April2024

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April 2024

Campus Life

Entertainment

Sports

A film professor directed three documentaries.

Theatre AACC made a puppet for the spring musical.

The Riverhawks esports team is looking for more students.

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Md. considers 2 new laws related to AACC Izzy Chase Associate Editor

The Maryland General Assembly is considering passing two laws related to AACC. Nick’s Law aims to prohibit someone who is convicted of operating a boat while under the influence from

operating a boat again for two years—up to five years if someone died in an accident.

“I don’t want to, like, prevent people from having a good time on the water,” Sen. Dawn Gile, a Democrat who represents Anne Arundel County, said. “But the point is to do it safely. And if you’re going to be operating a ves-

sel, that you know how to make sure that you’re doing this safely.”

The bill also aims to create a database of drivers who are charged with operating a boat while under the influence of alcohol, and to increase potential fines and Continued on Page 3

Taylor Swift-themed class to run this fall Tomi Brunton Editor-in-Chief

Are you ready for it? A new communications class that focuses on Grammy award-winning artist Taylor Swift will run this fall.

Shutterstock photo

Taylor Swift is coming to the classroom: A communications professor will teach a course this fall focused on media coverage of the Grammy award-winning artist.

Communications and Journalism Department Aca-

Campus to complete roofs by end of June Izzy Chase Associate Editor

AACC is replacing roofs on two buildings—the gym and the Physical Plant Building.

According to Jim Taylor, the executive director of administrative services, the roofs are outdated and not up to par with their warranties. Roofs have a typical warranty of 20 years.

Other roofs on campus

have been replaced periodically when the warranty expired.

Renovations began in early March, but will not be finished until June. There is no definitive date for when the renovations will be complete. Some work on the roofs was completed over spring break. Weather conditions could potentially slow renovations.

The money for the roofs comes from the capital bud-

The Maryland General Assembly is discussing AACCrelated legislation.

Photo by Mason Hood

get, which covers the cost of construction and renovations.

Taylor said the renovations will not affect classes in the gym and Physical Plant Building.

Ali Hassan, a first-year transfer studies student, said he likes seeing work done on the roof renovations because “knowing that money is being invested in my school is always a good feeling.”

demic Chair Jessica Mattingly will teach the three-credit elective course, titled Current Events in a Global Context (Taylor’s Version), with a focus on news and media literacy.

“We’re going to be really exploring … all the different ways that she has become this global phenomenon,”

Mattingly, a fan of Swift’s, said. “We’ll be looking at, kind of, her whole career from early [on] to the Eras Tour.”

AACC isn’t the first to run a Swift-themed class: Harvard University, University of California, Berkeley, New York University and more all Continued on Page 3

AACC is replacing the roofs on the Physical Plant Building and Jenkins Gymnasium because they’re getting old.

Photo by Mason Hood

2 | Campus Current | 2024 | April

Opinion

Meet the Staff Editor-in-Chief Tomi Brunton Associate Editor Izzy Chase Daily Editor Divine Mesumbe Multimedia Editor Mason Hood Sports Editor Jose Gonzalez Graphic Designer Jennifer Chisari Social Media Darian Moya Perez Senior Reporter Payton Thompson Reporters Carter DeSilva Waleska Cruz Dulcie Metro Ross Birckhead-Morton Photographers Elizabeth Luoma Zoe Brunton Web Master Ivan Sabio Contributor Bryant Pepe Faculty Adviser Sharon O’Malley Photographers on Page 1, top Joe Tropea Theatre AACC Mason Hood

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We’re halfway there; hold on Editorial Board

We’ve officially reached the halfway point of the semester. This means different things for different people.

Some students are happy the semester is creeping toward being over. Others share a feeling of dread about what’s still to come.

Regardless of how you feel, it’s important to stay focused and on track to finish the semester.

You can do it. We all can.

Breathe. No matter how stressed out you are, it’s important to take a step back and not let yourself get too overwhelmed. Taking the time to evaluate everything and not freak out can give you a new perspective.

Things aren’t always as bad as they seem. You’ve made it this far, so acknowledge the progress you’ve already made this semester and the work you’ve put in.

If you’re still feeling stressed or like you might drop all of your classes, here are some tips to consider.

Reach out to your pro-

Letter from a leader

fessors, especially if you’re struggling. Did you miss a class for a doctor’s appointment? Do you feel like you’re falling behind? Your professor cannot read your mind.

Bring it up. Openly communicating with your instructors can greatly increase your odds of succeeding in your classes.

Do your work. Really.

Just get it done. Turning in an assignment that may not be your best work is better than not doing any work at all. Don’t take risks by skipping what you think you can get away with not doing. It’s easy to let yourself miss one assignment, but it can also lead to a bad habit.

Organize yourself in a way that works for you. The word “organization” gets thrown around a lot. It’s important but often misunderstood. There is no universal system that works for everyone. That’s why you have to mess around and find something that you can tailor to your needs. Whatever system you create, make sure it fully allows you to keep

Already worn out from the semester? Get your second wind. We’re only halfway finished. Shown, second-year kinesiology student Raphael Roman.

Photo by Mason Hood track of everything that you need to and that you can do it consistently. Consistency is one of the biggest factors when it comes to effectively organizing yourself.

Prioritize. To be blunt, some things are more important than others. Likewise, some things can cause more harm than good. Are you effectively managing your time and dedicating enough to what matters to you? It’s important to take

time for yourself, but it’s also important that you consider what has the potential to negatively affect your academic success.

