November 2022 Issue

The award-winning newspaper of Anne Arundel Community College TheCampusCurrent.com

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@Campus_Current November 2022

Campus Life

Campus Life

Sports

Student pilots say they caught the flying bug early.

Theater students perform new translation of play.

Riverhawks men’s and women’s basketball teams start seasons.

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SGA leader takes on county, political roles Zack Buster Editor-in-Chief

Second-year Spanish education student Conor Curran speaks at an Anne Arundel County budget event.

Photo courtesy of Conor Curran

A second-year Spanish education student won a seat on the Anne Arundel County Democratic Central Committee in July.

Nineteen-year-old Conor Curran, the student member of AACC's Board of Trustees,

has represented more than 140,000 county residents on the District 31 committee since December 2021, when he was appointed to fila vacancy.

“I always believe in fresh blood,” Curran, who also serves as executive vice president of the Student Government Association,

home for these women is to be with the aggressor. … So for me, it’s very important that these women are remembered by their names.”

Pérez-García said a friend gave her “a huge piece of linoleum” to make the print, but it was not the kind

Local artist Marta Pérez-García works with printmaking professor Chris Mona and AACC students.

Photo by Misha Shipman

Printmaking students assist artist-activist Sam Gauntt Associate Editor

A local artist collaborated with AACC printmaking students in October to create a 12-foot tall print to display in the Cade gallery.

Marta Pérez-García, a Washington-based artist, began work on the print two

years ago to memorialize domestic violence victims who died in Puerto Rico during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“My thought was, I’ve been working with gender violence … for a long time,” Pérez-García said. “And I realized to be home, you know, for us, is to be safe. But not for these women. To be

Continued on page 3

Continued on page 3

Student club officers speak out on budgets Zack Buster Editor-in-Chief Sam Gauntt Associate Editor

Experience Campus Ministry International holds a meeting on the Quad. Experience CMI is one of AACC's student clubs.

Photo by Dan Elson

said. “That’s really important … because people can get stuck in a certain mindset, and without fresh blood, you don’t get a... new perspective about something that’s happening.”

Curran represented more than 80,000 students

AACC club leaders said the process for receiving college-allocated funds for their student organizations this semester was complicated and delayed events.

Marisa Evangelista, one of the presidents of the Art Association, said the process was “confusing” and the

club's budget was approved three weeks after officers submitted their request in late September.

The process includes submitting a budget request to the Student Government Association, presenting the proposal at a hearing with SGA officers and Office of Student Engagement staff, and then answering follow-up questions and waiting to hear how much was approved for funding.

Every club is also required to request funds for each specific activity and trip 30 days in advance of the event.

“I wish they had figured out how to be organized before the semester started,” Evangelista, a first-year visual arts student, said. “I understand why it takes a while but it’s really frustrating for clubs who have all the things Continued on page 3

2 | Campus Current | 2022 | November

Editorial

Meet the Staff Editor-in-Chief Zack Buster Associate Editor Sam Gauntt Sports Editor Dan Elson Diversity Editor Ava Herring Club Editor Ike Jones Graphic Designers April Fox Mary Turner Newsroom Manager Ellianna Shields Web Master Kaylah Rashid Social Media Jichelle Jones Micah Smith Reporters Thomas Ayers Tomi Brunton Jordan Crymes Aidan Gunn Ike Jones Cole Popov Holden Smith Micah Smith Photographers Graig Bracey Megan Cunningham Mason Hood Anne-Keren Kanté Faculty Adviser Sharon O’Malley Photographers on Page 1, top Bryant Pepe Theatre at AACC Dan Elson Twitter @campus_current Facebook Facebook.com/ CampusCurrentPaper Instagram @campuscurrentaacc

Contact

CampusCurrent @gmail.com Advertising CampusCurrentAdverts @gmail.com 101 College Parkway Arnold, MD 21012

Students: Your vote matters Editorial Board

Imagine how much you could accomplish if you got to choose who makes the decisions that directly affect your life.

Well, you can.

That is, you can if you vote.

Every time you walk into a voting booth and check the box next to the name of the candidate of your choice, you are using your voice as a citizen to change the course of your life and determine the future of your country.

However, many college students don’t check any boxes. They don’t vote.

According to the Institute for Democracy and Higher Education, only twothirds of college students voted in 2020, and that was a record high.

In 2016, only 54% came out to the polls, according to the same report. That means almost half of all college students in the U.S. didn’t make their voices heard in choosing who would make decisions for their communities

and families in the following years.

Imagine how much college students could accomplish if they made their opinions known on the ballot.

For example, did you know that in this election, Maryland voters will decide whether the state will legalize recreational use of marijuana? (See related story on page 4.)

Would you like to have a say in that?

According to a study from Pew Research, one in every 10 voters in the 2020 election was a part of Gen Z. That 18-24 age range includes most college students.

That means if every college student voted, we would make up almost 20% of all voters.

Twenty percent is a large number of voters, more than big enough to sway elections.

To put it into perspective, the 2020 presidential election was decided by less than 5%.

With so many election results being so close, every vote counts. Your vote counts. Your vote matters

Letter from an editor

Every student should vote this November. Your vote matters now more than ever.

