2 | Campus current | 2017 | march
Editorial
Meet the Campius Current Staff
Editor-in-Chief
Jesse Johnson
Associate Editor
Brad Dress
Graphic Designer/ Print Photo Editor
Britney Pieraldi Digital Editor
Piper Lewis
Web photo editor
Zach Tennant
Campus Life Editor
Elizabeth Spearman Club News Editor
Courtland Brown-Tabscott
Club News Editor
Jonas Tintenseher Sports Editor
James Whitley Web Designer
Kathryn Robbins Reporters
Jymyaka Braden Andrew Cabacar Mark Davis Chase Ellington David Foster Trevor Gardner Jami Gotay James Haggerty Tre Mooring Roxanne Ready Cole Reiter Spencer Schwink Shawn Smith Photographers
Nyia Curtis Brandon Hamilton Nick Kiraly Zach Tennant Adviser
Sharon O’Malley
AACC community should seek to stay unified in coming year For anyone who has been near any kind of media since the beginning of the year, you know that the country that we live in has gone through some changes that for some, may not be smooth, and for others, may seem like just what we need. I’m watching the world change from my cell phone. We here at the Campus Current encourage everyone in this transitional period to stay strong and stay unified. The students, faculty members and even those visiting the campus are part of a campus family, a nest of Riverhawks, coming together to teach, learn and motivate each other, and to strengthen the campus-wide relationships we make every day. We as human beings should want to help one another, not bring each other down. All people who walk onto this campus should feel welcomed, not isolated or looked at differently because they possess different values or traits than someone else. Keeping an open mind wherever you may wander in life is the most powerful tool you can possess, making words or physical prowess seem as small as a footnote.
Students who seek change in society must be ready to go out and achieve it for themselves. Photo by Brad Dress Keeping anyone and everyone included in your life can go a long way toward making a difference in the world. Clubs on campus do an amazing job of involving anyone who walks into an organizational meeting or event. Most clubs, including Campus Current, immediately offer newcomers a role with the team. It’s amazing how including someone in a group project or even in a conversation can quickly start a friendship and make both newcomers and those who
welcome them feel positive about themselves and feel positive about the campus. Change has come to this country. Some people fear change, and it is hard at first to get used to a changed environment. What’s going on in our country has the feel of walking into a new school or the first day at a new job. There’s so much uncertainty. There is something we can do, though. Like Mahatma Gandhi, if we all believe in ourselves, we can “be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
If you do not feel something is right about the actions being taken in the world today, use your voice. You will be the change. You have the power to stand for what you feel is right. You have the power to create happiness. You have the voice that can tear down racial, stereotypical barriers. You have the power to move others. If you are tired of waiting for something to miraculously happen and you find yourself relying on others to do it, make it happen yourself.
Current Perspective
Settling into America Mark Davis Guest Columnist I arrived in the U.S. from my homeland in England a few months ago. My plan: to try everything. I’ve yet to have any Maryland crab cakes, which I’ve been told are the best in the country. I’m already making some friends and I’ve joined a couple of campus clubs. I want to embrace the American culture; eat every type of hot dog; try to hit a few balls in a baseball pen; and check out an American football game. Completing my studies at AACC is my first priority. After AACC, I plan to study at the University of Maryland. Before I moved here, I traveled around the world for about 18 months, starting in South America, across
Mark Davis has lived in Maryland since the beginning of the semester. Photo by Brandon Hamilton the Pacific via New Zealand and Australia, and then up through various countries in Southeast Asia through Nepal and India. I spent four months working at home before making the decision to study here. I don’t plan on settling in Maryland just yet. I am planning to explore this state and others when the weather picks up. Still, the move to the
U.S. does make me miss my family and friends. But it is very early in the moving process to judge how else I will be affected. The classroom system at AACC is somewhat different from classes I would take in the U.K., where based on your major, you would be placed in different classes with the same group of people. Although I get to interact with a variety of people this way, there is a missing core of students whom I see regularly. You must be open when settling into a new culture. The comforts that you might have back home may not exist here, but you will adjust quickly. The college campus is the best environment to fail. (Not your studies though). Above all, try and make friends. Davis is a third-year architecture major.
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march | 2017 | campus current | 5
CampuS LIFE
AACC observes Black History Brad Dress Associate Editor
AACC observed Black History Month in February with more than 10 events that addressed race, religion and equality. The month kicked off on Feb. 1, with a soul food luncheon, attended mostly by campus staff, that sparked discussions about race in the workplace. The following week, local historian and genealogist Elinor Thompson told a campus audience that everyone in Anne Arundel County is related in some way. Thompson said some in the Anne Arundel community have rejected her claims that “we are all related.” During the month, the Truxal Library had a selection of documents highlighting black history in Anne Arundel County, with emphasis on Thompson’s works.