With all of this said and done, it’s up to you to take control of your academic career. You’ve worked so hard to get to this point, so don’t just throw it all away, even if you’re feeling a mid-semester burnout. Put the work in and continue to do so. You’ll be amazed at how it pays off.

Be ready to pivot at any time Bryant Pepe Contributor

​The ability to pivot is an invaluable skill that develops with time. Often, we have little warning before we have to pivot, but when the need arises, we should be ready.

Somewhere between complacency and the pivot, change occurs, and the pivot represents our ability to meet new situations and new challenges. The biggest changes yield the most unexpected results. Most people don’t know how capable they truly are until presented with the opportunity to meet a challenge. ​I’ve lived a hundred lives before today and will likely live many hundreds more before I’m finished. I had a career and identity wiped clean by a pandemic-stricken world, left obsolete in a quiet haze in the weeks that followed March 15, 2020. My life hadn’t been unfulfilled, but not healthy or whole, either. Years of restaurant experience showed me patience but introduced fatigue.

Years of playing and facilitating music showed me confidence and hospitality.

Decades of travel gave me perspective and humility. I knew my identity but didn’t know how to grow. ​Given the gift of opportunity amid the solitude of isolation, I was able to reflect and reconnect with myself. I tapped into childhood dreams that no longer seemed so distant and found I was no longer too busy or fatigued to pursue them. I enrolled in college and flight school on my birthday in 2020 and never looked back.

It was years later that ​ the results became more apparent. I found myself presenting research at a science conference, perfectly qualified to do so.

Standing by my poster in my fancy suit ready and waiting to speak my piece, my peers and mentors stood proudly alongside me, but a notion remained in the back of my mind. A voice repeated that I don’t belong, that the person presenting this thorough study was not the same person who had been slinging drinks and touring years prior.

Having no other choice in that moment, I drew from my bank of experience, from

Bryant Pepe, a third-year earth science student and president of the Super Science Club, says his life experiences made him different, but more flexible.

Photo courtesy of Bryant Pepe any time I ever stood upon an unfamiliar stage or stepped behind a bar, prepared to perform. I put on my best face, my happiest demeanor, and spoke exactly as prepared.

Before I knew it, my session was over, and I could move forward and reflect.

After making such momentous changes in the face of upheaval, it has be-

come easier to accept how fundamentally different my environment has become compared with all I had ever known.

Nothing is quite the same, but that’s OK: I am exactly where I’m meant to be today because I am the same person who got me here, even if that person is a little different.

Campus Current | 2024 | April | 3

News

State gov. discusses adding to AACC BoT Continued from Page 1

sentences for those convicted of driving a boat while drunk.

The bill is named after Nick Barton, a former AACC lacrosse player who died when the boat he was riding in crashed. The boat’s operator, Shayne Kenneth Smith, who was reportedly drunk, was convicted of negligent manslaughter by boat.

The bill was drafted after Barton’s mother expressed frustration over the laws surrounding drunk driving.

According to Gile, one of the bill’s sponsors, the laws for operating a boat while under the influence of alcohol do not work the same as

when someone is charged for driving a car while drunk.

“One thing that we learned was that similar to a DUI, you can have your boating privileges suspended if you get [arrested for] boating while intoxicated,” Gile said. “The problem is, is that if your boating privileges are suspended, your boater safety card, which gives you the permission to operate a vehicle, doesn’t work the same as a driver’s license. There’s no mechanism to take away that privilege.”

Another bill would add two members to AACC’s eight-member Board of Trustees.

The bill would require the governor “to consider the

geographic and ethnic representation of Anne Arundel County when making appointments to the board.”

Maryland’s governor appoints trustees to the board, which votes on decisions that affect the college.

Spencer Dixon, Gile’s legislative director, said the bill is meant to lighten the workload and diversify the membership of the board.

“It has become clear that the workload requires additional members,” Dixon said.

Dixon added that having a more diverse board reflects the college community better.

“It also speaks to the will of the Anne Arundel County delegation that di-

versity is a strength and the opposite of that, where we aren’t hearing diverse voices or hearing from diverse perspectives, can mean that any entity or organization isn’t living up to its fullest potential, including the Board of Trustees,” Dixon said. “We believe it was im-

portant to ensure as much as possible that people from around the county are on the board, people from different races, ethnicities that reflects the county are on the board.”

If the bill passes both chambers, it will be effective July 1.

“In that, students pick an event that’s been portrayed in the news and … explore how that’s been delivered in different types of media content,” Mattingly said.

“So they’ll look at the publication source, the author, their credentials, and then also the content of what they have to say.”

Mattingly added, “Since [Swift] has so much news, publication and media surrounding her, I see the students have tons of choices.”

The class will also have some “fun inclusions,” Mattingly said, like watching part of the Eras Tour film or making playlists of Swift’s music.

“We’re going to infuse some of the fun parts of it before we get into, like, the critical news reviewing of the class,” Mattingly said.

If the course is a success, Mattingly hopes to offer it again in the spring.

The 15-week class will run Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:30-1:45.

Taylor Swift inspires media literacy class Continued from Page 1

Communications professor Jessica Mattingly will teach a class on Taylor Swift next fall.

Photo by Mason Hood

Maryland legislators are discussing a law named after a former AACC athlete, Nick Barton, who died in a boat crash two years ago.

Photo courtesy of Frank Mitchell III

offer similar courses.