Flickr photo now more than ever.

As a community college student, your vote is even more important to your family and your neighbors. That’s because chances are good that you live in the same area where you vote, so you are helping to select the local officials who determine the rules your community must follow.

And just because you aren’t voting for a president this year doesn’t mean this election doesn’t matter.

If you vote in November, you can help choose the governor, members of Con-

gress, state legislators, county executive, County Council members and on and on.

In fact, we would argue this year’s local elections matter just as much as presidential elections.

Every candidate you vote for makes decisions that not only affect your home, but your school as well.

If you still don’t plan to vote, the question this election season isn’t why should you vote, but will you vote?

Please, get out there and take control of your destiny this November.

College experience: up to you Sam Gauntt Associate Editor

It was 6 p.m. on a late November Thursday and the last blotches of crimson sunlight were dancing on my wall while I took an online exam.

Sitting in my room struggling with logarithms, I realized I didn’t feel particularly connected to the college I attended. I was already finishing my second semester but I hadn’t set foot on campus because of my online class schedule.

I wanted to change this.

I was going to be here for two years, so I felt I should make it the best experience I could. Over the spring semester I began to attend online events and tried to get a feel for the college. Even being on campus for proctored exams made me feel more engaged at AACC. This problem is not unique. I know many community college students, and particularly dual-enrollment students like me, who don’t feel involved on campus. It can be easy to show up for your classes and then just go home.

Getting involved in a new

situation can be intimidating, but I think all of us should take the risk anyway. You might be surprised to find there is a welcoming community waiting for you here.

Joining the student newspaper last April was what made me truly feel connected here. I found a team of people who I care about and love to work with.

I made new friends, I knew what was going on around campus and I found a community that welcomed me.

Now I’m the associate editor of Campus Current as a dual-enrollment student, and I look forward to coming to school every day. I will always be glad I went to that first meeting with the paper, and I encourage every student to do something similar.

No matter if you are here getting your associate degree, taking dual-enrollment credits or if you are an older student taking classes in your spare time, your experience here should not have to be lonely and only focused on classes. Whether it’s joining a student organization, forming a study group, eating lunch with your classmates

Campus Current Associate Editor Sam Gauntt says Community college is a good opportunity to get life experiences.

Photo by Ellianna Shields or working for the student newspaper, there are plenty of ways to find people and a place for you.

Don’t count out community college for an engaging social experience. Joining

clubs, attending events or going to a Zoom meeting could be all it takes to improve your experience.

Your time here is up to you, so make it the best it can be.

Campus Current | 2022 | November | 3

News

SGA exec. vp sits on Democrat committee Continued from page 1

as the secretary of education for the Chesapeake Regional Association of Student Councils during his freshman year of high school in 2017 and was the chair of the Anne Arundel County Youth Advisory Council from 2020 to 2022.

AACC President Dawn

Lindsay called Curran a “superstar,” saying he is “clearly … somebody who is going places.”

“He’s very unassuming,” Lindsay said. “But he’s a really good leader. I think that’s probably why he’s been so successful. … He’s really stepped up … at a pretty early age. So I think he’s destined for great things.”

Sandra Moore, chair of AACC’s Board of Trustees, agreed, describing Curran as “confident,” saying he clearly knows what he’s doing in his work with the board.

“It was obvious that he understood his role and very much impressed me with his desire to help the college,” Moore said.

Curran, who was an SGA

of material used for printmaking.

Printmaking professor Chris Mona offered to help Pérez-García get the piece ready for printing. Printmaking students at the college assisted with the project and carried out the preparations and the printing itself.

Student club policies cause activity delays Continued from page 1

planned and can’t move forward with them.”

The Office of Student Engagement decided last semester to hold budget approval hearings in the fall semester instead of the spring, as in previous years.

Student organizations are funded by the college via student activity fees, which total $2 dollars for every credit hour taken at AACC. All students pay this fee when they enroll in classes.

SGA President Abigail Billovits-Hayes said the SGA “didn’t get a say” in the decision to change the budget process. However, Billovits-Hayes said the policy allows incoming student leaders to make budget decisions for their clubs rather than leaving that to outgoing officers, who might plan “all these silly things and then they leave.”

Adventure Society President Jasim McNichols agreed.

“It’s hard because a lot

of people who are interested in clubs were just left in the dark for a really long time,” McNichols, a second-year transfer studies student, said. “It’s just hard to plan overall and … we didn’t know what would be approved and when would it be approved.

So we kind of was hesitating on … actually planning for events.”

Because some clubs did not get budget approval until October, many, like the Adventure Society, were not able to schedule events until late that month or this month.

Super Science Club Treasurer Bryant Pepe said the delay “really sets back all clubs.”

“So then all [the time] we have with this big chunk of money is the spring,” Pepe, a second-year physics student, said. “And that’s not fair to students. It’s not fair to the advisers.”

The Office of Student Engagement also requires all purchase requests and travel release forms to be

senator last year, said he doesn’t see himself having a career in politics.

“I don’t have any plans,” Curran said. “I just want to go be a Spanish teacher.”

