May 2025

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AACC’s arts journal, Amaranth, celebrates its 50th edition.

Students say they would still buy expensive tickets.

Two students move from Idaho to play lacrosse.

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Minimum class size grows from 12 to 15 Jose Gonzalez Editor-in-Chief

Starting in the fall, classes with fewer than 15 students could be canceled before the semester begins.

This comes a year and a half after college administrators increased the minimum

class size from 10 students to 12, according to Vice President for Learning Tanya Millner, who explained that the suggestion came from consulting firm rpk GROUP, which the school hired to assess how efficiently it uses its resources.

“This came after a full

academic year of data analysis and discussions that involved faculty and staff,” Millner said. “The target number has increased gradually and intentionally over time to better align with the enrollment trends and some Continued on Page 3

African student club wins excellence prize Lily Peaper Associate Editor

The African Student Association wins Outstanding Student Club at the Impact and Excellence awards.

Shown, club President Rabiyatou Bah. Photo by Lily Peaper

The African Student Association won the award for Outstanding Student Club at the 2025 Impact and Excellence Awards ceremony on April 24.

Club President Rabiyatou Bah, a third-year environmental science student, accepted the award during

the ceremony at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel in downtown Annapolis.

“It feels exciting and a great honor to receive this award,” Bah said. “The club means a lot to me. I’ve put in a lot of effort and long hours to make it something that can be fun and educational to everyone.”

Bah founded the African Student Association in 2023

of campus activities for the SGA this semester, said. “I want to work hard to at least bring some of that to the community college.”

Oyewumi, who spent a large portion of her life in Nigeria, agreed, adding she wants to “be a voice, just to represent the students and, like, improve the campus life and just be an advocate.”

First-year students Chris Chambers, left, and Dammy Oyewumi are running for Student Government Association president.

Photo by Jose Gonzalez

2 candidates run for SGA president office Jose Gonzalez Editor-in-Chief

Two first-year students are running for Student Government Association president for the next school year.

The candidates are Chris Chambers, an engineering student, and Dammy Oyewumi, a nursing student. The winner of the election will replace second-year kinesiology student Meredith Dales,

who will graduate in May. Students may vote for president on The Nest between April 28 and May 4.

Chambers said he is running for president to bring the college community closer.

“I know that when it comes to community colleges and commuter colleges, the school spirit and the feeling of that regular college experience is lacking,” Chambers, who serves as vice president

AACC will cancel most classes that have fewer than 15 students in the future. Shown, communications professor Zoë Farquhar.

Photo by Jose Gonzalez

Continued on Page 3

with another student. She said her main goal was to give the club "a solid foundation for the coming years.”

The Impact and Excellence Awards are organized by the Student Government Association and the Office of Student Engagement.

Students and faculty submitted nominations for the Continued on Page 3

2 | Campus Current | 2025 | May

Editorial

Meet the Staff Editor-in-Chief Jose Gonzalez Associate Editor Lily Peaper Graphic Designer Mattie Peri Reporters Julissa Mendoza Robles Ali Rizvi Hudson Toth Contributor Zoë Sharp Photographers Marcy Cox Claire Lui Nathan Warner Faculty Adviser Sharon O’Malley

Celebrate smallest wins, too Editorial Board

Graduation is almost here and it is a big accomplishment, maybe the biggest one of your life so far.

Whether you’re getting your diploma this month or not, though, you have a lot to celebrate.

It’s a good idea to celebrate all of your wins, not just the gigantic ones. Are you on course to get an A in the hardest class you’ve ever taken? Are you winding up the semester in a cool friend group of people you didn’t even know at this time last year? Did you get your driver’s license? Learn how to cook spaghetti and meatballs?

These might not be milestones, but they’re still worth celebrating.

We’re in the final stretch before summer break, and it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed. Maybe you added an eight-week course to your schedule last month, or the one-credit class you thought would be a breeze has ended up being time consuming.

We start each semester with a list of goals to achieve.

Letter from a leader

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But as the assignments add up and the workload gets heavier before finals, it can be hard to manage. If you fall behind, you can start to hold a grudge against yourself and your lack of motivation.

What could be more motivating than a win? Every day is full of them, but we let our busy schedules and days-long study sessions overshadow them.

It’s easy to lose yourself in the big picture and overlook the small wins.

Psychology Today defines small wins as “modest behavior changes that can set off a chain reaction of more and better changes.”

So every morning, get the ball rolling by making your bed. This will have you feeling successful before you even leave your room.

Coming home to a space that is nice and tidy can help make you feel less anxious and overwhelmed.

Another example of a small win is acing a quiz that you were nervous for. This could even be a part of a larger goal you have to pass a class. When you recognize your hard work has paid off,

Graduation is a huge accomplishment, but it’s not your only one. Celebrate small wins every day.

Shown, AACC President Dawn Lindsay hands a diploma to a graduate.

Campus Current archive you might find faith in yourself.

It takes discipline and resilience to ace a college course, especially if you are also juggling a job or raising kids. Time management is a skill to take pride in.

Tiny tasks that you complete instead of taking a shortcut, like cooking a meal for yourself instead of ordering take-out, is another reason to pat yourself on the back. It’s hard not to DoorDash food frequently—it’s so convenient—but think of how much money you save

when you cook at home. Another win.

Noting your everyday accomplishments can help you build the habit of goal-setting. Try rewarding yourself with a gift, like a walk to a park or even with coloring a page in a coloring book whenever you accomplish a small goal.

So if you’re graduating, congratulations on your enormous accomplishment.

And even if you’re not, congratulations to you, too, for every small goal you fulfilled all semester long.