“I think the students will become really savvy news users and … will be more media literate after it,” Mattingly said of the course, Communications 130. “I think it’ll be a really fun, interesting class.”

In the course, students will do a variety of media literacy assignments, according to Mattingly, including a “news story investigation.”

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4 | Campus Current | 2024 | April

News

College joins ntl. coalition Carter DeSilva Reporter

AACC in December became the only community college in a coalition for cybersecurity education aimed at addressing the cybersecurity talent shortage.

The school’s selection for the Rochester Institute of Technology’s coalition came after the National Security Agency designated AACC as a National Center of Academic Excellence.

The aim of the coalition is to help veterans transition to cybersecurity careers.

“It can be difficult for transitioning veterans, when they get out of the military, to find purpose,” cybersecurity professor Mary Wallingsford said. “This allows them the opportunity to find another purpose.”

The coalition is funded by the NSA and includes six other colleges aside from AACC and RIT — University at Albany, Louisiana State University, Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico, Iowa State University, Norfolk State University and University of North Florida.

First-year cybersecurity

AACC is the only community college in the Rochester Institute of Technology’s cybersecurity coalition.

Photo by Mason Hood student Lily Davis said she knew nothing about the coalition at first, but supports the idea.

Spam emails target many AACC students Divine Mesumbe Daily Editor

Hackers and cybercriminals are targeting AACC students and faculty with spam emails through their school accounts.

According to AACC’s Vice President for Information and Instructional Technology Richard Kralevich, cybercriminals target students with phishing attacks, gift card schemes, spam and message volume.

“Institutions of higher education are … targets for bad actors,” Kralevich said.

“People … have all sorts of nefarious reasons for sending us [spam emails].”

AACC blocks “tens of thousands” of spam emails every month, according to Kralevich.

“It’s still kind of an imprecise science,” Kralevich said. “If we dial our spam filter up too much, we run the risk of blocking legitimate emails and if we dial it too low, you’ll get more spam through.”

Kralevich said spam mail has been around for “hundreds of years.”

“Before there was ever

electronic spam, people were receiving paper-based and mail-based … spam all the time,” Kralevich said. “It was just a different format.”

In an email to the campus community, Kralevich said, “We are seeing a notable uptick in spam emails targeting our community.”

First-year engineering student Alex Marx said he receives spam emails “multiple times a week.”

“They’re always like, ‘Oh, do you want a chance to win $100?’” Marx said.

Connor Boetig, a second-year cybersecurity

jobs,” Davis said. “So knowing the flexibility of cybersecurity, I think that’s wonderful.”

Some students receive spam emails that may look like discount offers but are after personal information.

Image by Mason Hood student, said he received a fraudulent email that tried to convince him to change his password.

“I was impressed by how real it looked,” Boetig said.

“I’m sure they had a lot of people resetting their passwords.”

Mea Lee, an Andrew G. Truxal library reference technician, said she has experienced several kinds of phishing emails and spam.

“Use your logical mind or use your wit,” Lee said. “If it doesn’t add up, it’s probably not real.”

“may have a family member with an autoimmune disorder and choose to be around small crowds and limit people interactions, as Covid is still a factor.”

Work study is a federal program that allows the college to match students with jobs, mostly on campus.

Work study “is to allow students to have a part-time job to gain professional skills, while earning additional income to help with their college expenses,” Lopez said.

Students can find employment opportunities on AACC Riverhawk Career Connect.

Although the work study program hired 79 students this year compared with 51 last year, that was not enough to fill all the available jobs.

But Lopez said the program is starting to “gain our traction back to what we’re used to. … As we gained more presence back on campus, I have noticed departments are really rallying our students with opportunities.”

Lopez said students are also rallying.

“With each semester since [the pandemic] I have noticed a big presence and interest in students,” Lopez said.

Work study has jobs for more employees Ross Birckhead-Morton Reporter

AACC has a shortage of work study students, like second-year film studies student Maria Bejarano.

Photo by Emma Trevino

“I think that’s one of the best things you could do, especially for veterans who have trouble finding new

More on- and off-campus work study positions are available than students to fill them this school year.

The reason, Financial Aid Specialist and Work Study Coordinator Lacey Lopez said, is a combination of students opting for online classes and departments offering more jobs as they increase staffing to pre-pandemic levels.

“I think the pandemic had a huge effect on our work-study program,” Lopez added, saying some students

Campus Current | 2024 | April | 5

Campus Life

Profs update courses to transfer to 4-years Tomi Brunton Editor-in-Chief

Some AACC professors are updating their course learning objectives so their classes will transfer to fouryear universities.

The Maryland Commission on Higher Education requires Maryland public universities to accept credits transferred from Maryland community colleges like AACC if at least 70% of the class learning objectives align with the four-year

courses, according to Marcus Wright, AACC’s director of transfer, articulation and career alignment.

These agreements mean students don’t have to retake the classes at the fouryear school if they transfer, which saves time and money, Wright said.

“Over the last six years … we’ve had an increase of over 70% of new transfer agreements,” Wright said.

According to Wright, the college is trying to ensure that entire programs trans-

fer, so students who finish certain associate degrees at AACC can transfer to some four-year universities as juniors.

“We have over 110 of these different transfer pathways for our students,” Wright said.

However, Wright added, there’s a long way to go before every program transfers.

“Within a 50-mile radius, there [are] over 1,400 bachelor’s degree programs” AACC students might want to transfer to, Wright said.

Sales of clothing at the AACC bookstore have more than doubled, thanks to the addition of the popular casual wear line Carhartt in November.