“Your first, kind of, impression or encounter of it is that it’s beautiful,” Mona said. And there’s so much going on, it takes a while to kind of understand the imagery, and that kind of starts to emerge the longer you spend time with it. And so I think that’s where the power of the piece comes from.”

The pattern for the print

is carved onto a large sheet of cork. The sheet is then covered with ink to transfer the pattern onto paper.

Pérez-García said rising rates of domestic violence in Puerto Rico during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic inspired her to make the print. The print contains the names of approximately 50 women who were killed.

College printmakers work on 12-ft design Continued from page 1

Marta Pérez-García says her goal is to raise awareness for domestic violence and inspire action.

Photo by Misha Shipman

AACC Student Government Executive Vice President Conor Curran presents at an event for the Chesepeake Regional Association of Student Councils.

Photo courtesy of Conor Curran

submitted 30 days prior to the event or trip, with some exceptions.

Louise Wallendorf, president of the Printmaking Club, said having to submit all purchase requests a month in advance limits the club’s capability to hold events.

“If you submit a purchase request, you have to submit it 30 days before you want the item, or before you want to hire the outside person,” Wallendorf said. “That’s a little limited, especially in the fall … because you can’t have any events until almost [the] mid to the end of October, and the semester’s halfover.”

Billovits-Hayes, a thirdyear marketing and psychology student, said the SGA is willing to assist any club with the process if the officers are confused.

“We’ve had a few people reach out to us,” Billovits-Hayes said. We “explain the process and help them through it. We are always open to help people.”

Visiting artist Dan Welden gives a demonstration to AACC’s printmaking club in 2019.

Photo courtesty of Joyce Feldman Club officers are required to take online training through Canvas before making budget or purchase requests.

Wallendorf said giving students advice and examples on how to create and submit their budget requests would help the process.

“It’s like telling someone to do homework with no example problems,” Wallendorf said. “Everyone loves the example.”

Wallendorf advised clubs to recruit people of all ages so they have members with prior budget creation experience who know what to do.

Other club leaders are making due with what they have left over from last year.

Angelo Klonowski, a sec-

ond-year visual arts student and president of the Moonlight Troupers, said the theater club was operating with already-purchased costumes and decorations while the budget proposal was being processed.

“Right now we are running on a budget of zero,” Klonowski said in October.

“But thankfully … there’s props and costumes leftover from previous theater things that we’re able to do our Haunted Theatre event.”

Klonowski added that despite a lack of communication around budget approvals, college officials who have the final say are doing a “fantastic job.”

“At the end of the day, there’s only so much you can do,” Klonowski said.

4 | Campus Current | 2022 | November

News

New building popular 1 yr after completion Tomi Brunton Reporter

After one year, AACC students and faculty said they like the Health and Life Sciences building, praising its open spaces, study rooms and Science Tutoring Center.

The building is the college’s second-newest structure, with high-tech classrooms, labs, seating areas and a Chick-fil-A. “I think it’s a wonderful selling point [for the college],” Debbie Bartlett, the

academic chair of the Biology Department, said. “When people see these facilities … they’re just wowed.”

The 175,000-square- foot building, which opened in August 2021 after two years of construction, is the largest on campus.

Second-year nursing student Jodie Eyrd said the building is “a really great addition to the school.”

“It seems really up to date,” Eyrd said. “I really like the building.”

Laura Lewandowski, a

second-year nursing student, said the building is “very functional.”

“I think it’s well equipped,” Lewandowski said. “I like the study rooms and all the different spaces that are available.”

Carrie Long, a biology professor, said the building offered a “great experience so far,” noting the new Science Tutoring Center.

Students said they like to spend time in the building even outside of classes.

“I use the study rooms a

The relationship between the U.S. and Mexico has grown over time from distant neighbors to close economic and cultural allies, an official from the Mexican Embassy told administrators and students on Oct. 12.

The U.S. and Mexico did more than $660 billion in trade in 2021, with more than $4 billion between Mexico and Maryland alone, according to Rafael Laveaga, the chief of the Consular Section of the Mexican Embassy in Washington.

Students answer yes to cannabis question Sam Gauntt Associate Editor

AACC students said in October they plan to vote for a proposed Maryland constitutional amendment this November that would legalize recreational marijuana.

In an informal Campus Current poll of 56 students on the Arnold campus, approximately 79% said they favor legalizing marijuana.

Another 7% said they oppose legalization, while 14% said they do not have an opinion.

“I think it should be passed,” first-year media production student Elijah

Gregg said. “It’s a plant, man, you know? Like, we already have alcohol legal. … Just let people do their thing. You know, they’re not hurting anyone.”

The referendum question—a question on the ballot designed to determine the voters’ will—would allow any Marylander 21 or older to legally purchase and use marijuana for recreational purposes.

Medicinal marijuana has been legal in Maryland since 2013.

“I just kind of see it … not so much [as] if it’s good or bad,” second-year business student Gabriel Da Rocha

lot,” Lewandowski said, “for individual studying and then also group study. … And I sometimes go to Chick-fil-A. … That’s definitely a bonus.”

