and passing. It’s about building a community, giving opportunities to people. … You see how people are influenced by someone of that magnitude.”

Some students said the news of Bryant’s passing has not sunk in in for them.

“I was speechless to be honest,” said Giancarlo Lodevico, a 13th-year film arts student. “We just lost one of the greatest NBA players. …

It’s just sad.”

“I just can’t believe it,” Women’s Basketball forward/guard Autumn Foster-Fields, a second-year transfer studies student, said. “I’m still distraught about everything that’s going on. I looked up to him, I

Student entrepreneurs hoping to win some funding as they start their businesses learned the best way to make their pitches in February.

At a meeting to prepare candidates for the Entrepreneurial Studies Institute’s annual $100,000 Business Pitch Competition, ESI’s interim academic chair explained the application process, which involves online forms and a live pitch.

Stephanie Goldenberg said the online portion requires students to submit their business plans.

“The first part is a 10page business plan plus three-year financial projections and a resume,” Goldenberg said. “Students who are submitting have started a business and have been in business three years or less.

It is for pre-launch, launch or new growth for a business.”

Students have until April 2 at noon to submit those plans.

Members of the AACC community react to the death of basketball great Kobe Bryant.

Photo by Christopher Johnson/Wikimedia grew up saying his name every time I made a shot.”

Bryant spent all 20 years of his playing career with the Los Angeles Lakers, earning

five NBA championships, 18 All-Star game selections, the Most Valuable Player award in 2008 and two Olympic gold medals.

Students learn numerous wellness techniques, including some related to improving their diets, in one of the first pop-up courses on campus.

Photo by Alyson McPhee/Unsplash This is the college’s first “pop-up” class, a temporary course. Pop-up classes are typically shorter than a full semester and can be quickly approved for the classroom.

Bumpass said the one-credit course covers the

Entrepreneurs learn to pitch for big prize Johannes Haasbroek Reporter

Best of the Web

Goldenberg said the competition’s second section consists of a live pitch.

Third-year dual-track visual art and entrepreneur student Nickie Lambert, who won the Business Pitch Competition in 2019, gave advice to future contestants.

“To paraphrase [hockey icon] Wayne Gretzky, ‘I never scored on a shot I did not take,’” Lambert said. “So [the] most important thing is to enter it, to get the courage to do it, [and] go ahead with it.

Once you get in the process,

positives and negatives of topics ranging from mindfulness to meditation to the impact of technology.

Bumpass said five faculty members came together to teach the course.

“It's a course we de-

signed for our campus population as well as the community,” Bumpass said. “It’s just kind of one of our beginning steps to really continue exploring the other pieces of wellness that we don’t have right now.”

Entrepreneurial student Dalton Leonard speaks during ESI's Business Pitch orientation.

Photo by Johannes Haasbroek once you start with the entry, with the competition, you will develop and grow your business and your idea.”

Lambert said the “first thing is just to start.”

Business professor Steve Berry also notified students at the event of the Entrepreneurs Scholarship, which has similar criteria to the Business Pitch Competition.

14 | Campus Current | 2020 | March

Sports

Spring teams begin season Jake Brannon Sports Editor

AACC Baseball and Softball players are spending the first weeks of the new season building team chemistry.

Men’s Baseball head coach Chris Jenkins said one of the biggest challenges his team faces is the number of freshman players.

“One of the things that’s going to be interesting to watch is we have a lot of freshmen,” he said. “We have a lot of guys who haven’t played much college baseball.”

Of the 21 players on the team, 14 are first-year students.

Still, Jenkins said he had high expectations for the season.

“I expect us to play hard every game; I expect us to give a lot of effort; I expect us to be disciplined in the way we play [like] we always

have been,” Jenkins said.

Pitcher Zachary Rees, a second-year transfer studies student, said he’s “definitely excited to get back and [play] with the guys after healing from a torn labrum in his hip last year.

Likewise, Softball players said they hope to succeed by coming together as a team this season.

Softball head coach Guy Klingensmith said the team will focus on practicing the fundamental aspects of the sport and building team chemistry.

“I think we need to come together as a team, work together and be good teammates with everybody,” Klingensmith said. “A lot of our practice is built around the fundamentals. … If you can handle the fundamentals during [practice], then that’ll improve your outcome in the game.”

AACC Softball and Baseball players say they hope for a successful season.

Photo by Jake Brannon Klingensmith said he considers every player a superstar.