Manager Christopher Walsh said the bookstore sold $20,579 worth of clothes between November and January, compared with $9,665 during those same three months last year.

“I had to do a reorder for the brown hoodies, which has been my most popular one, within two weeks of bringing Carhartt in,” Assistant Manager Sarah Pries said. “Once the brown hoodies sold out,

Classical music top choice for studying Waleska Cruz Reporter

AACC students say they prefer to listen to classical music while they’re studying.

In an informal survey of 50 students on campus, 17 said they like to listen to classical music while they do assignments. A dozen said they usually choose rap, electronic, lofi or white noise. And 10 each said they listen to country and pop. A few others said they prefer rock, regional, hip-hop, jazz or indie.

“It helps me concentrate a lot,” first-year education student Amanda Santos said.

“It kind of helps me romanticize my homework. I can pretend I’m in some grand library.”

According to a national study by Grand Canyon Education, 41.8% of students said they benefit from listening to music while doing homework. In fact, they said it helps reduce stress, improve focus, reduce distractions and stay motivated while working.

Fourth-year theater stu-

Not every program has university equivalents, Wright said.

“We have some degrees that transfer and some de-

grees that are meant for you to go out into the career workforce,” Wright said.

“Each situation is a little bit different.”

the black hoodies started going really fast. So the reorder has been very helpful.”

Carhartt is an American unisex apparel company founded in 1889, known for heavy-duty work wear such as jackets, coats, beanies and sweatshirts.

Sales of Carhartt wear grew by $600 million nationally last year, according to career search site Zippia, partly because celebrities like Bella Hadid and Kanye West have been wearing it.

Pries added that the bookstore started selling Carthartt because it’s a popular brand with the younger generation.

“My boyfriend wore Carthartt a lot and he was the

person who influenced me into it,” first-year nursing student Andrea Cruz said, “and now I have a lot of Carhartt in my closet.”

Cruz added she loves to wear Carhartt because of how comfortable and high quality the clothes are.

Some students said they didn’t know that the bookstore sells Carhartt.

Second-year undecided student Emely Torres said she would be interested in checking out the bookstore for Carhartt beanies.

Carhartt hoodies sell for $80 at the campus bookstore; crewnecks go for $70; long-sleeve tees, $45; short sleeves, $40; and beanies, $35.

AACC bookstore now offers Carhartt brand Waleska Cruz Reporter

The campus bookstore sells attire from the casual wear line Carhartt. Shown, second-year homeland security student Philip Michaels in a Carhartt-brand hat.

Photo by Mason Hood

University of Maryland, College Park student Micah Smith transferred there from AACC as a junior.

Photo by Zoe Brunton

dent Milo Starling listens to rock music while doing homework because the beat of the music helps with concentration. “If it’s pure silence, I get distracted a lot,” Starling said.

“I think it just relaxes me because I’m anxious and nursing school is really stressful so having that music in the background just calms everything down,” fourth-year nursing student Leslie Rhodes said.

Nursing student Anna Trochimowicza, who will graduate in May, said coun-

Heena Cook, a second-year graphic web design student, listens to music while studying.

Photo by Mason Hood try music helps her calm down, especially when she’s stressed. “Music definitely helps lower my stress level,” Trochimowicza said.

Some students said they don’t listen to music as they are doing their homework.

“Because usually I’m trying to do math or something and it kind of messes with me,” Stevi Davis, a second-year engineering student, said. “I can’t think when I hear people talking at the same time.”

6 | Campus Current | 2024 | April

Campus Life

Part-time student org celebrates 20 years Dulcie Metro Reporter

A 300-plus-member organization of part-time AACC students—mostly older than 60—is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

To celebrate the anniversary, the Peer Learning Partnership’s Educational Outreach Committee plans to host a speaker series once a month on Saturdays.

Among the invited speakers is Washington Post Senior Editor Craig Timberg.

The PLP also plans to host a dinner at Quiet Waters Park in June.

The PLP began in 2004 when a group of friends had an idea to take turns educating one another on different topics of interest.

“The way it got started was there were a bunch of people that were good friends … who we call the founders or the pioneers,” Mark Evans, the group’s

president, said. “And several of them got this great idea that, ‘Hey, you know, we got a lot of smart people in this group. What about if, as peers, we all took turns teaching courses to each other?’”

Another founder, Maggie Brinsley, helped the group become affiliated with AACC. “She approached the person who was the director of lifelong learning at the time and asked if she would help sort of bring it under the college umbrella as a lifelong learning program while still allowing them to be a self directed learning community,” Terry Portis, AACC’s director of lifelong learning, said.

The group’s members, including a number of former college professors, engineers and other mostly retired professionals, take turns facilitating informal, six- to eight-week non-credit courses in technology, history, writing and a dozen or

so other topics each semester.

Part of AACC’s Office of Lifelong Learning, the PLP has a curriculum committee that decides which courses to offer and who should facilitate them.

“There are questionnaires at the end of every course for participants to fill out and suggest courses and there are tons of them that are requested,” Karen Kendra, a PLP member who facilitates writing courses for the group, said.

Participants pay a membership fee of $30 to join PLP and another $33 for each virtual or in-person course they enroll in. Registration is through AACC. “My philosophy has always been that when you stop learning you stop living and it’s particularly when you retire,” Evans said.

“Some people are happy to go out and hit golf balls. I got tired of hitting golf balls.

Fun and Games

Did you know?

The last day to drop 15-week classes is April 22.