Why I’m taking a gap year(s) Zoë Sharp Contributor

Growing up, I believed that the only path to happiness was paved with earning perfect grades in high school, and then immediately enrolling in a four-year university.

As the end of my senior year approached in 2020, however, I began to think that maybe I just wasn’t cut out for school. I was just about to drop out of high school when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Suddenly, I had all the accommodations I needed, and I managed to graduate on time.

Still, with only online college classes in my future and a case of severe academic burnout, I decided not to go to college right away, not until I actually wanted to learn again.

As a child, I loved learning. But years of tedious assignments and tests that prioritized regurgitating information left me sick of school.

So instead of jumping right back into school after high school graduation, I chose to focus on working on

myself until I felt ready.

The main thing I am grateful to have had the time to do was enrolling in a residential eating disorder treatment center. There, I learned about emotional regulation, interpersonal effectiveness and general life skills.

After completing treatment, I went on to work my first job, and I took a bit more time off until fall 2022, when I enrolled at AACC. My time here hasn’t been conventional either, though. I’ve changed majors, dropped my share of classes, and I even got an incomplete here and there.

Still, my professors have always been encouraging, accommodating and supportive of my journey.

During my first semester, I took English 101 with professor Garrett Brown, and it changed my path immensely.

Through his class, I rediscovered my love for writing and ended up changing from a major in social work to a double major in psychology and creative writing.

Now in my third year at AACC, I am the editor-in-chief of Amaranth,

Graduating psychology and creative writing student Zoë Sharp will take a gap year to work in retail. Sharp is the editor-in-chief of Amaranth, AACC’s journal of the arts.

Photo by Marcy Cox the student arts journal, and I plan to finish my very last class over the summer.

Afterward, I’ll take another gap year to focus on working and saving money, as I’ve recently moved out of my family’s home.

Since I’ve realized my love for retail, I’m going to use this time off to see whether working my way up

in that field might be for me.

If not, I plan to continue my education at the University of Baltimore and become a therapist specializing in narrative therapy.

Despite all the twists and turns, I’ve never been more certain that I’m on the right path for me, and I am incredibly excited to see what else my future holds.

Campus Current | 2025 | May | 3

News

Profs, students upset about new minimum Continued from page 1

budget realities.”

Millner said administrators have no plans to raise the minimum class size higher than 15, but added the college will “keep analyzing each semester, each academic year, to make sure that that’s the appropriate number.”

Multiple faculty members have been vocal about their opposition to the 15-student minimum and have informed those taking their classes that some low-enrollment courses could be eliminated and that canceled classes could prevent some students from graduating on time.

English professor Suzanne Spoor said more than 20 classes could be affected by the change.

Communications professor Zoë Farquhar created stickers, Zoom profile pictures and posters showing the number 15 crossed out.

The artwork includes the phrase, “Save our classes.

Save our college. Join REU in the fight against 15.”

REU stands for Riverhawk Educators United, the newly formed union of fulltime faculty members.

“We’re fighting against it,” Farquhar said. “It gives us the opportunity to say this is the plan for next year to raise the minimum to 15. … We don’t want that to happen.”

Sociology professor Kathleen Krueger said she is against the increased minimum.

“It makes me nervous for our students, for faculty and the college itself,” Krueger said. “This is not a necessary decision, in my opinion, and doesn’t fit data that we have about student learning, where the college is going and what is best for our students, which is really what all college decisions should be based on.”

English and creative writing professor Garrett Brown said the new minimum worries him.

“One thing that research consistently says about student learning is that smaller class sizes are what’s most conducive to student learning,” Brown said. “And so, you know, the push to make the classes as big as possible seems to work a little bit against the idea of student learning. … A lot of faculty have concerns that smaller classes and programs could end up being cut.”

Some students, like firstyear nursing student Connor Egan, also said they object to the new rule.

“I think it creates a lot of uncertainty for people who are trying to schedule their lives around trying to get an education,” Egan said. “A lot of people that attend AACC … are working jobs outside of school, or they have families and children, and to only have classes available to students needing, you know, a 15-person minimum … just to have [the class] pulled out from under you, like the week

awards. The winners were chosen by a subcommittee of professionals within Student Development, according to Lea Brisbane, a leadership and involvement specialist.

Biology professor Kelly Livernoche and academic literacies professor Antione

SGA candidates start campaigning for fall Continued from Page 1

Oyewumi said she gained leadership experience working with youths in Nigeria.

This semester, she serves as the social media chair for the African Student Association.

Chambers said a goal as president would be to fill all SGA offices. During this election, three candidates signed up for two positions, while no students are running for the other five vacancies.

Oyewumi said her goal is to be a voice for students, especially for foreign students.

She said most African students she knows are “scared to do a lot of things and stuff like participate. So I want to, like, be an inspiration to them.”

Both candidates said they would work hard as SGA president.

“I know I should be president because I’m going to, like, lead with passion,”

before [the semester begins], I mean, that’s going to cause a lot of issues for people.”

Egan added: “I don’t think the administration really understands the gravity of that decision.”

Maria Bell, a first-year transfer studies student, said she is concerned with rpk GROUP’s involvement because of its work with other colleges.

“They are known to cut liberal arts classes and prioritize non-liberal arts classes, even at community colleges and liberal arts colleges,”

Bell said. “It’s really like, antithetical to the message of, you know, education and what AACC does.”

Still, Millner said officials will “always” make exceptions to the 15-minimum rule for certain classes.

“There are multiple factors to consider when we look at running a low-enrolled class,” Millner said.

“If a student needs a capstone course, a specialized class, or a specific course to graduate or transfer within a semester, we will make an exception.”

