New semester of events kicks off late February
Student Life Intramural Sports started its latest season on Feb 18. Registration has closed for all teams, but everyone can attend games for free.
UPCOMING DATES
4x4 Men’s Indoor Soccer
March 1, 8, and 22
Games start at 9 p.m. at the Austin Sport’s Arena in Round Rock
Smoking Lesson, a play directed by Austin Community College Professor of Drama, Marcus McQuirter, made its debut on Feb. 26 at 8 p.m. at the Rio Grande Campus Gallery Theater and has five subsequent presentations. The play, written by dramatist Julia Jordan, was chosen by McQuirter because it is “a really good play for young actors.”“It has a small cast with roles that are appropriated to college level students, so there is not too much stretching,” said McQuirter.
Already, two great campuses have been cast out of the competition. As we attempt to guess at our own legacy, we must forgive ourselves for littering our follies or friends along the wayside.
The Student Government Association hosted the second annual Blackout at the Eastview campus Multi-purpose Room on Feb. 19. Blackout is a free social event open to all ACC students. This year’s Blackout provided students with five Nintendo Wii’s, three Xbox 360’s, two Alienware PC’s furnished by Dell, a PlayStation2, a Nintendo 64, board games, food, a lounge area, music and a dance floor set up with stage lighting.
February is Black History Month, and with it came several events on ACC campuses.
The main focus of the events was culture, and lots of food was served to students who attended the events at Northridge, Riverside and Rio Grande campuses.
All Campuses
For those interested in submitting campus events for our Accent calendar, please e-mail the information to editor3@austincc.edu for consideration.
Rhythm of the Nations!
March 3, 6:30-9:00 p.m. Eastview Campus, Room 8500
Bring your dancing shoes so you can learn dancing styles from Bollywood to Hip Hop to Salsa. Students will also have the chance to win an iPod touch, iPod Nano, and much more.
It’s a battle for valor. The trophy? Glory. Only one ACC campus will fit on the pedestal of the world’s gaze. As students and faculty, we are the ACC legacy. Our best campus will stand out as a beacon. Undoubtedly, we will be scrutinized by the world. They will decide whether to forget us, or move us on into legend. For the sake of our immortality, we must find our best and herald it now, so its legacy may last forever.
A hole in the side of a building told Officer Roy Shipp that he wasn’t alone. Up until that point Shipp had thought everything was routine, and it was just another check-up on a usually faulty alarm. Then he was pursuing a suspect on foot. A block and half later, he was in a physical fight with the suspect. The fight lasted for thirty minutes and ended with the suspect putting a gun to Shipp’s head. Shipp thought about the life he’d never have. Then the gun went off.
ACC is unbelievably huge. With more than 40,000 students spread across seven campuses, the ACC system is still growing. Remarkably, with Dallas and San Antonio each nearly doubling Austin’s population, and with Houston nearly tripling it, ACC is on track to eventually have the largest community college system in Texas.
Something this gigantic has to be important.
The Office of Student Life hosted Welcome Week to ease current and new students’ anxiety into the 2010 Spring semester. Each campus offered a variety of activities and refreshments such as Frito chili pies and s’mores to be enjoyed in between classes. Student Life staff members also answered any questions students may have had about Austin Community College.
Professor’s artwork now on display at Cypress Creek Campus
In the halls of the Cypress Creek Campus’s Building 1000, many will notice that a majority of the pieces all contain one key element, a solid cinder brick wall, or “aggregate concrete blocks,” as artist Melanie Hickerson calls them.
“It’s like a way of thinking about nothing,” said Hickerson, an adjunct ACC professor and artist. “You know, how you think of nothing but you’re not thinking of nothing, and the imagery that kept coming to me was cinder blocks.”
What do Armadillos, Jaguars, Firebirds, Vacqueros, Stars and Chupacabras have in common? They are all student suggestions for the future Austin Community College mascot that made into an exclusive list of 57 favorites.
This last September, ACC Board of Trustees began an ambitious search for the ultimate ACC mascot.
Fire Academy celebrates its move to Austin location at open house demonstration
A fire cadet leapt off the top of the drill tower and rode a rope toward a crowd of spectators at the Austin Community College Fire Training Academy Open House. Meanwhile, another cadet secured himself to a victim impersonator and simulated a rescue as he repelled straight down the tower. Then, a simulation house beside the tower burst into flames. Two fire trucks pulled up to the house and the remaining cadets jumped out and started fighting the blaze.
“This is the most important thing that’s going to happen in your lifetime,” Bill Darling, a partner at the Strasburger law firm, told the audience attending the recent Landscape of Health Care Reform Politics, Ethics and Law panel.
Round Rock campus on schedule to open fall 2010
ACC’s Round Rock campus is on schedule to open in the fall of 2010. Phase One of this new campus will feature five new buildings totaling more than 250,000 square feet in size. The campus will include a three-story Health Sciences building, a General Studies building, a Library, an Applied Technology building and a Central Utility Plant.