“The Health and Life Sciences building has been enormously successful since its

opening one year ago,” AACC President Dawn Lindsay said in a statement. “We’ve been able to expand our topranked nursing program to respond to an ongoing county need. … We expanded the Environmental Center.”

Increased trade between the two countries, along with the 31 million people with family or business ties to both the U.S. and Mexico, are key for “economic interdependence,” Laveaga said.

“We’re neighbors and we’re trading partners,” Laveaga said. “I think we’re becoming somehow very close, even in terms of family.”

The Mexican consulate assists Mexican citizens visiting or living in the U.S. with issues such as passports, consular IDs, birth and death certificates, and connecting people with lawyers or orga-

nizations who can help them.

Laveaga’s speech was one of many in-person events during AACC’s Hispanic Heritage Month in October.

AACC President Dawn Lindsay said the speech was an “incredible opportunity” for students, and said she hopes to host Laveaga again.

“I feel very privileged that we had the opportunity to have somebody like Rafael come to our college,” Lindsay said. “This kind of lecture is really important for us as we’re working to continually meet our students where they are, and our commitment to diversity."

Mexican government official talks at AACC Sam Gauntt Associate Editor

Rafael Laveaga, the chief of the Consular Section of the Mexican Embassy in Washington, speaks at AACC during a Hispanic Heritage Month event.

Photo by Sam Gauntt

AACC students and faculty continue to have positive feelings about the Health and Life Sciences building.

Photo courtesy of the AACC Drone Center

said. “I’m more against the reason why it was banned in the first place. I feel like there was a lot of misinformation about it at the time, and, like, now that we have a lot more research, it … should be more widely used.”

Third-year psychology student Katy Linsao pointed to good uses for marijuana.

“People can abuse anything, you know, but I think … in moderation it can be good for managing stress [and] anxiety,” Linsao said.

First-year arts student Aidan Graham said marijuana should be legal for those 21 and older, the same limit as alcohol.

Marylanders will have the opportunity to vote on legalizing recreational marijuana in the Nov. 8 election.

Some AACC students say they approve.

Flickr photo Some students said marijuana is less harmful than other substances.

“I think that marijuana is a less harmful drug than alcohol,” third-year communications student Ada Lindahl said. “I think it should be legalized.”

Graham said legalizing recreational marijuana

would be good for people with anxiety who don’t have access to a medical marijuana card.

To legally purchase medical marijuana, customers need a card approved by a doctor.

Editor-in-Chief Zack Buster and Sports Editor Dan Elson contributed to this story.

Campus Current | 2022 | November | 5

News

Study abroad to stay on pause until 2024 Sam Gauntt Associate Editor

AACC will not allow students and faculty members to travel out of the country for classes again until early 2024, according to school officials.

The travel study program allowed instructors to take their students on trips to other countries for in-the-field learning and experiences.

Students paid for their own travel to the destination for the courses. In the past, students have traveled to Costa Transfering to another community college

Rica, Scotland, Spain and Italy.

“It’s about a 12- to 18-month planning process for an existing course,” Alicia Morse, dean of the School of Liberal Arts, said. “If the faculty member needs to actually create the course … it’s probably a two-year process from start to finish.”

AACC put the travel study program on hold in 2020 because of COVID-19 restrictions.

“I think the college … still has decisions to make about it at this point,” Cath-

Transfering to a fouryear college/university Working full-time

leen Doyle, director of the Sarbanes Center for Career and Civic Engagement, said.

“The pandemic really put everything on hold for a while.”

Benjamin Weibell, a biology professor who led a trip to Costa Rica in 2020, said travel study offers students an invaluable experience.

“Getting those different perspectives, it’s just, it’s a great thing,” Weibell said. “I think … it’s hugely beneficial for the students.”

Weibell added that he would like to host future

Continuing my studies at AACC Serving in the military Taking time off Unsure Other 0

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A survey from the Office of Planning, Research and Institutional Assessment asked former students about their plans after leaving AACC and what they enjoyed most about their experience at the college.

Graph by Mary Turner

Students who left AACC in May to graduate, work full-time or transfer to a four-year institution called their experience at the college “very good.”

In a survey of 334 former students, more than 37% said they planned to transfer to a four-year college or university this fall, including 25% who said they planned to transfer to University of Maryland Global Campus. Approximately 33% of the former students said they intended

Many students listen to tunes to begin day Thomas Ayers Reporter Aidan Gunn Reporter

AACC students said in September they listen to music on their way to campus.

In an informal Campus Current survey on the Arnold campus in late September, 42 of 45 students said they listen to rock, rap, R&B or other kinds of music while they drive to class.

“I have music on all the time,” first-year business student Elijah Brown said.

Spotify is the platform of choice for 25 of the commut-

ers in the survey. Rock, rap and R&B were their favorite kinds of music during car rides.

“I really like my music loud,” third-year communications student Grace Bourne said. “I really like to immerse myself in it.”

Some students said they choose their tunes to match their mood every morning.

“It depends on, like, my mood because usually I get in the car in the morning,” Brown said. “So you know, in the morning I might have different moods. Sometimes when I’m happy, I just want to listen to, like, hip hop music.”

travel study courses.