Tomlin won the Teaching Excellence Award, presented to those demonstrating excellence in their classrooms.

Each will speak at one of AACC’s two graduation ceremonies on May 22.

Ellie Jasen, a sixth-year mechatronics student and president of the Genders and Sexualities Alliance, won

one of two Diversity and Inclusion Excellence Awards.

Cybersecurity student Devon Keller, the student representative on AACC’s Board of Trustees, won the other one.

“Having the GSA, having this community … I feel more welcome and a greater sense of community than I ever did before anywhere," Jasen said.

Clubs, individuals win awards at ceremony Continued from Page 1

Academic literacies professor Antione Tomlin wins a Teaching Excellence Award.

Photo by Lily Peaper

Some faculty members are wearing stickers to protest the college’s decision to raise the minimum class size to 15.

Photo courtesy of Zoë Farquhar

Oyewumi said. “I have the passion for it, and I’ve always been leading since when I was in Nigeria.”

“I’m a hard-working guy,” Chambers said. “I’m diligent.

I enjoy doing what I do. I enjoy helping people.”

Both candidates participated in a debate on April 23 hosted by Campus Current.

Another candidate, firstyear biology student Jolie So, is running uncontested for the vice president of

First-year biology student Jolie So is running for SGA vice president of public relations.

Photo by Jose Gonzalez public relations role.

“I want to make an impact ... and I thought that SGA will be a good outlet,” So said.

“I want to bring awareness

[about] SGA. I want to show that they are not just a governing body, but ... a team of students who want to help out with the community.”

4 | Campus Current | 2025 | May

News

Student arts journal to unveil 50th edition Hudson Toth Reporter

The 50th edition of AACC’s student journal for the arts, Amaranth, will come out on May 6.

Amaranth staff will host a release party—including an open mic event—in Humanities 112 that day to celebrate the milestone.

“Any student, alumni or community member may attend,” Editor-in-Chief Zoë Sharp said. “It’s so that way, we can give people copies of the journal. It’s kind of a day to, like, celebrate the release of the journal itself. … We’ve got, like, a little reception that goes on. People get their

copies of [the] journal, they look through it, and then we kind of pivot, and we have time for people to share their work that’s made it into the journal.”

Amaranth, which usually publishes once a year, is celebrating its 41st anniversary.

During the journal’s tenure, staff has occasionally published more frequently.

Included in the 50th issue will be an editor’s note dedicating the journal to the first editor-in-chief of Amaranth, Margo Thiele, who died in 2020.

Amaranth’s first issue in 1984 featured a dedication to AACC’s former coordinator of student activities, Diane

Phelps, who died in 1980, and was a mentor to Thiele.

“The very first edition of Amaranth was dedicated to a [mentor] who had passed away,” Sharp, a thirdyear psychology and creative writing student, said. “I thought it would be a really beautiful callback to dedicate this edition to … Margo.”

Amaranth has earned numerous awards over the years from the College Media Association, the Associated Collegiate Press, The Columbia Scholastic Press Association and others.

Simon Ward, Amaranth’s faculty adviser, said the 2024 edition did especially well, “which is pretty awesome.”

The fourth edition of The Journal of Emerging Scholarship, featuring 12 papers written by more than 20 students, released on April 25 as a part of AACC’s Research Day. According to STEM coordinator Matt Bem, who is on the journal’s editorial board, college administrators were inspired by other local community colleges to create a space for students to show-

AACC changes system to track staff time off Lily Peaper Associate Editor

The college will introduce a new system on July 1 to help employees keep track of their annual leave because the existing arrangement has created confusion among staff members, according to AACC’s executive director of human resources.

While employees have always accrued leave time incrementally—7.33 hours for each pay period— the self-service portal on MyAACC has displayed the total number of hours they

would earn for the whole year, starting on July 1 with each new fiscal year. Some staff members have interpreted that to mean their year’s worth of leave was available to them on July 1, when, in fact, only the amount they accrued since July 1 was available for use, Suzanne Boyer explained.

“There’s a lot of confusion regarding actual leave balances,” Boyer said.

“So when people look and they see their leave … what you actually see is a big, front-loaded [number]. But you don’t actually accrue it

Readers will see up to 61 poems, illustrations and short stories. Amaranth staff members and faculty adviser considered more than 150 pieces submitted to Amaranth for this issue.

“We only accept student, alumni and prospective students’ submissions,” Tomi Brunton, Amaranth’s associate editor and a dual-enrollment student, said. Brunton called the quantity of submissions “pretty big.”

Students can submit their work—up to five visual artworks, five poems and three short stories—to Amaranth during the spring and fall semesters through a website. The staff, throughout the school year, votes on which pieces to accept for publication.

“I think getting the chance to see your work in print is exciting for a lot of students,” Garrett Brown, coordinator of creative writing, said.

case their research.

He said the journal has become more interdisciplinary since the inaugural edition that came out in 2022.

“We have robotics, we have catfishing, which is interesting. We have orchid cultivation, we have invasive species removal and we have public health,” Bem said.

The journal is a collection of undergraduate research

by AACC students from disciplines across the college, including biology, environmental science, media, economics

and sociology, according to the AACC website.

Among the papers in this year’s publication is one about a research project on affordable housing in Anne Arundel County. Professor Rob Lowe’s architechture students collaborated with those in an entrepreneur class on the work last semester.

The Journal of Emerging Scholarship is available at the library and in the science, technology and engineering main office.

College releases 4th research publication Julissa Mendoza Robles Reporter

The journal consists of undergraduate research by AACC students across the college.

Photo courtesy of Matt Bem

The staff and faculty advisers for Amaranth, AACC’s student journal for the arts, pose with the magazine’s 1984 edition.