And a two-week “Race Card Project” was displayed on walls in CALT, Careers Center and the Dining Hall. The project, produced by Dr. Gina Finelli, a sociology professor at AACC, allowed students to write down six words on notecards about how they feel about race. Activist Monti Washington also spoke at AACC during Black History Month. He emphasized the importance of listening to each other to gain equality in this day and age. “I do believe all lives matter, absolutely,” Washington said at the speech, titled “Which Lives Matter.” “But I do not believe all lives are treated with the same amount of importance and significance. You can just turn on the news and see that for yourself.” On Feb. 17, the Singing and Praying Band of Maryland and Delaware came to
AACC students gather for a historical re-enactment as part of Black History Month on Feb. 20. Photo by Zach Tennant AACC for a performance. The event began with a song, followed by a prayer. The band taught the audience about the fundamentals of religious values and traditions. The next week, students engaged in a historical re-enactment, which was reminiscent of the 1960s counter-protest sit-ins that
African-Americans participated in as part of the civil rights movement. Three events came on Feb. 23. First, AACC showed “Rosewood,” a film about a lynch-mob attack on the African-American community in 1923. After the film, activists discussed a legislative proposal that aims to establish
a commission to study the impact of slavery and racial discrimination. Finally, the Black Male Summit on Feb. 23, held in CALT room 100, hosted a speaker, Dr. Randal Pinkett. Pinkett spoke to AACC students about merging their passions with talents to achieve excellence in their careers and life.
Photo By Elizabeth Spearman
Photo By Elizabeth Spearman
AACC SHOWCASES Black history month
Photo By Brandon Hamilton
Photo By Brandon Hamilton
Black History Month at the college had more than 10 events that addressed race and equality.
8 | Campus current | 2017 | march
Campus Life
Professor offers aid to low-income taxpayers Courtland Brown-Tabscott Reporter
An AACC business professor is preparing income tax returns for free for students, faculty and staff who earn $54,000 or less per year. Students and others, including members of the non-campus community, can call or email professor Reb Beatty to schedule an appointment before April 12. Taxpayers can meet with Beatty Saturday mornings or
SGA President Nick Nadeau will be transferring in the fall. Photo by Brad Dress
Wednesday evenings. Beatty volunteers for an IRS program called Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, which helps low-income earners with tax return preparation. VITA also helps low-income elderly, immigrants and people with disabilities to file their taxes. “One of the reasons I wanted to do this program was for the benefit of the community,” Beatty said. “As a CPA, I get very disheartened when I see people come in … and say, ‘Well I had my return done by this or that
person and they charged me $300 or $400 or $500,’ and it’s a really simple return that we can do here in an hour absolutely for free.” During its three years on campus, the service has relied on AACC accounting student volunteers, faculty and alumni to help prepare tax returns. One AACC employee said Beatty and his volunteers helped her “conquer the procrastination monster.” Patricia Spence, an AACC Health Services nurse, said she is “emotionally aller-
Elizabeth Spearman Campus Life Editor The Student Government Association is looking for candidates to run for SGA president. To run for president, a candidate has to have been a student at AACC for at least one semester and have at least a 2.25 GPA. In addition, candidates must have completed at least 67 percent of the classes they have attempted at AACC. Candidates should also be involved in clubs and other campus activities, and plan
to attend AACC through May 2018, which is when the new president’s term will end. “An ideal candidate should be involved and know what is happening in and around campus,” Chris Storck, director of student engagement, said. Nick Nadeau, the 2016– 2017 SGA president, ran on a platform to increase student involvement throughout the school. Since he took office in the fall, “five new [student] organizations have been formed,” Nadeau said. “I have tried to raise more
AACC’s concert band submitted an audition tape at the beginning of the fall semester and was accepted almost immediately. The performance was the first time the band has performed at the conference, and its first large performance off campus, according to Jordan Wood, a financial economics major and clarinet player in the concert band. “With the largest amount of musicians that we have had in years, I feel [the concert] was terrific,” Wood said. “Everything that we had practiced over the semester came together perfectly.” The ensembles had practiced over the winter break on a voluntary basis
for the conference. The concert band and chamber winds ensembles are made up of a combined 86 members, who come together as a diverse group of students, faculty, and other musicians, according to conductor and adjunct AACC professor Paul Dembowski. “For me, within [the band], there are so many crossing paths of people that I know from different places in their life,” Dembowski said. “And now, they’re all sitting there, and we’re making music.” According to Dembowski, there are only four fulltime faculty members in the music department; the rest of the department is adjunct. Dembowski also serves
AACC’s concert band and chamber winds ensemble performed at the Baltimore Convention Center on Feb. 11. The concert band and chamber winds ensembles performed with other educational music programs throughout Maryland as part of the three-day Maryland Music Educators Association Annual In-Service Conference. The concert band performed five pieces, including a rendition of “Casey At The Bat,” featuring a narration by David Kauffman, coordinator of music for Anne Arundel County Public Schools.