“I really hope the college does reinstate it and that more people get to go,” Weibell said.

Morse encouraged students to join travel study

courses in the future because of the unique opportunity they offer.

“I’m really excited to … see it come back to life,” Morse said. “And I’m sure that it will.”

to work full-time this fall.

“I will 100% always recommend AACC to people because it was the best experience possible for me,” one alumnus wrote in the comment section of the survey.

Almost half of the 218 students who wrote comments on the survey complimented the staff and faculty.

“My favorite part of AACC was my professors,” one student said. “They all cared for each student and I think highly of most of the staff I have come across over my two-and-a-half years.”

Some former students described their instructors

as “top notch” and “amazing,” saying their professors “truly care.”

Other alumni emphasized the “flexibility” of course structure and types and “large selection” of classes.

“As a student who works and studies, I was always able to find classes and professors that would work on my time,” one student wrote.

Some students said the college had “outstanding preparation to transfer to a four-year university.”

Another agreed, pointing to “the ability to transfer … credits.”

May AACC grads take survey on plans, jobs Zack Buster Editor-in-Chief

Working part time

Biology professor Benjamin Weibell and his students traveled to Costa Rica in 2020. The next chance for students to do travel study will be in 2024.

Photo courtesy of Benjamin Weibell

For Bourne, however, “it’s a wide variety,” she said.

“I have a lot of interests, but it tends to be pop, country and soundtracks, like Disney soundtracks.”

First-year graphic and web design student Heena Cook agreed.

“It’d probably be like indie pop or like bedroom pop,” Cook said. “I’ve been listening to [R&B artist] Steve Lacey recently.”

“I listen to dad rock,” said Patrick Caswell, a second-year creative writing major. “I got my music taste from my dad. No shame.”

But not every student

Chris Moon, a first-year media production student, rocks out in his car.

Photo by Mason Hood listens to music while commuting.

Caswell, for example, said he enjoys listening to audiobooks during his commute.

“Actually I’m a huge audiobook person,” Caswell said. “I’m currently listening to the Game of Thrones novels on [audiobook streaming service] Audible.”

Applied psychology stu-

dent Kevin Miller said he prefers podcasts while he drives.

One student unplugs during the commute.

“It’s five minutes, so I don’t listen to anything,” first-year photography student Nat Davidson said. “So no music, no podcasts. Nothing. I talk to my dad. I get driven.”

6 | Campus Current | 2022 | November

News

COVID reports drop from ’21

Translator can assist with calls

Aidan Gunn Reporter

Zack Buster Editor-in-Chief Students who have trouble speaking or reading English can get help from an interpreter or translator through a program that began in February.

Faculty, staff and community members also have access to the service when speaking with colleagues and students.

“The language diversity in [Maryland] is rapidly changing,” Adult Education and English Language Learning Director Dana Marron said. “To make sure that we’re meeting the needs of [the campus community], it’s important that we can make sure that we can provide access to students.”

Marron said the college’s partnership with the translator service LanguageLine allows the college to stay “relevant” and “accessible” to all students.

Students and faculty can use the service LanguageLine when they need a translator to help them talk with others who speak a different language. Shown, Anne-Keren Kanté, a second-year biology student and native French speaker.

Photo by Mason Hood Students who need the service can dial ​​(410) 7772901 to join a three-way call with the person they want to talk to and an interpreter who speaks one of the more than 240 languages the company offers.

ELL instructional specialist Owen Silverman Andrews said he relies on LanguageLine's document translation service to help him create a Spanish version of his syllabus.

Andrews said these services help take the weight off

bilingual faculty and staff.

“We have staff members at the college who speak Spanish, but their job is not to be translators,” Andrews said. “Just because you speak a language well doesn’t mean you can translate the tobacco policy, the no-smoking policy with all the legal terms.”

Andrews said students for whom English is a second language might use the service to talk to help desk technicians, other students, and faculty or staff, for example.

Fun and Games

Did you know?

The Office of Student Engagement offers diversity workshops open to all students.

Photo by Zack Buster

Approximately 312 students, faculty and others have reported positive COVID-19 cases to the college since July 1.

That compares with 364 cases between July 2021 and April 2022.

“COVID appears to be here to stay,” Deneen Dangerfield, dean of student development, said. “We’re moving into living with COVID. And that moves us into more … personal responsibility, and making sure that each of us are taking responsibility to ensure that we are not spreading it.”

At the end of last semester, the college made wearing masks and showing proof of vaccination optional.

“Students and ... staff need to make the decision [to wear masks] if that’s the route they want to take," Dangerfield said.

Officials ask everyone on campus who tests positive for COVID-19 to report it to the college, which alerts professors, classmates and others who may have been exposed.

“If ... they have tested positive, please contact covidsafety@aacc.edu .... and we will guide you through next steps,” Dangerfield said.

First-year psychology student Katelyn Penix said those campus exposure alerts are “a really good thing to send out to people because, you know, you want to know.”

The Anne Arundel County Department of Health offers COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters in Annex A on the Arnold campus.

