Student opinion on Truxal library at AACC

Truxal Final Paper

Front View of the Andrew G. Truxal Library

Students and faculty at Anne Arundel Community College can now enjoy the new and improved Andrew G. Truxal Library.

          

 “The new library is wonderful,” said Cynthia Steinhoff, director of the library. “The renovation provides so much more study space and more computers for the students.”     

In the fall of last year the area that once stood the old library was a mound of dirt, crammed with construction vehicles and equipment. The students in the math building, that’s sits right next to the library, could feel the foundation vibrate from the neighboring construction site.

The library was ready for students and faculty for the start of the fall semester on Aug. 27. The once crowded library with little amount of computers is now a relaxing study space full with new features to aid the students in their academics.

The cost of the project totaled to $19.6 million. The building process was under the charge of the Hess Construction and engineering services. At the completion of the project the construction was $2 million under budget, but it is not certain where the savings have gone, Steinhoff said.

“What I like is that we installed several more electrical outlets, which the old library didn’t have,” said Steinhoff.

The old library, built in 1967, was a restricted space with not enough computers for the students to do their studies, but many of those features have doubled in capacity without taking up needed sitting and study space.

The library is now home to 224 computers for students and faculty to use, which is a 72 percent increase from the old facility. The first floor is home to a 134 seat technology learning center where students can study, have tutoring, or finish a research paper.

 “I liked it before, but I like it even better now,” said Phil Morrison, a math tutor at AACC. “It looks a lot better and it seems to work a lot better.”

Morrison has been a math tutor at AACC for two years and believes that the old building wasn’t as bad, but the renovations have made it even better.

The 20 enclosed silent group study rooms located on the second and third floor are furnished with seating for five to six people, equipped with 42 inch TV and computer screens and extra outlets for laptops and flash drives.

Students that don’t need to study can enjoy and relax in their spare time in the library as well. Students can grab a movie from the library DVD section or take a nap by the fireplace on the second floor.

“I think it’s really nice” said BrittanyBiermann. “It’s a good place for me to study and do my homework.”

Biermann, 18, is a freshman at AACC and is majoring in transfer studies. This Broadneck alumnus spends three days a week in the library doing her homework and studying. Biermann thoughts on the library can be seen in a video on Facebook.

In the old library the area was cramped and many of the reference shelves had to be moved and reorganize to house the needed materials and still give the students room to study.

Now with about 19,600 linear feet of shelving the reference section has plenty of room for more text books and reading material, but books are not the only place to get reference material at the library. The library has its own onlinedatabases with all the materials available at the library.

The library even has its own Facebook page to provide notifications on new books and updates to on campus activities.

The hopes for the future are to still provide a relaxing study space with plenty of reference material and computers for the students and faculty, Steinhoff said.

Thanksgiving Leftovers

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    Thanksgiving meal can be great, but the leftovers can be even better.

    This year my dad got a 13 pound turkey for just the three of us and we barely made a dent in our feast. With all the leftovers there is no problem for me, who took 2 years of culinary classes, to cook up some delicious meals for the weeks to come.

     Of course I'll make huge turkey sandwiches and gallons of steaming soup, but what are other things I can make.

      Yummy. One of the Food Network's leftover ideas is Individual Turkey Shepherd's Pie. Hot turkey, cheese, vegetables covered with hot mash potatoes would make anyone happy. A small bowl of pure thanksgiving heaven is sure to be a new Smith family favorite.

       An idea that hit me after watching an episode of Chef Giada De Laurentiis. A vegetarian way to get rid of leftover stuffing aka dressing is to stuff mushrooms with it  and bake them until their golden brown. Little twist to Giada's recipe and you have a diverse recipe that can be a nighttime snack or party food.

      Always experiment and have fun when making these dishes. If you mess up there is always ingredients to spare.

R.I.P Savita Halappanavar

    

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     Thousand's of Irish protest the death of Savita Halappanavar.

     Halappanavar, 31, died of miscarriage complications in a Galway hospital in Ireland Oct.28. After the medical staff refused her several request for an abortion and complaining of back pains she died carrying her still born child.

    Nurses and hospital staff stated that in a “Catholic country,” a hospital in Ireland could not abide by her pleas because in Ireland states abortion is essentially illegal.

    An estimate of 12,000 people marched on Saturday, where a candle-lit vigil and one minute silence was held. In Galway, up to 1,000 people took part in a vigil and members of the Indian community gathered outside the hospital to pray.

   Halappanavar death could be the straw to break the camels back for the Irish government to either clarify or change the abortion law.

 

Rocking on Halloween

     Most definitely the popular house on the block. I wish my house would go all out like this guy. I might do a couple of difficult pumpkin carvings, but Halloween at his house is probably awesome. The time and patience that goes to sync each light with the music is epic.
Google images

Question 6

     Six Anne Arundel Community College students stated they were for Question 6 to legalize gay marriage in Maryland.

     "I'm for it," said Lambertine Jones. "It is their right and if they love someone they should be allow to get married."

     On Nov. 6 Question 6 will be on the ballot and if the law is passed gay marriage wil be legal in the state of Maryland.

     Jones, 18, is an radiology major at AACC supports Question 6 for the state of Maryland.

     "I am absolutely for it," said Carol Durr.

     Durr is an older woman that is taking one swimming class at the college and she feels that it is time for gay people to have the right to marry.

     Two students, Dakota Voith,17, and Chad Johnson,18,, commented that they didn't care about Question 6 and that if they could vote they would vote to legalize gay marriage.

     "I'm for it," said Sam Jacobson.

     Jacobson, 18, is a criminal justice major at AACC stated that he would vote for Question 6, but he had no reason why he would.

Drew Brees can't sing

     Teen boy band sensation One Direction teams up with NFL football player Drew Brees for a Pepsi commercial. As a shock to most people Brees cant sing to save his life. Even though I hate the band One Direction I thought this ad was fun. Enjoy.