Photo by Nathan Warner

until you work throughout the entire fiscal year.”

The new system will display only the hours that the employee has already accrued rather than the full year’s benefit.

Boyer explained that in some instances, staff members took leave that they had not yet accrued and had to pay it back if they resigned from their jobs before actually earning those hours.

“People didn’t anticipate having to pay that leave back,” Boyer said.

Boyer said the new tracking system will eliminate the

The college will switch to a new system for tracking staff leave on July 1.

Adobe Stock photo confusion about how much time off staff members have earned.

“I think that’s a good thing,” Cameron Caswell, a full-time reference librarian, said about the change. It “seems more fair, more correct, than what it was before … to eliminate that [confusion].”

“I was under the impression that we got all of our leave on July 1,” Ed Hall, an academic adviser at the college for more than 20 years, said. “Thank goodness I haven’t gone anywhere.”

Staff members still earn the same amount of annual and sick leave over the fiscal year, Boyer said.

Campus Current | 2025 | May | 5

Graduation

Graduation date set for 2025 ceremonies Lily Peaper Associate Editor

Approximately 1,690 students will graduate from AACC in May. The college is expecting approximately 650 AACC graduates to walk across the stage and pick up their diplomas at The Hall at Live!

Casino and Hotel at Arundel Mills at two ceremonies on May 22.

As in prior years, the college will hold two graduation ceremonies that day because the venue, located in

The Hall at Live! Casino and Hotel complex, is too small to accommodate all of the graduates and guests.

“I’m really excited to graduate and move onto the next step,” Ayla Cole, a second-year criminal justice student, said. “Though this college was amazing, I’m ready to move forward.”

Cole, graduating with an associate degree, plans to attend the first ceremony that day.

The schools of Business and Law, Liberal Arts, and Continuing Education and

Workforce Development will hold an 11 a.m. ceremony, while students from the schools of Health Sciences and Science, Technology and Education will graduate at 4 p.m.

Graduates may attend either ceremony, regardless of their major.

All graduates will receive five tickets for friends and family to cheer them on as they walk across the stage during the ceremony.

Guests of all ages are welcome to The Hall at Live! but only those older than 21

The best gift you can give your favorite graduate this spring is money.

Former AACC students who live on campus at the University of Maryland, College Park this year told Campus Current that gas, parking, textbooks and dorm room necessities aren’t cheap and that a gift of money can go a long way toward paying for it all.

“A lot of people just send money, which, honestly, I think is probably the best gift that you could give a college student,” Zack Buster,

Keep up with friends, profs after moving on News you can use

Campus Current Staff

For some, graduation can be bittersweet.

It’s exciting to prepare for your next adventure as a university student or perhaps as a shiny, new member of the workforce. But even an occasion as happy as graduation can be tinged with a bit of sadness as you realize you’ll be leaving some of your best friends behind.

As part of your graduation plan, how about creating a strategy for staying

connected with your AACC friends, whether they’re staying here for another semester or going away to a college far from the one you chose?

1. With the help of each friend, set up a regular check-in routine. It doesn’t have to be elaborate—just a quick text or DM every few weeks can keep the connection alive. Set reminders in your phone to alert you when it’s time to send a text or make a date for lunch.

2. Embrace even small moments. Every contact

may enter the casino.

After the ceremony, graduates are welcome to take pictures with friends, family and meet AACC’s mascot, Swoop.

Biology professor Kelly Livernoche and academic

literacies professor Antione Tomlin will speak at the ceremonies.

This year, The Hall atLive! Casino and Hotel is offering discounted hotel rooms for commencement attendees.

who graduated from AACC last year, said. “Part of college is, you know, kind of exploring and being an adult, right? And you need money to do that.”

Zoe Brunton, a former AACC dual-enrollment student who graduated from high school in 2023, said the money she received for graduation gave her the flexibility to buy things she didn’t know she needed.

“You don’t realize how much you need to buy until you leave home,” Brunton said. “I actually have to own a pot. … I will benefit from having a water kettle. I need to have sheets for my bed.”

Brunton shared she was glad she brought a water filter.

“A Brita filter is like, so clutch, because … there’s never easy ways to get, like, filtered water,” Brunton said, adding, “Bring a sandwich container, bring granola bars and water.”

Brunton said she also brought decorations to make her dorm room feel more like home.

“I love having my house plants,” she said. “I love having books that I can read, decorations, pictures with friends. Making a place your own is such an important thing.”

Money top choice for graduates this spring Julissa Mendoza Robles Reporter

AACC graduates say money is the best gift to receive for graduation. Shown, former dual-enrollment student Zoe Brunton in her dorm room at the University of Maryland.

Photo by Sam Gauntt

Graduating transfer studies student Izzy Martin is one of 1,690 students who will graduate this spring.

Graduation is on May 22.

Photo by Jose Gonzalez

doesn’t have to be an hourlong conversation, although it’s a good idea to schedule those occasionally. Even something as simple as asking how someone’s job search or college application process is going can be a meaningful exchange.

3. Make plans for in-person meet-ups. Don’t wait for a special occasion.

Plan to meet for coffee, the movies, or maybe even a play or open mic night back on campus. If you have a large friend group, consider planning an annual reunion.

Students should keep in touch with friends and staff after graduation. Shown, friends in a journalism class celebrate a birthday with a group hug.

Campus Current archive This routine can last far after everyone has graduated and scattered across the country.

4. Keep up with social media. College can make you crazy busy, but updating socials every day or so will help your far-away

friends feel like they know what’s going on with you. In return, check the socials of your friends frequently.

5. Create a group chat with each friend group. That takes very little effort, and you can post only when it’s convenient for you.