“I’m vaxxed, booster shot and everything,” Katie Dubics, a web design and media production student, said.

“When I get sick, I wear a mask, but it’s not too big of an issue.”

Campus Current | 2022 | November | 7

Campus Life

AACC building names pay tribute to leaders Ike Jones Club Editor

Buildings on campus have the names of state leaders, three college presidents and a few people who have donated large sums of money to the school.

Members of AACC’s Board of Trustees “see it as an important way to recognize people for making significant contributions to the college,” said Vollie Melson, executive director of the AACC Foundation, which raises money for the college.

The college’s two newest buildings both opened in 2021. The Clauson Center for Innovation and Skilled Trades was named for philanthropists James and Janet Clauson, who donated more than $1 million to help build it. The new Health and Life Sciences building doesn’t have a name attached to it.

Also in 2021, a building

formerly known as the Isaac Cox House, near the Central Services building, got a new name: the Henry “Hank” Libby building. Libby served on the AACC Foundation for 12 years and served two terms as the Board of Trustees’ president.

“It was his leadership that really helped us all understand that … we should and could have our first fundraising campaign, so we raised $10 million over four years,” Melson said.

Issac Cox, a farmer, once owned much of the land the college is built on and lived in that house with his family.

Before that, in 2018, AACC renamed the Student Union building after Lila R. Schwartz, an optometrist who served on the Board of Trustees from 1970 to 1990.

“One of the reasons the Board of Trustees named the Student Union after Lila Schwartz [was] just because she was always a passionate

advocate for just what’s going to be good and what’s going to be in the best interest for students,” Melson said.

Another former trustee with a name on a campus building is A. Cathryn Johnson, who served from 1971 to 1978. And the soccer field is named for former Trustee Louis L. Siegert Jr., who served from 1961 to 1966.

Two former faculty members also have buildings with their names on them.

Robert E. Kauffman’s name is on the theater in the Pascal Center. He taught theater arts from 1972 to 2004.

Former chemistry professor Henry L. Dragun’s name is on a building on the Quad that is scheduled for a major remodel over the next few years.

Some buildings got their names from former AACC presidents.

The library’s name came from Andrew G. Truxal, AACC’s first president, who served from 1961 to 1968.

The college has named buildings after influential people such as former Trustee A. Cathryn Johnson.

Photo by Graig Bracey The college’s second president, Robert Ludlum’s name appears on the administration building. And the fourth president, Thomas E. Florestano, has a building named for him on West Campus.

Other buildings bear the names of influential politicians from Maryland history.

The John A. Cade Center for Fine Arts on West Campus got its name from a former state senator who lobbied for funding for the college. AACC’s gym bears the name of David S. Jenkins, who was the Anne Arundel County superintendent of schools from 1946 to 1966.

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Fun and Games

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The Pascal Center for the Performing Arts is named for former Anne Arundel County Executive Robert A. Pascal.

Naming campus structures after influential Marylanders “is a way to honor those who have done exceptional work for the college,” Library Director Cindy Steinhoff said.

The formal name for the Center for Applied Learning and Technology, or CALT, includes “Vanous-Nutt.” Harold Nutt and Lillian Vanous-Nutt left a “very significant gift” as part of their estate when Lillian died in 2007, Melson said.

8 | Campus Current | 2022 | November

Campus life

AACC students earn licenses to fly planes Tomi Brunton Reporter

The first time third-year physics student Bryant Pepe flew a plane, he was just 9 years old.

On a flight to the Outer Banks with his mother and sister on a small, single-engine plane, the pilot asked him, “Do you want to fly?”

“Yeah,” said Pepe, who recalls that “my feet couldn’t touch the paddles [or] floorboard. It was the first time I laid my hands on my control.”

Now 34, Pepe has a private pilot’s license and is working on his commercial credentials. His motivation: “The whole story is that you get it from birth,” said Pepe, whose father was a Navy pilot.

Pepe isn’t the only Riverhawk who is taking to the skies with a private pilot’s license.

Second-year communications student Jenna La-

goey’s father flies, too, so “I’ve been, like, in and out of planes since I was, like, a couple of months old,” said Lagoey, who earned a private pilot’s license in August 2021.

Second-year psychology student Micah Smith, who started working toward a license early this year, also said he got hooked on flying when he was a kid.

“There is nothing like it,” Lagoey said. “It’s really, really wonderful and it’s hard to pin down, honestly. … But there’s something about it. …

You begin to kind of get a feel for the plane when you’ve been flying it for a while, like you can feel that kind of rush when it takes off.”

Smith described a different experience.

“It’s a weird feeling,” Smith said. “It’s better than driving a car, definitely. It’s really stress free. Just being able to see the horizon … it’s calming. It’s really cool.”

The pilots agreed that learning to fly was easier than they expected.

“The hours fly by faster than you would think,” Smith said. “And if you really wanted to get done, it takes like less than a year to really get it all done.”

“Something that seems so monumentous may not seem so once you get there,” Pepe said. “It might become second nature. People might surprise themselves. And I think that happens more often than people give it credit for.”