Photo by Izzy Chase

Peer Learning Partnerships, an organization for parttime students, mostly in retirement, celebrates its 20-year anniversary.

Photo courtesy of Christine Edwards ... You just need something more for your brain and your mind.”

Some members participate in PLP to keep their minds active after they have retired.

“When I retired, I was really concerned that I would be the kind of person that sat on a rocking chair, or in front of the computer all day long or watching TV,” David Newman, the director of PLP communications, said. “You have got to get out

and be with people.”

Other members take PLP courses to learn about things they didn’t have the time for back then.

“I spent 46 years in nursing and I always loved to write,” Kendra said.

“When I finished my career I didn’t know who I was anymore. When I found a place with classes, that was just a wonderful experience to be able to still learn and to learn things that I hadn’t concentrated on before.”

Campus Current | 2024 | April | 7

Campus Life

Honors project yields greenhouse lookalike Divine Mesumbe Daily Editor

An engineering student built a miniature replica of AACC’s greenhouse last fall for his physics honors project.

Jonathan Simmons, a second-year engineering student, created a small model of the greenhouse, located next to the Health and Life Sciences Building, for his General Physics 2 class with professor Eric Fons.

“I have not encountered anything like this before,” Fons said. “[It’s] very creative science and engineering work.”

The goal of the project was to mimic the circuitry and inner controls of the greenhouse on a smaller scale.

“I was initially interested in the PID [proportional integral derivative] temperature controller, just as a way to, you know, sort of build

out my knowledge of circuits [and] build up my knowledge of thermodynamics,” Simmons said. “When I was speaking with professor Fons, he mentioned that there was a greenhouse next door … and I mentioned how advanced it was and all the different controls they had and he came up with the idea of tying them together.”

Simmons said he considers his model an “extremely lesser” version of the AACC greenhouse.

“It’s kind of intense what [the greenhouse] can do,” Simmons said. “The control that I have of the temperature and the humidity and the light is much less refined than [what] you would have in, like, a full-scale greenhouse.”

Simmons added: “There’s a small amount of programming that goes into it.”

Before starting the project, Simmons and Fons interviewed laboratory manager

Michael Norman, who runs the greenhouse.

“I should give him some credit, because he’s the one who took us on a tour,” Fons said. “Mike Norman helped us understand more about how the real big greenhouse works. … It’s a pretty complicated and interesting setup.”

According to Fons, Simmons is his first honors student since before the pandemic.

“More often than not, [the honors program] involves doing all the same kind of course [work as] in the normal course, plus some kind of honors project that they have to do, [which] is research oriented,” Fons said. “Physics courses are difficult enough as they are. … They require a lot of time and energy.”

Most of Fons’ students are in engineering programs and are too busy to take on an honors project. “[Since] a lot of students

Second-year engineering student Jonathan Simmons made a replica of the inner workings of the campus greenhouse.

Photos by Divine Mesumbe (top) and Jonathan Simmons (bottom) are busy with engineering programs … it may not be to their advantage to do an honors contract,” Fons said.

Simmons said he wanted to work on something that overlapped with class topics

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Fun and Games

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and his interest in engineering.

“There may be some opportunity for him to pursue the research even further in various ways,” Fons said.

“He’s doing very good work.”

8 | Campus Current | 2024 | April

Campus Life

Prof releases original films Izzy Chase Associate Editor Jason Kalshoven Reporter

It took a film professor seven years to release his first documentary, “Hit and Stay.”

Joe Tropea, an adjunct professor at AACC and Towson University, released the 97-minute documentary in 2013. The film tells the tale of the Catonsville Nine and the Baltimore Four, a group of anti-Vietnam War activists who destroyed draft records as a form of protest.

Tropea is credited as a director on two other projects: “Sickies Making Film” and “Fugazi’s Barber,” and has worked on seven films as a producer. Most of his work is available through streaming.

Tropea, who has a master’s degree in history, previously worked as a public historian and curator. Ac-

cording to Tropea, having a background in history helps him gather different viewpoints during the documentary filmmaking process.

“You can’t trust what one person’s version of an event is,” Tropea said. “So as a historian … you have to represent multiple viewpoints.

And I bring that into my documentary filmmaking.”

Tropea is an indie filmmaker who has never worked with a major studio.

“All of my films have been self-financed … through Kickstarter, Indiegogo … [or] grants,” Tropea said.

The world of documentary filmmaking has opened up a lot of opportunities for Tropea. While working on “Hit and Stay,” Tropea said he has “been really fortunate. I got to meet … people that I look up to,” adding, “Meeting people that are kind of your academic idols is pretty great.”

Tropea encouraged stu-

Film professor Joe Tropea has directed three documentaries and produced seven films.

Photo by Mason Hood dents who want to make documentaries not to “let someone tell you you can’t do something. Just do it.

If you suck, you’ll find out eventually.”

Kezia Millett, a second-year film studies student, said having a profes-

sor with a documentary background means Tropea has experience “talking to different people and definitely got, like, different perspectives.”

Rye Tallon, a second-year undecided student, said Tropea “seems to have … a lot of

passion and a lot of knowledge in the field.”

Anna Karageorgi, a second-year film studies student, agreed.

“It’s pretty cool that … actually he … talks about what the industry is,” Karageorgi said.

HawkTrade is a student business trade show featuring AACC students, Ratcliffe Scholars, and Ratcliffe Scholar alumni who are in business or who are gathering feedback to launch their businesses.