6 | Campus Current | 2025 | May

Campus Life

HLSB houses a dozen crabs Hudson Toth Reporter

Fun and Games

A horseshoe crab named Olive got 5,000 views and 361 likes on Instagram after the AACC Environmental Center posted a video featuring the crab and a dozen others in February.

Olive, named for the color of nail polish lab workers smeared onto her shell, is one of three adult and nine juvenile crabs that live in Room 115 of the Health and Life Sciences Building.

“It was pretty cool seeing it go viral,” Emily Price, who works in the lab where the crabs are housed, said. “It was mostly just people being like, ‘Oh my God, Olive is so cute.’”

“It was just like, insane,” said Julissa Mendoza Robles, the center’s social media manager, who noted the department’s Instagram has fewer than 200 followers.

“That’s really impressive for,

like, a small, niche social media account at AACC.” Mendoza Robles said she has reached out to social media followers to help name the other crabs, which each have a brush of colored nail polish on the shell so lab workers can tell them apart.

Tammy Domanski, the director of the Environmental Center, said the lab has had some of the crabs for more than two years. Olive, a juvenile crab, hails from Florida, and some of the others came from Sandy Point State Park.

Domanski said faculty and students use the crabs to do simple studies of their behavior and to test their blood.

“We take very small samples of blood to do DNA testing,” Domanski said.

Having the horseshoe crabs in the lab gives students a different perspective to understanding them, according to Domanski.

“You can’t really get a

AACC’s Environmental Center is asking students to suggest names for the horseshoe crabs that live in the Health and Life Sciences Building.

Photo by Nathan Warner sense of them until you’ve seen them in person, right?”

Domanski said. “They [have] a very unusual, unique structure, and having been so ancient, being around for hundreds of millions of years.

It’s really amazing to really see them up close, and to then see their entire structure, and to see them feed, and to see their movements and their behaviors.”

Price, a third-year en-

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vironmental student, said having the crabs in the lab makes studying them more meaningful.

“I can’t imagine just interacting with them via, like, images or videos,” Price said.

“Because, I mean, I grew up on Kent Island, so I grew up seeing horseshoe crabs on my beaches. So now getting to actually physically interact with them and know more about them, and get to

take care of them, has been really, really fun.”

The social media posts are “a way to inform people of what’s going on at the school, especially in the science realm,” Price said. “A lot of people just don’t even know that we’re doing this stuff, and might be walking past the aquaponics room every day and not actually know that they could be ... on the team.”

Campus Current | 2025 | May | 7

Campus Life

Tariff price increases worry some students Lily Peaper Associate Editor

AACC officials said in April they are not anticipating President Donald Trump’s executive orders will have much of an impact on campus, but students said they are worried.

Trump signed a March 20 order intended to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, which is responsible for overseeing education policy and administering funding for programs and students.

“We are not currently aware of any plans to eliminate funding for current AACC grants and contracts that are … funded by the federal government,” Melissa Beardmore, AACC’s vice president for learning resources management, said.

“We do not believe that the executive order to dismantle the Department of Education means that federal financial

aid will be abolished.”

Beardmore said the college receives minimal federal funding and she does not anticipate that funding will be revoked.

Still, students said they worry the sweeping changes could have a lasting impact.

One week before Trump was sworn into office, Ismael Tamayo Sanchez, a first-year electrical student, told Campus Current he was nervous to see what would happen to the Department of Education because it funds his mother’s job as a janitor for Anne Arundel County Public Schools.

“I feel like the government right now is very uncontrolled and it feels like someone’s grabbing a bunch of darts and throwing them at a board,” Jonathan Willis, a first-year radiology student, said. “It’s not regulated. It’s not making sense.”

Jason Kalshoven, a thirdyear film student, said he is

confused about Trump’s end goal for putting tariffs—a tax on imported goods—on Canada and China.

Trump has imposed tariffs of up to 145% on on all goods China sends into the U.S. Canada is facing a 25% tariff on exports excluding energy.

“As a college student,” Willis said, “it’s very scary.

Just like finances and stuff like that.”

Willis said when he isn’t in class or attending club meetings, he works parttime at CVS, where he makes minimum wage.

Some, like Ev Dahl, a third-year data science student, said prices are already unmanageable.

“Everything is going to get super expensive, Dahl said. “A lot of makeup ingredients are imported, so I’m expecting that to go up [in price].”

Willis said he is disappointed with how the Trump

Students say they fear tariffs on imported products will jack up the price of items they use the most, like makeup and electronics.

Photo by Nathan Warner administration is treating other countries by adding excessive tariffs as a trade strategy.

“I like to have a country where we are the melting pot,” Willis said. “We are a country that has other countries import stuff here, and we get to have different stuff.

And if we don’t have the impact of other countries, I think we will be lost.”

Last year, U.S. imports from China rose to $462.62

check out TheCampusCurrent.com

Fun and Games

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billion, according to the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database.

“We’re living in the darkest timeline,” Kalshoven said.

Beardmore said she recognizes that this is a stressful time for students and community members.

“We are committed to ensuring that all members of our community have access … to the assistance they need, such as financial aid and counseling,” Beardmore said.

8 | Campus Current | 2025 | May

Campus Life

60% in campus poll like anime programs Hudson Toth Reporter

An informal poll on campus reveals 60% of students enjoy watching anime, like “One Piece.”

Photo by Jose Gonzalez

AACC students said in March they enjoy watching anime because it offers a perspective different from most American cartoons.

In an informal Campus Current poll on campus, 30 out of 50 students said they watch anime—Japanese cartoons—for entertainment.

