Despite the demands of working full time at a college, many of AU’s professors and staff members are actively writing and publishing books. These individuals who inspire students on campus have begun inspiring others through writing. Dr. Jason Parks, associate professor of English, has dabbled in many different writing forms, but began writing children’s literature within the past few years, partially thanks to his four children and their interest in stories. “My own children and … [Read more...]
SGA works toward semester initiatives
As the halfway point of the semester approaches, SGA is well underway with several initiatives to help improve campus life. According to SGA President Daniel Gaines, the Cabinet has several goals for this semester. “One of them is institutionalizing security training for females on campus,” said Gaines. “We've been working with AUPD, and hopefully in the next few weeks we will be able to have those training sessions for the female students. We'd like to work with the RDs and RAs of … [Read more...]
Students experience quarantine on campus
“It’s okay, because COVID doesn’t spread at night,” said Jessica Pulaski jokingly in an Instagram story, as she and her roommates recorded a nightly walk during quarantine. Like Pulaski and her roommates, 32 AU students are currently under a quarantine order. Their story is a window into what it might be like to quarantine at AU. “My roommate tested positive and I was exposed to her,” said Pulaski, a junior double major of elementary education and complimentary … [Read more...]
AU hosts musical theatre and dance livestream
On Sept. 16 and 19, AU put on livestream performances for the department of musical theater and dance department that reached over 1,000 views. Kris Rinas, the director of studio and technical operations at AU, led the film students in capturing the events. “We took our broadcasting cameras from the studio and took them into Reardon and we controlled the broadcast from our control room in the Broadcast Center while everyone else was on stage,” Rinas said. Director of … [Read more...]
‘Fall into Dance’ to embrace new look
The annual “Fall into Dance” put on by AU’s Dance Program will still be taking place this year, but it will look slightly different than it has in the past. Fall into Dance will take place in Reardon Auditorium on Friday, Nov. 6 at 7:30 p.m. and will only be open to family members due to social distancing requirements, but members of the public will be able to watch the live stream. Senior dance major Meredith Haskell explained that she is encouraged by the ability to have a … [Read more...]
Cinema and media arts program increases cross-campus collaboration
Despite the unforeseen circumstances, the cinema and media arts program has found numerous opportunities to work with other departments and programs this semester. Students within the cinema and media arts program have been working with the School of Music, Theatre and Dance, other programs within the department of communication and design arts and President Pistole. The students within the program will also be broadcasting the virtual graduation over homecoming weekend. Cinema … [Read more...]
How creatives survived quarantine
As schools and businesses everywhere closed down for a few months this year, students found themselves with lots of free time. For some, creative juices started to flow. Creatives everywhere had some time to hone their craft and create some magic in the midst of the pandemic. Student band “New Colors” planned to release a full album this summer, a project that was postponed when the band left campus in March. They were able to release their single, “Safe” on June 15. “Luckily, we actually … [Read more...]
Q&A: Sarah Neal
AU alumna Dr. Sarah Neal serves as a professor in the nursing department. This year, she has taken on a special role with the university as the lead of the “COVID-19 Task Force.” She has degrees in social work, nursing and public health. What is your role with our university? “As Lead of the COVID task course, I handle all kinds of COVID scenarios. That's coming up with policies and procedures and consulting with all the different campus constituents so that I can help every area on … [Read more...]
New kind of theatre creates opportunities
While the pandemic has created numerous obstacles for the musical theatre department, it has not prevented socially-distanced and masked rehearsals and performances. Although performances this semester will not have live audiences, they still provide unique and innovative opportunities for students. Among the fall productions is one unlike any show performed in AU’s history. Titled “Spoon River Anthology and Beyond,” students from the School of Music, Theatre and Dance are working with … [Read more...]
CAB focuses sights on student engagement
Amidst newly-introduced guidelines and mask mandates, CAB is anticipating another successful year of events on campus. CAB is led by Danie Adams and Kelsi Allen. Adams and Allen have been tasked with planning new events and reorganizing old events to comply with the regulations on campus. Adams, who is also the assistant director of student engagement on campus, explained how CAB went about planning events for campus this year given the circumstances. “This year, we … [Read more...]