Purchase clothing, jewelry, crafts, art, or desserts. Support students who have new products or service ideas.

Thursday, April 11th 10:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. in the Hawk's Nest (SUN 100) and 3:30–5:00 p.m. in the Careers Building 2nd Floor Vending area.

Campus Current | 2024 | April | 9

Campus Life

Students use trendy Stanley Cup tumblers Waleska Cruz Reporter

Trendy water bottles called Stanley Cups, with their variety of sizes, colors and styles, are popular around campus and around the world.

AACC students said they like the oversize water bottles because they are big, keep drinks cold for a long time and get good reviews on TikTok. “I wanted to see what all the hype was about and it definitely is worth it,” firstyear elementary education student Carley Johnson said. “I mean, it keeps my water cold for a really long time, like all day. It has ice in it and I really like my water iced.”

More than 6 billion posts have used the #stanleycup hashtag on TikTok to show off the $45 tumblers, which come in blue, orange, yellow, green, black and rose gold,

among other colors.

Business professor Stephanie Goldenberg said students choose Stanley Cups because they come in a lot of colors and are easy to paste stickers onto.

“They can express their personality with the color of the brand,” Goldenberg, the academic chair of the Entrepreneurial Studies Department, said. “Stickers have become kind of a renewed thing. For example, my friend has a Stanley Cup and she gets a sticker wherever we travel, and that’s her travel cup. Yeah, so she puts the sticker on it and then it’s almost like a conversation starter.”

Goldenberg said students use reusable Stanley Cups so they don’t have to throw away disposable plastic bottles.

“It just makes financial sense,” Goldenberg added.

“You’re not spending money repeatedly on something. It’s

just kind of wasteful.”

Still, a January lawsuit against the maker of Stanley Cups claimed the tumblers contain lead, which could cause lead poisoning and other health problems.

In response, Stanley said although it uses lead in manufacturing, the amount is insignificant and does not come into contact with the consumer or contaminate the liquid in the cups.

Some students said the lead doesn’t concern them.

“If I’m going to get lead poisoning, like, I already have it,” second-year nursing student Grace Evans said.

“There’s really no harm in drinking more.”

Johnson said she is not worried, either.

“I mean I saw that it doesn’t get into your water.

So I guess that kind of helps,” Johnson said.

Third-year nursing student Abigail Cooper added, “I just don’t feel like buying

Many students on campus carry Stanley Cup water tumblers.

Adobe Stock photo another.” But Cooper said she’s not happy with her cup, for other reasons.

“I don’t like my Stanley because it’s really hard to clean and it’s kind of impractical,” Cooper said. “I thought the handle would make it easier to carry around, but I actually don’t use the handle at all. Like, I carry it from the bottom.”

Still, Cooper said she is going to keep it.

“It’s honestly just the only water bottle I have so

I just kind of use whatever I have,” Cooper said. “I just don’t feel like buying another and I am kind of on the hunt for a different one that’s not $45 but that’s still cute.”

Johnson disagreed, saying her Stanley Cup is easy to handle.

“They’re very durable and I’m pretty sure I’ve dropped this a lot of times,” Johnson said. “Sometimes it gets heavy when it’s full, but it’s very easy to carry because it has the handle.”

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10 | Campus Current | 2024 | April

Entertainment

Theatre AACC makes carnivorous puppet Tomi Brunton Editor-in-Chief

A second-year theater student designed a puppet that can swallow actors whole for Theatre AACC’s spring production of “Little Shop of Horrors.”

Gabby Bly, the assistant set designer for “Little Shop,” used PVC pipe, chicken wire and papier mache to create the massive Audrey II puppet, an alien plant that eats humans in the show.

“I wanted it to be different than every other production that’s ever done ‘Little Shop,’” Bly, who plans to earn a production design certificate from AACC, said.

“So she has a mohawk and she has lots of spikes and

she’s purple and green, and she’s got personality.”

Bly and the set design team created four different Audrey II puppets for the show, starting with a small hand puppet and then larger versions to represent the plant as it grows. The largest Audrey takes six puppeteers to control.

“I’ve always been into building worlds and, you know, creating backdrops and stuff, but I don’t think I’ve ever made anything that was made to move or eat people before,” Bly said.

It “has to be sturdy enough to be handled and sturdy enough to eat people.”

Head puppeteer Erik Binnix, a third-year engineering and mathematics

student, said the puppeteers have “developed a unique chemistry” while working together on Audrey II. “It is quite the mechanism and [a] dance and coordination of a whole bunch of different elements,” Binnix said. “If you want to count the vines and everything, [it’s] like a whole six-person contraption.”

Set designer Sean Urbantke said Theatre AACC has made large monsters for shows before, but never this detailed.

“This is much more of a puppet that is supposed to feel like it’s alive and real,” Urbantke said. “It’s supposed to feel like it’s an actual plant that’s there and eating the performer in front of you.”

Opera AACC will put on a show in May about Matthew Shepard, a gay man who was murdered at age 21.

“Considering Matthew Shepard,” written by conductor Craig Hella Johnson, will run on May 17 and 19 in the Kauffman Theater.

“This show just does a great job at humanizing it and saying, ‘Hey, this could

Improv club preps for 1st solo productions Tomi Brunton Editor-in-Chief

AACC’s student improv club will put on its first solo performance on May 10 and 11.

The Overcast Troupers, which started last fall, will play comedic games and interact with the audience in two, one-hour shows.