“I would say that a lot of the Japanese cartoons are probably better quality on average than, or maybe a different quality than a lot of the American things,” Madeleine Woolley, a second-year computer science student,

Concert ticket prices will not stop students Lily Peaper Associate Editor

AACC students said in April an outrageous price tag won’t stop them from seeing their favorite artists in concert.

Live concerts are in high demand, and the current ticket pricing proves it. Pop singer Sabrina Carpenter goes viral every week after clips of her concerts surface online. The average cost of a ticket for her “Short n’ Sweet” tour is $300.

“I actually got a ticket to [Beyonce’s] “Cowboy Carter” [tour] for $350,” Nathan Warner, a first-year communications student, said. “I bought it for myself on Valentine’s Day.” The cheapest ticket for the “Cowboy Carter” tour

stop in Washington on July 4 is selling for $206, according to Vivid Seats.

“It depends on what I’m seeing and how good the artist is,” Dylan Shriner, a firstyear psychology student, said. “As well as how far away it is, because that all [determines] how much money I’d be willing to spend.”

Shriner said the most he would spend is around $150 or $175 “if Gwen Stefani still tours. Or Alanis Morrisette.”

In the last few years the cost of concert tickets has skyrocketed. As of January the cost of an average concert ticket is $135.92, according to Statista. This is a substantial increase from 2015, when the average price was $78.

“I’ve seen a lot of bands,” Jason Kalshoven, a third-year

film student, said. “I seem to stick around the, like, $30 to $50 range, sometimes as low as $20. I went to see Escape From The Zoo. That was a $20-at-the door concert.”

Kalshoven said he gets away with the low prices because he listens to smaller artists who have fewer followers than superstars like Taylor Swift.

“It’s a better vibe to go see someone that is, like, not well known and not that big,” Kalshoven said. “You get cheaper tickets. It’s how much a concert should cost, and it’s still a great show.

The best show I’ve ever seen was Animal Collective, and those concert tickets were 30 bucks each.”

According to USA Today, the most expensive ticket for Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” at

words costume and play, is a form of dressing up to depict specific characters.

“I just think it’s fun,” Essie Murphy, a first-year transfer studies student, said. “I like watching it. I think it's just entertaining."

Common favorite anime to watch among students include “One Piece,” “Sword Art Online,” “Demon Slayer” and “Bleach.”

However, not all students in the poll said they watch anime.

“I just don’t have a lot of time to watch any shows in general,” Archer Floyd, a first-year psychology student, said.

Students say they will spend hundreds of dollars to see their favorite artists in concert. Shown, Thee Sacred Souls performing in Silver Spring.

Photo by Lily Peaper Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis went for $3,701.

“I know someone who spent $800 just on nosebleeds,” Rachel Boord, a

fourth-year hospitality student, said. “And I get it. Who knows what I’ll do if Ariana [Grande] goes on tour again.”

mind the campus community to delete suspicious messages and report them to the help desk.

“Unfortunately, these types of attacks are becoming more common,” Kralevich wrote.

Phishing describes emails that appear to be from reputable organizations but are

designed to get users to reveal passwords and credit card numbers.

Kralevich said the emails are getting more sophisticated as scammers become adept at using artificial intelligence to create them.

“Trust your instincts,” Kralevich said. “If something feels off, it probably is.”

College sends email warning of phishing Campus Current Staff

An email to students and faculty warns of an increase in scam emails.

Adobe Stock photo

said. “And, of course, it’s a different culture. Different stories get told.”

These foreign shows have grown in popularity with college students. In a national poll of 4,000 Americans by Polygon, 42% of Gen Z participants said they watch anime weekly.

“I watch anime because I’m really into, like, gaming, nerdy-ish subcultures,” Liz Fall, a second-year theater student, said. “I’m also [a] really big cosplayer, so you can’t really cosplay unless you have source material [and] a lot of the source material comes from anime.”

Cosplay, a mixture of the

Students and faculty using college email addresses are experiencing an increase in phishing, scam and spam, the vice president for information and instructional technology said in March.

Richard Kralevich sent a college-wide email to re-

Campus Current | 2025 | May | 9

Campus Life

Students set AI boundaries

Residents’ top worry: economy

AACC students who admitted in a survey that they use artificial intelligence apps to help them with their schoolwork said they are “very confident” they are not violating the college’s academic integrity policies.

In a March survey of more than 300 students by AACC’s Center for the Study of Local Issues, students said their most frequent use of AI is to brainstorm ideas and to check their grammar and spelling. But 13% admitted they use the tool to "do most of the work."

Still, 74% said they believe they are not violating AACC’s academic integrity policies.

Political science professor Dan Nataf, the center’s director, said a surprising finding of the survey is that 33% of the students said they have never used AI

Anne Arundel County residents said in March that the loss of jobs and income by federal employees because of President Donald Trump’s effort to downsize the government is among their top worries, but many acknowledged that a reduction in force is necessary.

In an AACC survey of 2,213 county residents, 45% said the effort to reduce the size of government was necessary, while 43% called it “mostly unnecessary.” Some participants on both sides added comments saying the firings are “destructive” or “chaotic.”

In the survey, 25% named the economy as their greatest concern, followed by 24% who pointed to taxes and 23% who said they’re worried about the loss of a job or income by federal employees.

Jose Gonzalez Editor-in-Chief

tools, like ChatGPT, to help them with homework.

More than 50% said they find AI helpful with schoolwork and 12% said it is not useful.

“My take is that we’re still in an early spot in students’ appreciation for what AI can and can’t do or shouldn’t do,” Nataf said. “They’re kind of groping, trying to figure out how much they should use it without either, on the one hand, violating policies about academic integrity, especially plagiarism, but on the other hand, using it … so that they can bounce ideas off of it.”