“They’re all capable of exceeding and excelling,” he said. “All they need to do is have a good work ethic and a mindset that they can all be superstars.”

The players said they are eager to show off their

Part-time coach staff brings passion to job Brayden Nazarian Reporter

The “cherry on top” of his coaching career, says Women’s Basketball head coach Lionel Makell, was watching center Sarah Healy’s “face light up” when she learned the National Junior College Athletic Association had named her Player of the Week.

“I asked her if she’s ever imagined this,” he says. “She never thought she had that opportunity. Seeing her face

light up … That’s what keeps me here. … I love my job because of moments like that.”

Makell, one of AACC’s 11 head coaches, isn’t the only one who has found a yearslong passion in coaching community college athletics.

Some of those part-time coaches—and the 19 assistant coaches who help them—are retired and want to help the next generations of players. Others work fulltime at other jobs and make time for practice and games.

Either way, Makell says,

Men's Basketball head coach Joe Snowden and assistant coach Joe Gray huddle with the team.

Photo by Jacob Hudson

coaching requires a true passion for wanting to help young athletes.

“Twenty years ago, I would never have thought I would be [coaching],” says Men’s Baseball head coach Chris Jenkins. “But now, I’m thrilled to be involved. … I love every minute of it.”

Makell, a multi-sport athlete in high school and college, says team sports build lifelong values and relationships.

For Men’s Lacrosse head coach Joe Stanilaus, coaching seemed like “a no-brainer” after his playing career ended.

“I knew I wanted to coach, and I knew I liked the game,” Stanilaus says. “I love helping kids and helping students, so it seemed like a natural fit to me.”

Stanilaus has been around all parts of lacrosse, as a player, coach and spectator. For him, coaching comes with challenges, he says.

“You wake up, you go to your full-time job [and] then you go to your second fulltime job,” Stanilaus explains.

He adds: “You put in some long days. … Being a husband; being a father; being a student … it’s all about

skills this season.

Shortstop Kyleigh McQuade, a second-year business student, said the team has a lot of talent and a deeper roster than in past seasons.

“I think the season is going to go pretty good,” McQuade said. “We have a lot of talent this year, and we definitely have more players than

we did last year, so I think if we all work together, and we just do what we’re supposed to do, it’s going to be a really good season.”

Baseball opened its season on Feb. 22 against the Salisbury University club team, while Softball will play its first game on March 6 at Allegany College of Maryland.

Many of AACC's part-time coaches have full-time jobs outside of the college. Pictured, Men's Baseball head coach Chris Jenkins.

Photo by Jake Brannon being where your feet are.”

According to Stanilaus, his workday begins at around 6 a.m. and often ends after 8 p.m.

Men’s Soccer head coach Nick Cosentino says he has had similar experiences as he manages work and family life.

“Once you get married, and once you have kids, it’s hard,” Cosentino says. “The commitment can be a lot at times.”

AACC Athletics Director Duane Herr says the college’s coaches work day jobs ranging from high school teachers and administrators to real estate agents.

“I think our coaches deserve a lot of credit for the amount of work they put in,”

Herr says. “They’re doing it for the love of the game and for the education and mentorship of the student athletes. We wouldn’t be anything without our coaches.”

Herr says the coaches teach more than athletic skills.

“They’re teaching the game, which is one small part of it,” he says. “I think the other part is that they’re really teaching life skills; they’re mentors.”

Men's Basketball head coach Joe Snowden says he gets as much out of coaching as he puts into it.

“Helping players, it puts joy in your heart,” he says.

“That’s really important to me. That’s what does it.”

Campus Current | 2020 | March |15

Sports

Women’s player goes on rebounding streak Christian Richey Editor-in-Chief

A Women’s Basketball center averaged 14.7 points and 17.3 rebounds this season, including eight straight games with double-doubles.

Sarah Healy, a second-year transfer studies student, said the streak was “very impressive. I had it [and] then I lost it. But I’m going to get it back again, so I’m not too pressed.”

Women’s Basketball head coach Lionel Makell said Healy’s play fuels the team.

Healy is “a good kid,” Makell said, “the type you build

your program [around].”

Healy’s eight-game double-double streak included a game Dec. 19 against Hocking College, during which she scored 20 points and had 31 rebounds, including 21 offensive rebounds.

Healy said her teammates thought the streak “was like my baby because I got it up so high.”

The team ended its regular season as a No. 2 seed in the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 20 Tournament.