Pepe added: “The more you learn and the more comfortable you get in your skills, the less effort you exert and the more you feel everything around you. You know, you feel the engine of your craft, you feel the wind blowing on you and you start to hear it.”

The pilots didn’t feel any of that during the first two years of the pandemic.

Second-year communications student Jenna Lagoey, who earned a pilot’s license in 2021, prepares a Technam P92 plane for takeoff.

Photo courtesy of Jenna Lagoey “You couldn’t get up in the air for, I think it was almost six months,” Lagoey said. “So when I started up my training again, I kind of— not lost it—but, you know, if you’re not doing something, like, every week, it can be kind of hard. It’s not as natural, so I kind of had to redo some stuff [so] things took a

little bit longer.”

Pepe encouraged other students to consider learning to fly.

“Anybody who’s interested in pursuing aviation owes it to themselves to give it a try,” Pepe said.

“It’s just a really expensive process," Smith said.

“It’s not that hard.”

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Campus Current | 2022 | November | 9

Entertainment

School to put on ‘Antigone’ Tomi Brunton Reporter Jenna Lagoey Senior Reporter Theatre at AACC will present a modern translation of the Greek tragedy “Antigone” in November.

The production, from Nov. 11 to 13 and 18 to 20 at the Kauffman Theater, will mark the first showing of the translation by local director Erin Bone Steele.

“Our program gets to benefit from being able to … put ‘world premiere’ on the poster,” Sean Urbantke, a performing arts professor and adviser for the Moonlight Troupers theater club, said.

Steele, who has a doctorate in theater history and performance studies from the University of Maryland, will also direct the play, whose script she adapted from the original Greek and previously translated texts.

“I have enough familiar-

ity to go in and translate out phrase by phrase, word by word and try and find the poetry and the metaphor and the imagery that is in the original and then seeing how it can be rendered in a way that will speak to our audience,” Steele, a member of the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, said.

“Antigone” is a classic Greek tragedy, part of a series of plays written by the famous playwright Sophocles in the fifth century B.C. In the play, a young woman named Antigone disobeys a royal decree by Creon, the king of Thebes. After sentencing Antigone to death, Creon is approached by several characters who attempt to talk him out of his decision.

“We’ve got that entire idea of someone in power … trying to learn how to not be a tyrant,” Urbantke said. “But [is King Creon] going to learn it in time, before all the tragedy comes home to roost?”

AACC students will perform “Antigone” on Nov. 11-13 and 18-20 in the Kauffman Theater.

Photo by Tomi Brunton Third-year transfer studies student Nathan Garcia, who plays King Creon, said “a lot of people are going to enjoy this new translation. …

It’s not you know, heavy with the old fashioned thou’s and thee’s. I think it’s very timely.”

Moonlight Troupers

President Angelo Klonowski, who plays the messenger, said he is “pretty excited” about performing the play.

“I love Sophocles,” Klonowski, a second-year visual arts student, said.

Steele said directing at AACC is “lovely.”

“Everybody is very enthusiastic,” Steele said. “Everybody comes in with a nice mix of eagerness to learn more and also willingness to discuss the things they’ve done before and the way that those experiences have shaped them.”

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10 | Campus Current | 2022 | November

Clubs

Cultural clubs talk customs Ike Jones Club Editor

Campus clubs that bring together students from specific cultures do not limit their members to those with a single heritage, their presidents said.

Officers and advisers of the Latinx Club, the Korean Culture Club, and the Japanese Language and Culture Club said the groups are as much about bringing together students with shared backgrounds as they are about spreading awareness of their cultures to all students.

“When you say Korean Culture Club, people think a lot of Koreans are going to be members, right?” Mea Lee, the club’s adviser, said.

“That’s not it at all. There’s hardly any Koreans. … We have a lot of African Americans and also Hispanic and white students.”

AACC has approximately 70 active clubs this semester.

Pre-pandemic, approximately 100 clubs were active on campus.

Some clubs bring together students of the same major; a few are for hobbyists; and others celebrate international cultures.

For example, members of the Japanese Language and Culture Club have discussions about the religions of Shinto and Buddhism, and about sumo wrestling and Takarazuka theater.

President Tasha Pierce said the club is planning to see the cherry blossoms in Washington this spring.

“Probably the first thing that comes to everyone’s mind is anime, and that’s a part of it, but also there’s so much more,” Pierce said.

“People … join … for a shared purpose of learning the language and enjoying the culture,” professor Jacob Neider, the club’s adviser, said.

The Latinx Club, on the

Latinx Club adviser Samuel Cordero-Puchales invites students to participate in celebrations at a Hispanic Heritage Month kick-off event.

Photo by Graig Bracey other hand, hosts events on campus to spread awareness about Hispanic culture.

The club helped sponsor events for Hispanic Heritage Month from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, which included a cooking demonstration, a pinata making workshop, and a discussion about civil justice in the Latinx community, for example.

“The main goal for us is to promote Latinx culture

across campus,” Samuel Cordero-Puchales, the club’s adviser, said.

The club’s next event will be Dia de los Muertos—Day of the Dead—in November.

Officers of all three clubs said anyone can join.