Still, in an optional comments section, some students said using the tool could cheat them out of their education.

“I believe that the whole point of higher education places such as AACC are there to help an individual to learn how to think on their own as well as teaching them

Jose Gonzalez Editor-in-Chief

Students who use artificial intelligence for schoolwork say they do so with academic integrity. Shown, political science professor Dan Nataf, who conducted a survey that asked about AI use.

Campus Current archive the tools to document those thoughts,” one student wrote in the segment for anonymous notes. “By introducing AI into assignments for higher education institutions, I believe that is defeating their purpose.”

Another student agreed, noting, “At this level of edu-

cation, AI seems to undermine the intellectual and creative process.”

Still, some in the poll said they ask AI for help understanding concepts and textbook readings and to check their work or create outlines for essays and presentations.

Anne Arundel County residents said in March that the loss of jobs and income by federal employees because of President Donald Trump’s effort to downsize the government is among theirR top Dworries, but many acknowledged that a reduction in force is necessary.

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10 | Campus Current | 2025 | May

Events

HCAT lunch serves up funding for HelpLink Jose Gonzalez Editor-in-Chief

Students, faculty and staff helped raise $1,875 for AACC’s HelpLink on April 9 by buying $10 bowls of soup and chowder prepared by students of the college’s Hotel, Culinary Arts & Tourism Institute.

Students in instructional specialist Randy Stahl’s Hotel/Restaurant Management 123 course collaborated with the Sarbanes Center for Career and Civic Engagement on the fundraiser, which added to the school’s emergency aid program.

“There is some emergency funding that goes on and HelpLink is the coordinator

of all of that,” Stahl, a chef, said. “The least that we can do is to put money into our student population.”

Empty Bowls is a national fundraiser created by ceramic bowl artists who connected with community chefs. It was brought to AACC in 2014 as a service learning opportunity. Last semester, the AACC fundraiser collected $1,643 for HelpLink.

Service Learning Coordinator Trésa Ballard said the most the event ever raised was $3,340.51, in fall 2023.

HelpLink offers temporary financial assistance to students who need help paying for housing, child

care, food, living expenses, medical bills, transportation or textbooks.

Culinary students served three soups: Mulligatawny, New England-style seafood-and-corn chowder and French-style onion soup with shredded duck meat.

Loki Murphy, a thirdyear plant science student, said the soup is “always delicious.”

“I enjoy going every time,” Murphy said. “The bowls are cute. And on top of that, it is a charity event, so why not?”

Each participant kept a bowl as a souvenir.

Murphy recommended the food to other students.

“I kind of wish there

Members of 10 student clubs spread awareness about keeping the planet clean during an outdoor celebration of Earth Day on campus on April 22.

The Student Government Association, the Super Science Club and other student organizations collaborated to celebrate Earth Day at the amphitheater on West

AACC entrepreneurs gather at HawkTrade Lily Peaper Associate Editor

Student and alumni entrepreneurs gathered in the Hawk’s Nest cafeteria on April 10 to sell homemade products at HawkTrade, AACC’s annual business trade show.

The Entrepreneurial Studies Institute hosted HawkTrade to help showcase products created by student entrepreneurs.

“I want [students] to see that there is opportunity here,” Stephanie Goldenberg, the department chair for entrepreneurial studies, said.

“If they want to be involved, they have these great opportunities to be supported. … We’re here to help guide them, help them make money … help them refine their presentation skills and allow them to connect with one another.”

The entrepreneurs set up tables around the space to display their products, selling a wide variety of items, from crocheted coasters to jewelry to extra-virgin olive oil to baked goods.

“These are my favorite events to attend,” Rachel Boord, a fourth-year hospitality student, said. “You get

were more events like this, because it really is delicious,” Murphy said.

Leo Klappenberger, a first-year biology student, agreed.

“I think it is an excellent opportunity, not only to try a

bunch of the different types of soups from different cultures, but also to then be told about what the soup is,” Klappenberger said. “And you know, you can support stuff. … There’s places to donate and help out.”

Campus Tuesday.

Student clubs and local organizations set up tables around the courtyard to hand out free items like water bottles, key chains and origami flowers.

We “just wanted to focus on community [and] bringing everybody on campus together,” Meredith Dales, a second-year kinesiology student, said. “We really feel at home on campus. And celebrating the Earth. It is

our home, too.”

Dales, the president of SGA, said she organized the event to raise awareness about the health of Earth and of the trails near campus.

Activities included creating seed bombs from local and natural seeds and cleaning the trails on campus.

Some students, like second-year architecture student Jeshaiah Tandoc, said events taking place on West Campus are appealing.

Campus hosts events to observe Earth Day Ali Rizvi Reporter

Clubs set up tables on West Campus on Earth Day. Photo by Lily Peaper

HCAT students raised $1,875 by serving bowls of soup at an Empty Bowls charity event on April 9.

Photo by Nathan Warner

to see all the cool things your peers have been working on.

It’s inspiring.”

Janeziqa Dickey, a firstyear business student, displayed her asymmetrical jewelry line for the first time at the event.

“I sell handmade, oneof-a-kind jewelry,” Dickey said. “I like them a lot, and I don’t … see many people doing it. There’s a market for it.”

Goldenberg said one of the most fulfilling parts of hosting this event is seeing the entrepreneurs “collaborate with one another. So they’re buying from each

Students and alumni sell their own original products at HawkTrade, a one-day marketplace promoting their businesses.

Photo by Claire Lui other, they’re giving each other ideas.”

