Voice, Identity, Dissent

Carnival ah! is an event that hopes to bring students from the Arts and Humanities division together through student projects and discussions. Both of these will focus on this year's theme: Voice, Identity, Dissent.

Student projects will be presented at the carnival on Apr. 2-4 at the Rio Grande campus. Projects that qualify will be funded by the division. The discussions will be held every Thursday at different campuses from 7-9 p.m.

"Carnival ah! is a celebration of the Arts and Humanities that extends beyond our divisional boundaries. We have truly wonderful students here participating seriously in the various Arts and Humanities programs and the city doesn't know about it," said Lyman Grant, dean of the Arts and Humanities Division. The departments involved are art, creative writing, dance, drama, ESOL, foreign language, and philosophy.

"The goal is to provide a network and resource for artistic and academic collaboration within the growing ACC community. It aims to benefit all students, faculty, staff and alumni. It was also created to showcase and celebrate the work being done here at ACC already," said Project Manager Arthur Adair.

About 20 people from each area of Arts and Humanities attended the introductory meeting of Carnival ah! on Sept. 4. "It was great to meet everyone in a casual environment like that. I am very excited to get more students involved with Carnival ah!," said Ashley Monical, president of the Experimental Student Performance Lab.

Students aren't the only ones excited about the event. "The faculty who are driving Carnival ah! are passionate about their field and their students. We spend an awful lot of time worrying about passing tests, and I think it's important for students to have a chance to express themselves without that concern," said Erika Domatti, associate professor of Deaf ESOL.

Another aim of Carnival ah! is to give students within the department a chance to show what they can do, and give them a reason to stick with their passion. "We are learning how to engage and retain creative students. They are an individual group, and have needs and interests that may not be the same as the typical student. We need to provide incentive for creative people to stay and stick with it, and I hope that Carnival ah! is one of those incentives," said Grant.