gic to doing taxes.” Through VITA, she also said she “saved money, met some great people.” Business major and VITA student volunteer Li Fulan also used Beatty’s service. Fulan said the process is “very well done,” and “very professional.” Beatty said tax prepara-
tion at other places can cost a minimum of $100. He also said his team saves each taxpayer an average of $100 to $500 on income taxes. Beatty said the service filed 14 returns in 2015 and 37 last year. This year, Beatty’s goal is to hit 100 tax returns by April 15. Tax Day is April 18.
awareness for scholarships, and student involvement has increased.” The SGA president is the organization’s official representative when meeting with the Board of Trustees and the administration. If only one person applies for the position, that student will automatically become president. If more than one candidate emerges, they will campaign for the office and students will decide which one to elect. “My advice for the next president is not to be afraid to talk to the students and to
make connections with everyone on campus,” Nadeau said. Calvin Williams, a second-year student, also had some advice for the next SGA president. “I would like to see more student activities be held at the Arundel Mills and Glen Burnie campuses,” he said. “Having a majority of my classes out there, I feel that I miss most of the activities that happen at the Arnold campus.” The presidential application deadline for students is April 3.
SGA searching for new leader
Ensembles perform off campus at conference Jesse Johnson Editor-In-Chief
Reb Beatty offers help to taxpayers through April 12. Photo by Nyia Curtis
The Concert Band and Chamber Winds perform at the Baltimore Convention Cener on Feb. 11. Photo by Jesse Johnson as the chair of the performing and visual arts music magnet program at Broadneck High School. Dembowski’s wife, Lynda, is a clarinet player in the concert band, and teaches clarinet as an adjunct professor at AACC. Lynda Dembowski performed in the concert as a soloist for the piece, “Black Dog,” and said she finds pressure to be a “good thing”
when performing. “If you’re feeling nervous, you work that energy into your playing,” Dembowski said. “You try to, as I call it, gather your chi.” Dembowski is also a member of the United States Naval Academy Concert Band. The ensembles will host a spring concert on May 13 in the Pascal Center for Performing Arts.
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Entertainment
‘Family’ arrives on AACC stage Jymyaka Braden Entertainment Editor
A new musical is coming to AACC at the end of March, blending music, comedy and a classic tale. “The Addams Family” theater production is a song-and-dance version of the adventures of a family that was introduced in the 1930s, beginning as a series of cartoons drawn by Charles Addams of The New Yorker. After the popularity of the cartoons, “The Addams Family” turned into a sitcom, a cartoon, a major motion picture and a Broadway musical. Mark Kamie, who is a freelance director, discussed the legacy of “The Addams Family” and the behind-thescenes production with Campus Current. “I researched the history of The Addams Family, starting with their incep-
tion; the cartoons created by Charles Addams,” Kamie said.“Then, I moved on to watching the television show and movies.” Kamie said he was inspired by the cartoons when tasked with directing the musical. Additionally, he said he researched Andrew Lippa, the writer of the music and lyrics for the musical. Costume Designer Victoria Scherini, a first-year transfer studies major at AACC, said she loves the “playfully spooky aesthetic” of the Addams’ household and its decor. “With such an iconic group of characters, you want to make sure you get the look just right,” Scherini said. “I’ve always been focused on ensuring that the actors are comfortable and able to move freely, but with a musical, the actors have to dance, and [they] need a lot more freedom of movement
The cast of “The Addams Family” rehearses the show’s dances throughout the month leading up to its March 31 opening in Kauffman Theater. Photo by Zach Tennant in their costumes.” Scherini said the team’s goal was to capture the beauty of “The Addams Family” and bring out the personalities of the characters. Scherini added the show’s production is almost entirely student-run from the lights, sound, props, makeup, costumes and stage managing.
The story of “The Addams Family” has intrigued audiences for decades. The plot involves Wednesday Addams, the 18-year-old daughter, as she tries to date a new boy. The family, however, disagrees; in its ritual of raising ancestors from the grave, the family decides to prevent Wednesday from continuing the relationship.
“I think audiences of all ages will be able to connect with the show and the characters,” Scherini said. “You don’t have to be a musical person, or a theater person, or an “Addams Family” person to enjoy this show. You just kind of have to see it, and the show will do the rest.” “The Addams Family” will premiere March 31.
AACC’s $100,000 Business Pitch Competition ALL AACC students can compete! Business Plan submissions are due by March 30th at noon ALL AACC students can compete for more than $100,000 in prizes including: • Up to $25,000 maximum in seed funds • Scholarships • Incubator space If you aspire to own your own business apply online at www.aacc.edu/esi Students should register online and sign up for business plan and business pitch coaching by March 10th Questions: Contact Stephanie Goldenberg at slgoldenberg@aacc.edu