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VOL. 33, No. 2 The student publication of Washtenaw Community College
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A NATIONAL PACEMAKER AWARD NEWSPAPER
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
Ann Arbor, Michigan
www.washtenawvoice.com
Dental clinic to reopen in February, offers low prices By Ruby Go
Richard Landau
Editor
The on-campus dental clinic at WCC will open its doors again this winter during the months of February and March. The clinic is run by WCC dental assisting students who work with other dental students at the University of Michigan. Services are provided by the students, who are overseen by a licensed dentist. In most cases, cash or check payment is expected. Anyone 18 and up living in the Washtenaw County area is welcome to be seen. Students under 18 at Washtenaw Technical Middle College, the high school at WCC, are also welcomed if accompanied by a parent or guardian. The clinic’s prices are significantly cheaper than others in the area. Without dental insurance, a cleaning can cost over $100. At the clinic, a cleaning is $15. “It’s basically free,” said Jodi Neuman, a dental assisting professor who also works at the clinic. “Fluoride treatments at my dental office are $73. They’re $5 here.” One in three American adults do not have dental insurance, according to the American Dental Association. Additionally, a National Library of Medicine study found that, from a study of about 705 college students, nearly a third of the students had an untreated dental health issue, with the most common reason for leaving it untreated being the cost of care. “If my insurance didn’t already cover it, I would totally be going (to the clinic),”
Alex Milshteyn
New trustee appointed to WCC board
Replaces long-serving Landau by
Robin Wyllie-Scholz
Deputy Editor
Realtor Alex Milshteyn will join the Board of Trustees to fill the place of Dr. Richard Landau, who announced his surprise departure at a board meeting in December. The board held a special meeting on Jan. 3, in which they appointed new trustee Milshteyn in a 5-0 vote.
Kelsey Baker-Shaw, a WCC dental assisting student, practices on a mannequin’s teeth.
said Kelsey Baker-Shaw, a WCC dental assisting student who works at the clinic. “I didn’t even know it existed before this program.” About 12 patients visit the clinic per day, according to Neuman. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, only WCC students, staff, and faculty were allowed to be treated. However, as more and more people from the community wanted to be seen at the clinic, they agreed to start treating them, too. Both Neuman and Baker-
Shaw want future patients to know that they will be in good hands. While some people may be hesitant to be treated at a student-run dental office, Neuman emphasizes that every treatment carried out by the students is approved by a licensed dentist, who is also present at the clinic in case of an emergency. “We spent a lot of time getting to this point and practicing. I mean, we’re ready,” Baker-Shaw said. “We make sure we take as much time as needed for every single case.”
RUBY GO | WASHTENAW VOICE
Where: OE 106 When: Tuesdays and Thursdays Who: Call 734-973-3332 to schedule an appointment
Treatments
X-rays: $15 Cleaning: $15 Simple fillings: $15-$20 per filling Fluoride treatment: $5
‘I leave this board after 22 years knowing that I’m leaving it in the best care that I could envision.’ -Richard Landau One member of the board, Trustee Ruth Hatcher, chose to abstain. “I’d like to express my disappointment in how we’ve gone about this. It’s been very quick, there hasn’t been as far as I’m concerned enough publicity…I’m going to withhold my vote because I think the process was not well
done,” Hatcher said. Hatcher noted that her disapproval was not centered around Milshteyn or David Malcolm, the other nominee, but rather the process as a whole, saying “I’ve known both of these candidates for a long time…none of my comments should reflect on either one of them.” Landau served on the board starting in 2001. Though he did not give a specific reason for leaving in announcing his departure, he said, “It’s been my privilege to serve on this board with everyone here… I leave this board after 22 years knowing that I’m leaving it in the best care that I could envision.” A graduate of Washtenaw Community College himself, Milshteyn is also on the Washtenaw Technical Middle College Board of Directors and volunteers with several other organizations in the Ann Arbor area. Milshteyn will join the board at their first meeting of the semester, which will take place at 6 p.m. on Jan. 31.
Club leaders adapt to new social scene after pandemic New extracurriculars created, old groups brought back By Willow Symonds Staff Writer
The COVID-19 pandemic often discouraged students from joining or starting clubs, according to Veronica Capraru, Supervisor of Student Organizations. WCC hosted 40+ clubs in the Spring 2020 semester, but now the number is about 30, not including sports. A2 Entrepreneurs ended during the Spring semester 2020 when the club’s leader graduated and no one took her place. The pandemic moved all meetings and activities from in-person to Zoom, and the club disappeared from the student body’s mind – but not from Campus Connect. Evan Aeschliman, a Business Administration major and the current Student Board Leader for A2 Entrepreneurs, noticed the dormant page and restarted the academic club this semester. Before the pandemic, members interviewed each
other for collaborative ideas, an activity called “cloud storming.” While A2 Entrepreneurs will return to the traditional in-person meeting format, Aeschliman aims to switch up the club plans. “We’ll do training, ‘Shark Tank’ style,” he says. “I call them Intra Club Pitch Competitions, but they’re really just practice sessions. … We’ll also compete in different events throughout the semester.” Aeschliman explains he was “looking to put together a group of like-minded individuals outside of the classroom setting. [A2 Entrepreneurs] isn’t just business and marketing majors, though – it’s open to anybody who wants to join and learn entrepreneurship skills.” He believes the toughest challenge when restarting the club was raising awareness of its availability. To promote A2 Entrepreneurs among students, the four leaders, including Aeschli-
man, held a booth at Welcome Day on Thursday, Jan. 19. They plan to advertise again in Feb. 1’s Club Fair. Other on-campus extracurriculars resurged from hiatus this school year, including Women in STEM, Disc Golf Club, and the Red Cross Club. Washtenaw Animators Intuitive (WAI) went quiet for most of the pandemic, but last semester, the club grew in members and activity, both online and in person. Not all up-and-coming clubs existed before the pandemic, though. Some are entirely new, such as the Tabletop Games Club. Lucas Fuller, a General Studies major, wanted to join a school club for playing cards, board games, and tabletops like “Dungeons & Dragons,” but WCC had no extracurriculars for these interests. Near the end of the Fall 2022 semester, he registered Tabletop Games Club with the help of some friends and Veronica Capraru.
Tabletop Games Club leader Lucas Fuller (right) and member Mairead Seyfarth promote their new extracurricular at Welcome Day on Thursday, Jan. 19.
WILLOW SYMONDS | WASHTENAW VOICE
Fuller soon discovered finding interested students with open schedules was “difficult.” “A lot of people interested were actually students doing online classes,” Fuller says, noting how many of them couldn’t attend game sessions on campus. “With
the club just starting, we don’t have the ability to plan something over Discord or Zoom.” Tabletop Games Club always plays on Friday, starting on Nov 4, 2022. Because they began with so few members, though, some meetings had to be canceled. For A2 Entrepreneurs,
Evan Aeschliman will hold biweekly meetings instead of gathering every Thursday. “Be flexible around group members’ availability as well as your own,” he advises. “It doesn’t make sense to have meetings when most people can’t be there.”
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