“We’re going to try and make the audience laugh, or try and make them feel something of some sort,” Jason Kalshoven, Overcast Troupers co-founder and co-president, said. “Just

general goofiness.”

In February, members of the Overcast Troupers performed their first onstage games in between the theater department’s “Black Box Shows.”

Overcast Troupers Co-President Éva Parry said she learned a lot from the club’s introduction to the stage, and she hopes to take those lessons into the first solo performance.

“We definitely learned a lot more about … how people interact in scenes and what different people’s strengths are,” Parry, a first-

Puppeteer Robin Whewell, a second-year theater student, said controlling the “puppet with other people” is a great experience.

Third-year theater student Daniel Wade, one of the puppeteers for Audrey II,

said it’s a “challenge” to control the complicated puppet.

“It’s a bit different [from] theater, when you’re acting as a person,” Wade said. “It’s interesting to … have to take blocking notes and apply it to inanimate objects.”

have been anybody,’” fourthyear music student Jeremiah Goodman, who will play Shepard, said. “This could have been anyone’s kid, anyone’s friend, anyone’s brother. It could have been you, you never know.”

Shepard’s murder in 1998 led to the anti-hate crime legislation called The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009.

His parents, Judy and

Dennis Shepard, founded the Matthew Shepard Foundation to support LGBTQ people.

Doug Byerly, a music professor who will conduct the performance, said it’s a “very, very difficult show,” but important.

“This isn’t a frilly opera or musical entertainment piece,” Byerly said. “The goal of this production is to help erase hate and to bring light into our community.”

Opera show focuses on hate crime history Tomi Brunton Editor-in-Chief

Opera AACC will put on “Considering Matthew Shepard,” a show about a gay man who was murdered in 1998.

Image courtesy of Doug Byerly

Second-year theater and production design student Gabby Bly, right, designed the Audrey II puppet for Theatre AACC’s spring performance of “Little Shop of Horrors.”

Photo by Mason Hood

year history student, said.

“That’s something that I hope to continue exploring in preparation for our upcoming show.”

Kalshoven, a second-year film student, agreed.

“We got a better gauge of like, how to, like, play off of laughs and things and react to the audience without actually, like, breaking the reality of a scene,” Kalshoven said.

Parry noted that many improv club members had never been on stage before the Black Box Shows.

Improv club Co-Presidents Éva Parry, left, and Jason Kalshoven rehearse for their upcoming spring show.

Photo by Mason Hood “It felt a little bit daunting to get, like, a group of 10 people who had zero experience on stage already to do improv on stage for the first time,” Parry said.

Parry said the Overcast Troupers might try to do

more performances next year.

“I think the goal for next year is to maybe try having, like, one or two performances per semester, rather than it being, like, two just in the spring semester,” Parry said.

Campus Current | 2024 | April | 11

Clubs

Campus club creates original video game Divine Mesumbe Daily Editor

Three AACC students developed an escape room video game in less than a week during February to promote their campus club.

The AACC Game Development Club displayed the two-dimensional point-andclick escape room game at a student Involvement Fair at the beginning of the semester as a way to encourage potential members to join the club.

“I just thought, ‘I want something at the table that people would be interested in,’” Dylan Simmons, the club’s president, said.

Simmons, a second-year computer science student, developed the game with the help of second-year web design student Mattie Peri, who worked as a background artist for the game, and second-year astronomy student Stephanie Ellis, who designed some of the objects.

Simmons, the programmer, used the Argentine game engine Godot to develop the game because it’s “user-friendly” and would be the “best one to go to” for 2D games.

“I figured that it was the simplest one,” Simmons said.

“I … was actually able to do game development how I

wanted to [with the game engine].”

Simmons said the game is a beginner-friendly puzzle game.

“I definitely did not want to make it [a] more difficult game,” Simmons said.

“I didn’t want it to be something unplayable [for beginners].”

Peri agreed, adding, “You have to be mindful … [that] the players can read the game and know what they’re supposed to do.”

According to Ellis, seeing the finished product was “rewarding” and makes her “definitely want to continue doing it.”

“I was kind of worried

that maybe my drawings wouldn’t fit the art style or that something might be off,” Ellis said. “Seeing the whole thing be cohesive and come together … it was really nice.”

Peri said rushing through game development was a challenge but fun.

“I’ve never really worked on anything with that much

time pressure before but honestly, I found it maybe a little more productive,” Peri said. “I learned a ton … about time-management skills.”

Peri added: “It was a very small project, and we knew it was going to be. … It’s, like, it wasn’t a super massive commitment, anything super crazy or detailed.”

fitness,” Gamache said. “And then those experienced lifters to find a way to either share that information or to find other experienced lifters so they can safely reach their own goals.”

Gamache and Lorenzana said the club is intended for students to meet their fitness goals, regardless of how much experience they have.

The club will meet weekly in the gym and offer coaching for newer members and encourage each other to work out more.

Lorenzana said there will be one hybrid meeting, where the club will “talk

about, like, the objectives or fitness in general and health.” Other meetings will be in-person in the fitness center, where “we can all work together and figure out, like, what we need to do to, like, achieve our goals.”

Gamache, an experienced lifter, said he hopes to attract students at his level who can spot each other during workouts.

Lorenzana said “it’s a combination” of experienced and new students hoping to join the club. According to Lorenzana, the club has approximately 10 prospective members.

Students try to start fitness organization Izzy Chase Associate Editor

Second-year business administration student Aidan Gamache is one of two students on campus trying to start a fitness club.