“Anybody can join, anybody can bring up what they think is critical, and that is what’s called inclusivity,” Lee said.

Lee added: “I really want

the Korean Culture Club to be, you know, not only our little minority club. There are more clubs like that, that will pop up, and that’s what I want.”

Korean Culture Club President Deborah Raji agreed.

“It’s just, like, available for people who want to learn a different religion or a different culture even though they don’t know about the culture,” Raji said.

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Campus Current | 2022 | November | 11

Sports

Men’s and women’s B-ball begins Nov. 1 Dan Elson Sports Editor Cole Popov Reporter

The Riverhawks men’s and women’s basketball teams start their seasons at home on Nov. 1 against Penn State York.

The men’s team will play at 7 p.m. Men’s head basketball coach Joe Snowden said he is looking forward to the upcoming games.

“I’m looking forward to watching these guys develop and grow and get better each game,” Snowden said.

The men’s squad finished last season with nine wins and 12 losses and lost 80-71 to Prince George’s Community College in the National Junior College Ath-

letic Association Region 20 Divison III finals.

Snowden added the lesson the team learned in the playoffs last year is to “finish games.”

“We went right to the wire and we forgot to finish,” Snowden noted. “This is what I’m teaching them now to do is to finish games.”

The men’s team will have three captains—Marquis James, Michael Duffy and Matt Kostacopolous.

“We’re going be good,” second-year transfer studies student Kostacopolous, a forward and guard, said.

“It’s a new team, we got new players, we got to get the chemistry down. We just got to come out every game and bring the energy.”

Duffy, a forward, said it’s

a “cool” feeling to be one of the captains.

“I mean, I was kind of expecting it to happen,” Duffy, a third-year kinesiology student, said. “It is hard at times to take on the responsibility, but [I’m] getting used to it.”

James, a forward, said he’s excited about the upcoming season.

“I’ve been waiting since last summer,” James, a second-year transfer studies student, said.

The women’s team finished with two wins and 17 losses last year and lost 6859 to Butler County Community College in the NJCAA Region 20 semifinals.

“We don’t base our [success] on our seasonal record,” head women’s bas-

ketball coach Lionel Makell said. “We base our [goals] on improvement from start to finish and we go from there.”

The women’s team, which has 10 players on the roster, plays at 5 p.m on Nov. 1.

That’s the “most we’ve had in nine years to come out,” Makell said. “So we feel pretty good after playing last year with six ladies. Feels

good to see the gym full.”

Makell noted the game plan is to play hard defense.

Second-year business student Syrena Boone, a returner, said the Riverhawks will do great this year.

“We have a really well-rounded team of good shooters [and] ball handlers,” Boone, who will play center, said.

Athletic Coordinator George Erazo said the dugouts were unsafe.

“So there was a couple of shingles missing, the sidings were starting to fall off and that’s actually a safety hazard because some of that was metal,” Erazo, who started at AACC in April, said. “So we didn’t want that to be an issue once this fall season started to go full swing. So I wanted to make sure to get that situated, make sure that

was stable and safe for the athletes.”

The baseball dugouts were built in 1978 and the softball dugouts were erected in 2005.

Head baseball coach Nick Hoffner said the new design of the dugouts will make the field “pop.”

“I think having our logo on there just lets everybody know, 'Hey, this is Anne Arundel Community College‘,” Hoffner noted.

AACC team dugouts get a fresh new look Dan Elson Sports Editor

The once gray-and-white baseball and softball dugouts were repaired and painted. The upgrades—including shingle replacement—began in September and ended in October.

Photo by Megan Cunningham

Messiah Anderson, a first-year kinesiology student, and Nick Augusterfer, a first-year criminal justice student, practice for the upcoming basketball season.

Photo by Megan Cunningham

The dugouts for the baseball and softball teams turned Riverhawk royal blue and teal in October.

Each dugout also got new roof shingles, which eventually will sport the image of a giant riverhawk, and a redesigned back exterior wall with “AACC Baseball” or "AACC Softball" emblazoned across it.

We’re online www.TheCampusCurrent.com New Articles Monday-Friday

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12 | Campus Current | 2022 | November

ANTIGONE

MOON

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By Sophocles

New World Premiere Translation from the Ancient Greek Text by guest director, Erin Bone Steele

TH E FATE OF TH E

HAN GS

ENTI RE

IN THE

ROYAL

BALAN CE.

FA MILY

NOV. 11-13 AND 18-20 Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.

Sundays, 2 p.m.

Robert E. Kauffman Theater In the Pascal Center for Performing Arts, Arnold General admission, $15 Faculty/staff/military/seniors, $10 All students with valid ID, $5 Box Office: boxoffice@aacc.edu or 410-777-2457

ATTEND A PERFORMANCE AT AACC

Anne Arundel Community College prohibits all types of discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct, and retaliation on the basis of race, color, religion or creed, ancestry or national origin, sex, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, citizenship, and genetic information. To file a complaint of discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct or retaliation, contact the chief compliance and fair practices officer/Title IX coordinator at 410-777-1239 or complianceofficer@aacc.edu, or Maryland Relay 711. 9/22