The African Student Association held a Cultural Night at Rio Grande Campus Novemeber 20, 2009. Throughout the first part of the evening, the audience was entertained by on-stage performances by comedians, singers, poets and dancers. Members of the association also setup a simulation of ritual African dances and chants to the rythm of the continent's musics. After the artistic performances, the Association set up a sampler of native meals for the crowd to enjoy.
Parking garage awarded three star green rating
The parking garage at Austin Community College’s Rio Grande Campus was officially awarded a three star rating by the Austin Energy Green Building Program on Thursday, Nov. 19, at ACC’s Great Big Green Get-Together. The garage is ACC’s first green building.
“1940’s Radio Hour” to raise money to fund trip to Carnegie Hall
ACC’s choir program generated buzz this week when its much anticipated production of “The 1940’s Radio Hour” debuted on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at the One World Theatre.
Set in 1942, “The 1940’s Radio Hour” captures the essence of this time period with 20 musical numbers that incorporate song, dance, and pop culture concepts into one big musical production.
The American Sign Language Friends United (AFU) presented the first ASL Fusion: A Sign Language Musical Performance at the Eastview Campus on Nov. 17. The musical performance was held to raise funds for ASL Rocks which is an annual festival that will be held at the Eastview campus on April 17, 2010.
Donations accepted until Thanksgiving
This Thanksgiving, $25 will save a turkey’s life.
The Rio Grande Campus media center, room 225, is accepting donations on behalf of Farm Sanctuary’s Adopt-A-Turkey Project. Last year they sponsored three turkeys. This year they hope for more.
The ACC chapter of the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education (TACHE) hosted their first ever Golf Fiesta. All proceeds from the tournament go toward providing scholarships to Latino students in need of financial aid. The event took place, Nov. 13, at the Riverside Golf Course next to the Riverside Campus.
Gym turned into faculty office space
Left empty for 35 years, Austin High’s former gymnasium on West avenue will soon be filled with students. On schedule and on budget, the gym is expected to be open for the summer 2010 semester as RGC Building 3000.
News Brief
The Student Government Association (SGA) has formed a DREAM. Act Committee in order to study the effect of the DREAM act on undocumented students at ACC. This committee was formed after Jose Torres, President of the University of Leadership, a group that is trying to mobilize support for the DREAM Act at colleges, made a presentation about the DREAM act at an SGA meeting on Oct. 30.
Student and staff opinions at Rio Grande Campus
UT Professor Dr. Daniel Hamermesh recently said in an article in The Daily Texan that UT is not “[ACC] or Texas State University. We [UT] should be training the leaders of tomorrow to think.” Do you agree?
“1940’s Radio Hour” to raise money to fund trip to Carnegie Hall
ACC’s choir program generated buzz this week when its much anticipated production of “The 1940’s Radio Hour” debuted on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at the One World Theatre.
Set in 1942, “The 1940’s Radio Hour” captures the essence of this time period with 20 musical numbers that incorporate song, dance, and pop culture concepts into one big musical production.
The American Sign Language Friends United (AFU) presented the first ASL Fusion: A Sign Language Musical Performance at the Eastview Campus on Nov. 17. The musical performance was held to raise funds for ASL Rocks which is an annual festival that will be held at the Eastview campus on April 17, 2010.
The ACC chapter of the Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education (TACHE) hosted their first ever Golf Fiesta. All proceeds from the tournament go toward providing scholarships to Latino students in need of financial aid. The event took place, Nov. 13, at the Riverside Golf Course next to the Riverside Campus.
The Austin Planetarium, which is still in development, has helped to cosponsor ACC Professor Dr. Jim Heath’s lecture series celebrating the International Year of Astronomy. Professor Heath was among the dozen or so people who first entertained the idea of building a planetarium in Austin.
Over 60 students in 11 teams competed in this year’s soccer tournament resulting in the undefeated Twisters beating the Dream Team during the championship game on Nov. 19 to win first place.
Gym turned into faculty office space
Left empty for 35 years, Austin High’s former gymnasium on West avenue will soon be filled with students. On schedule and on budget, the gym is expected to be open for the summer 2010 semester as RGC Building 3000.
Dept. head petitions for more space
A small exhibition space is being built in the remodeled gym at Rio Grande Campus, but Art Department Chair Gary Webernick said the department still needs a larger gallery. Webernick and the ACC Art Department are once again petitioning the ACC administration for more gallery space in which to display student and faculty art.
Mexican authors remembered at Dia de los Muertos
Students honored great Mexican authors at this year’s Dia de los Muertos celebration at the Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC).
Eleven soccer teams are attempting to kick their way to a championship in this semester’s soccer tournament.