First-year business owners Robert Cummings and William Sedgwick, both culinary students, sold cookies and brownies at their table,

along with 3-D toys and figurines.

Business has “been going very well,” Sedgwick, a pastry and baking student, said. “I made a decent profit.”

Campus Current | 2025 | May | 11

Sports

2 Idaho players move to Glen Burnie for lax Jose Gonzalez Editor-in-Chief

Two students from Pocatello, Idaho, are playing for the Riverhawks men’s lacrosse team.

AJ Herdt, a first-year transfer studies student, and Tristan Giesbrecht, a first-year cybersecurity student, are longtime best friends who committed to start with the Riverhawks in fall 2024.

“We’re just super happy to have them,” men’s lacrosse head coach Jeremy Ross said. “They’ve been very great for us. … They’re good kids, and we couldn’t

be more excited that they chose to come play here.”

Herdt said he is excited as well.

“I have fallen in love with this area,” Herdt said. “So I think I’m definitely leaning towards staying here for a good while, whether it’s continuing another year here, or just settling down here for a few more years for college.”

Herdt said AACC recruiters saw a video he posted on a recruiting site for athletes looking for colleges and invited him to relocate.

For Giesbrecht, the Riverhawks were the only ones to make an offer.

“I decided I had to take

the [junior college] route for lacrosse instead of applying to four-year [schools],” Giesbrecht said. “And there’s not really any JUCO lacrosse schools in Idaho. So me and my buddy both got offered to come out here, and we’re like, ‘Yeah, might as well.’”

Living in Maryland, added Giesbrecht, an offensive midfielder, “isn’t bad. We have been best friends since sixth grade. So it’s not really any different.”

Herdt, an attacking midfielder, and Giesbrecht live in an apartment together in Glen Burnie.

Herdt said he has enjoyed playing for the Riverhawks,

Men’s lacrosse finished its regular season on April 12 with a win against Tompkins Cortland Community College, rounding out the season with four wins and 10 losses.

At press time, the Riverhawks were heading to the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 20 Championship tournament.

Lacrosse head coach Jeremy Ross said the season, which started with 32 players, was “up and down.”

Riverhawks baseball wins bid to regionals Jose Gonzalez Editor-in-Chief

AACC’s men’s baseball team has clinched a spot in the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 20 Division II Championship tournament, which begins on May 6.

The team will finish the regular season at Hagerstown Community College on May 3. The Riverhawks began the season with three losses against Surry Community College.

The season went well, according to baseball head

coach Nick Hoffner.

“We’ve been playing better here recently,” Hoffner said. “So hopefully we can continue that trend as we finish up the regular season and then kind of get into the [regional] playoffs.”

The remaining regular season games will determine the team’s seeding for the regional tournament.

After regionals is the NJCAA Division II Baseball World Series in Enid, Oklahoma. AACC will advance to that tournament only if the team wins regionals.

Agustin Murillo, a sec-

despite some disappointing results in the season.

“The season hasn’t been what I wanted it to be, but that’s the reality when you have such a young team, and sometimes things just don’t go how you think,” Herdt said. “But coach Ross and the coaches here have really surprised me, like, I’ve never had coaches like this in

my life. … They’ve given me inspiration. Coach Ross is a role model for me.”

Giesbrecht agreed, adding his teammates “are a great bunch of guys, and I’ve enjoyed playing with them.”

Giesbrecht ended the men’s lacrosse regular season with one goal. Herdt finished with 11 goals and two assists.

“We haven’t quite hit everything that we wanted,” Ross said, “you know, expectations that we set out for ourselves at the beginning of the year.”

Ross attributed the irregular season to “the balance of school and lacrosse.”

It’s “difficult,” Ross said.

“We were trying to figure that out.”

Tyson Miller, a first-year transfer studies student, said the season went well despite some adversities.

“We had some ups and downs to it, which we had to

get through … a whole bunch of injuries,” Miller said. ”It sucked, but it’s a thing we had to work through.”

Miller added that one of the most upsetting parts of the season was a five-game losing streak from March 8 to 22.

Nathan Krueger, a firstyear cybersecurity student, agreed the season went well.

“I worked hard,” Krueger, a defender, said. “I think I did pretty well to be a great teammate [but] we definitely could have got some more wins under our belt.”

Men’s lacrosse ends rocky spring season Jose Gonzalez Editor-in-Chief

The men’s lacrosse team finishes the season with four wins and 10 losses.

Photo by Nathan Warner

AJ Herdt, left, and Tristan Giesbrecht moved more than 2,000 miles from Idaho to Maryland to play lacrosse.

Photo by Jose Gonzalez

ond-year business administration student, agreed the season went well.

“I feel like our chemistry is already kind of there, even since the beginning of the season,” Murillo, a returning shortstop and second baseman, said. “Like, a bunch of the guys, we all get along, you know, we joke around, have fun, but we still … take the game serious[ly] and we push each other.”

Second-year business management student Evan Pohlman agreed, adding one of his favorite moments was being named NJCAA Division

AACC’s men’s baseball team will play in the NJCAA Region 20 Division II Championship tournament.

Photo by Nathan Warner II Baseball Pitcher of the Week in late March.

Pohlman, a returning pitcher, earned the title after striking out a career-high 10 batters against Garrett College on March 22.

Murillo said he hopes the team keeps improving next season.

“We just got to keep go-

ing harder and harder,” Murillo said. “I mean, like, don’t give up. And we all got to have good mindsets when bad things happen. And just, you know, just keep going.”

“I don’t want to look forward to next season yet,” Hoffner said. “Because we just have too much left of this season. That’s my focus.”

12 | Campus Current | 2025 | May

HAPPY Graduation Congratulations to the Class of 2025!