Photo by Mason Hood

The new Game Development Club created an original video game in February in less than a week.

Screenshot by Mason Hood

Two AACC students said they hope to start an on-campus club with the goal of promoting fitness.

Aidan Gamache, a second-year business administration student, and John Lorenzana, a second-year mechatronics student, will serve as the co-presidents of AACC’s Fitness Club. Though the club is not official yet, the two students said they expect to soft launch the group by the end of the semester.

“I wanted to allow newer lifters to find a way into

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12 | Campus Current | 2024 | April

Sports

Esports players need physicals to compete Jose Gonzalez Sports Editor

AACC requires every student athlete—including esports players—to take a physical exam before joining any sports team.

The school requires athletes to visit their own doctors for physicals before the team’s season begins. The athletes or their health insurance pay for their visits.

“It’s always been a part of the eligibility requirements for participation,” Athletics Director Duane Herr said.

But some athletes said a physical for esports competitors is overkill because the role of the team members

isn’t as physical as the activities of players in other sports like basketball or lacrosse.

Esports players compete in tournaments involving video games like Rocket League and League of Legends. AACC adopted esports as an official college sport in 2021.

Hollis Luethy, a second-year mathematics student and esports player, said medical documentation is a good idea for athletes in any sport. But Luethy added, “The physical that [esports players] have right now, I don’t think it’s necessary.”

Spencer Potter, a firstyear transfer studies student and esports player, agreed.

“I can understand it being important for actual [health issues], but I think, like, outside of, like, mental health stuff … [it] doesn’t seem necessary for, you know, playing video games,” Potter said.

Potter added: “A lot of issues that I’ve seen through esports and playing with other people is when they have problems with their health, it’s always a mentality thing.”

Luethy conceded, however, that “maybe if you have … hand problems or maybe eye problems, that might be necessary.”

Esports head coach Conway Johnson said esports

Nearly half of the students in a Campus Current poll said they’re just not that into sports.

In an informal poll of 50 students on campus, 26 said they enjoy sports and 24 said they really don’t.

And of the 24 students who aren’t into sports, 20 said they find it boring.

“I never understand

Competitive gaming team lacks members Jose Gonzalez Sports Editor

AACC’s esports team is having a hard time recruiting and is looking to add more players to its roster.

Esports head coach Conway Johnson said too few potential players know the campus has an esports team that is part of AACC Athletics.

“We are kind of still a little hidden on campus,” Johnson said. “If you come down this particular hallway [in the CALT building], you can’t miss us, but anywhere else on campus there’s next to no information.”

The college made esports a part of AACC Athletics in February 2022. The spring 2024 roster includes three players who will compete in Rocket League.

Esports competes in the National Junior College Athletics Association Esports against other colleges across the country. The League of Legends team made playoffs in fall 2021.

“I’ve gotten fliers up on the boards around campus, but like they only last for so long, and keeping up with getting new ones up, you know, constantly … has been tricky.”

Kyle Lynch, a first-year

players are prone to repetitive stress injuries of the hand and wrist.

“Those can become an issue and it’s … the most common esports injury,” Johnson said.

Still, the coach said, “Esports isn’t as prone to … injuries as other sports are because there’s less actual physical movement, [but] esports does have … an athleticism to it.”

Herr said players on all teams have to get physicals.

“Consistency across the board for us,” Herr said. “We treat all of our sports to the same standard.”

“I would be surprised to find out that there’s not at least some level of health documentation required at other colleges to catch things like that,” Johnson said. “You want to know about those things.”

[sports], and I’m like, ‘This is a good thing we’re watching?’” Kassidy Golden, a first-year transfer studies student, said. “They’re like, ‘Yeah, it was a good move.’ I was like, ‘Alright.’”

Others who said they don’t like sports said games aren’t interesting, are too complicated, or lead to injuries.

According to a Pew Research Center survey, 60% of Americans are not interest-

ed in following sports.

Still, plenty of AACC students said they like watching and playing sports.

“It’s … impressive to see what people can, like, push their bodies to accomplish and then … the team aspect of it,” Nathaniel Wofford, a second-year public health student, said.

Still, some AACC students said they grew up playing and bonding over sports.

AACC students show disinterest in sports Jose Gonzalez Sports Editor

Nearly half of AACC students in an informal poll say they aren’t interested in sports.

Photo illustration by Mason Hood

Every student-athlete must get a physical before participating on a Riverhawks team.

Photo by Mason Hood

media production student and esports player, agreed that many students don’t know about the team.

“Esports right now is still a relatively niche idea,” Lynch said. “It’s not nearly as big as our traditional sports.”

In fact, Johnson said students are surprised when they find out the Riverhawks have an esports team.

“We start getting people … because, like, they see us [at events and] they’re, like …

‘Oh … we have esports, let’s go do that,’” Johnson said.

Johnson said players have the option of practicing their games in the lab in CALT 115 or at home.

Esports coach Conway Johnson says the esports team struggles to recruit new members.

Photo by Elizabeth Luoma The lab is open from Monday through Thursday from noon to 5 p.m.

Players said to be a part of esports in college is “a really cool opportunity.”

“It’s something that hasn’t really existed for a very long time,” Lynch noted, adding, “It’s still new as of the past couple of years,

and I’m super excited.”

Hollis Luethy, a second-year mathematics student and esports player, said participating on the team is a good way to spend time.

“It’s fun and I enjoy it,” Luethy said. “I honestly wish it was open … more days so, you know, more time to come in and play.”