The first ever talent show showcased student skill at the Eastview Campus. On Oct. 22, ACC’s Got Talent-Our Time To Shine, sponsored and hosted by Women of Influence (WOI), featured fourteen acts, including interpretive dances, singing, instrument playing, stand up comedy and rap.
Pinnacle Campus
Where to shop, hang, eat?
Students must submit ideas by Dec. 4
Austin Community College is looking for a mascot and the college is asking everyone in the community to get involved.
The second chapter of the Twilight Saga, “New Moon,” will be released in theatres on Nov. 20, and ACC students will have a chance to attend a special midnight screening. ACC Student Life (SL) has partnered up with Regal Gateway Theatre 16 to bring this private event to students.
News Briefs
The ACC Chapter of Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education (TACHE) was forced to postpone the first ever Golf Fiesta Team Scramble, because of bad weather.
ACC students at Riverside Campus advised college leaders on Oct. 13 as part of the ACC Student Forum hosted by the Student Government Association.
The college representatives who attended were Trustee member Barbara Mink, Dean of Student Services Virginia Fraire, and Campus Manager Frank Taylor.
The ACC Book store was closed from Oct. 12 to Oct.19 as it moved to its new location on the ground floor of the Rio Grande Parking Garage. Students and faculty who once had to cross a busy road to reach the old book store now can find needed supplies only a few feet away from their cars.
This semester’s Unity Jam activities will be held at each ACC campus. The Student Life event is meant to expose students to a wide range of cultures and traditions.
Students from around the state that are going into teaching gathered at ACC for the conference, Reading the Future: Preparing Texas Educators Today for the Students of Tomorrow, on Oct. 10. The conference, sponsored by ACC’s Center for Public Policy and Political Studies (CPPPS) and the Arts and Humanity Division was at the Highland Business Center.
Austin Community College’s Student Life Office and the Student Diversity Ambassadors created the opportunity for students to engage in healthy dialogue about diversity at the Common Experience: Diversity Lecture Series, “You can run but you can’t hide”.
Popularity of program leads to more classes
ACC’s automotive program has experienced heavy growth since it first began on the Rio Grande campus.
Starting in January, student bus passes could be available for Austin Community College students. The Student Government Association along with the ACC administration have a committee working on a proposal to begin offering bus passes to all ACC students, faculty and staff. That proposal will be heard at the Oct. 5 board meeting at 6:00 p.m. at the Highland Business Center.
Diversity programs at ACC help minorities succeed in college
At the 10th annual National Role Models Conference in Washington D.C., Austin Community College was honored for its programs that support diversity by Minority Access Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit that works on recruitment, retention and advancement of minorities on campus. Minority Access includes over 170 institutes of higher education.
Bowling might not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Austin Community College, but students enjoyed bowling at Westgate Lanes Thursday, Sept. 24 courtesy of the Intramural and Recreation Program. About 50 people attended. Free food and white T-shirts with an Intramural design were provided.
Students for Environmental Outreach club host fair at RGC
The ACC Students for Environmental Outreach club hosted the Water Awareness Fair on Sept. 24 at the Rio Grande campus student lounge. The Lower Colorado River Authority, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, City of Austin Watershed Protection Development Review, and ACC’s Environmental Science Department were all present at the event and representatives spoke to students about the environment in and around Austin as well as job opportunities.
Where to...?
Where to shop, eat and hang out near the Cypress Creek campus.
Where to..?
Students who love leisurely reading will love this affordable used bookstore, The Book Exchange. Upon walking in the door, you are immediately surrounded by shelves upon shelves full of books. There are more than 90,000 books in stock from various genres such as science fiction, romance, non-fiction, etc. However, one thing they don’t have is text books. The staff is super friendly and willing to help you locate something you’re looking for
While no official list of choices has been put out, ACC is in the beginning stages of adopting a mascot to represent the school.
Legislation that affects the rights of foster children is being considered this session. The Foster Care Alumni of America (FCAA) has come out for or against these Bills. FCAA facilitates youth involvement in the legislation. "I think it is important to draw the distinction between the position that Lifeworks takes and the FCAA takes, they are separate.
Where to Shop? Alamo Thrift Store, 2502 Webberville With several strip malls filled with familiar names such as Family Dollar, Melrose and Walgreens surrounding the area, this small thrift store stands on its own on Webberville Road. It's located on the other side of the railroad tracks from Eastview Campus.
Field trip raises awareness on environmental issues in Austin
Students from Amy Cunningham's Issues in Environmental Science class and members of the Students for Environmental Outreach Club visited Zilker Park, Barton Springs, Café de Luz, North Austin's Waste Management Site and Waste Management's Landfill on April 24 for the Taste the Waste Reunion Tour.
Students of English for Speakers of other Languages (ESOL) say that the language barrier is what makes it the hardest for foreigners to integrate and adapt to the USA. "The language difference makes me feel like I don't know anything," said Jie Luo, a medical doctor from China.
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