The Riverhawks fell 74-60 to No. 1 seed Prince George’s Community College

Guard shoots high average Jacob Dear Daily Editor

A Men’s Basketball guard/forward who is leading his team in points said he plays every game to leave an impression on the fans.

First-year transfer studies student Davon Jones averaged 15.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game this season.

“I’m always out here trying to perform my best,” Jones said. “I always feel like there’s somebody out there that’s never seen me play.

So, every time I step on the court I always try to give it my all.”

Jones said he focuses on how he can improve himself during every game.

“I started off slow in the beginning but [the] second half [of the season] I picked it up with my scoring and being able to just be [an] all-around team leader and team player,” Jones said.

Jones averaged 12.2 points the first 10 games of the season but has averaged 17.2 points per game in the next 15 contests.

“Any night it could be any one of us” leading the team in scoring, Jones said.

“It just so happens to be me a lot of nights. But you know, I’m grateful that my team believes in me.”

Jones’ teammates said he has been crucial to the team.

“He’s a good teammate,” guard Matthew Kern, a sec-

during the tournament.

Women’s Basketball players said Healy is a good teammate on and off the court.

“She basically leads us in rebounds and most of the points, which we really need this year,” forward/ guard Autumn Foster-Fields, a third-year sports management student, said. “And she has a great attitude, on and off the court.”

Shooting guard Lacey Hinkle, a second-year transfer studies student, agreed.

“Sarah’s my study buddy and my best friend,” Hinkle said. “She continues to put in an effort and she’s a beast

Esports—electronic sports—will not become an official athletics sport at AACC until at least fall 2021, according to the college’s athletics director.

Director Duane Herr attributed the delay to budgetary limitations.

“We did advocate for an esports program at the ath-

letics level for next year,” Herr said. “We just haven’t been able to pull the funds for it and we want to do it the right way.”

Adding esports to his department would require funding for team equipment, including computers, headphones, furniture and apparel. In addition, Herr said he would hire a coach.

Conway Johnson, secretary of the student ESports

on the block for us and our team.”

Makell said Healy has the potential to join a top fouryear basketball program.

“You know I know her potential and her upside [with] just the progress she’s made in the last two

years,” Makell said. “And then around the country, I found out most of the colleges are looking for rebounding. … She’s a naturally good rebounder.”

Healy leads NJCAA Region 20 Division III in rebounds with 433 this season.

First-year transfer studies student and guard/forward Davon Jones practices.

Photo by Christian Richey ond-year criminal justice student, said. “He shares the ball. He’s not selfish.”

“I think he has [a] big impact [on] the team,” shooting guard and small forward Jamar Young, a first-year exercise studies student, said. “[Jones] knocks down tough shots. [He’s] putting up scores [and] locking up the best defenders.”

Men’s Basketball head coach Joe Snowden said he appreciates Jones’ work eth-

Esports not in budget for athletics this year Adrianna Gonzalez Daily Editor

Center Sarah Healy had eight straight double-doubles this season.

Photo by Christian Richey

Club, said he is disappointed that esports won’t join Athletics sooner.

“It’s difficult getting an organization together as a college club because there is a lot of work being put into it,” Johnson said. “A lot of us are doing this on our free time.”

Third-year graphic design student and ESports Club member Arnaldo Baez-Pagan said the delay is “really

ic on and off the court.

“Davon has been an incredible surprise; he’s done really well,” Snowden said.

“He does his homework, goes home, he works. He’s a really good model student.”

Jones’ teammates highlighted some of their favorite games with him.

“His game against [CCBC] Catonsville … he kept us in the game,” Kern said. “I think he scored 31 that game.”

Jones said he hopes to

make an all-conference team and see the Riverhawks make nationals.

“I want to be able to get on one of the Maryland JUCO all teams, whether that’s [the] first or second [team],” Jones said. “And … hopefully we get to the nationals and go from there.”

AACC went on to win the regional tournament against Prince George's Community College. Jones scored 18 points.

Members of the ESports Club attend a weekly meeting.

Photo by Graig Bracey bad for people that want to get into it. I’m already into it and attend my own tournaments, so it doesn’t affect me as much, but I can imagine for [others] that it might be a little annoying.”

First-year accounting student and former club member Luke Bennett said

he hopes to see an official team in the future.

“The leader of the group puts a lot of work into the club and it’s too bad we have budget issues,” Bennett said.

“I think we have a lot of good players who are willing and ready to play for the esports team."

16 | Campus Current | 2020 | March