Recher closes after 16 years After close to 16 years of hosting rock, pop-punk and metal bands, the Recher Theatre in downtown Towson closed its doors in March. The concert venue was closed down in lieu of the new Torrent nightclub. Torrent will be owned by the Recher family still, but instead will host DJ’s as opposed to the typical rock concert. Owner Brian Recher had been thinking about the change for several years, and [...]

The second TEDxTowsonU independently organized TED event came to Towson Thursday, May 9. The event, comprised of 10 speakers, took place in the West Village Commons Ballrooms. Director of Student Activities Dirron Allen hosted the event and introduced each speaker. The speakers ranged from faculty members, such as Gilda Martinez-Alba, who spoke about bridging the divide between native English speakers and English learners, to “Danny” Dat Nguyen, a break-dancer who goes by the name “Atomic [...]

In her first year as Campus Planning and Sustainability Manager, Clara Fang wanted to bring one of the successes from her past job at Swarthmore College here. The Trash to Treasure program, which collects donations, such as clothes, furniture, toiletries and appliances to sell to the community, raised $26,000 last year at Swarthmore, she said. “That was at a University with a student body of 1,500,” Fang said. “Imagine how much we could raise at [...]

Deb Moriarty looks forward to seeing her golden retriever, Sammie, when she gets home from her job as vice president of student affairs at Towson. She grew up on the east coast, living in Massachusetts through high school, and has lived in many different states around the country. But California, where she met her husband, will always have a special place in her heart. Moriarty attended Southern Connecticut State University then went to Southern Illinois [...]

When Patrick Young first entered the U.S. Marines, he had planned to serve for four years and then enter college. He and two of his friends who were also in the Marine Corps, had planned to get a house and attend Towson when they completed their service in 2005. While Young eventually got that chance, his friends were not as fortunate. Both of Young’s friends were killed in combat while serving in Iraq. Young, who [...]

Director of African American student development Joan Maze said she’s always been a bit of a nomad. “I am an Air Force brat, so we moved around a lot. My family is originally from Louisiana, but when I was younger we moved around to a lot of different places,” she said. Maze attended college and obtained her degree in African American studies. Heading into college, however, Maze knew she wanted to work at a University. [...]

Sometimes Dirron Allen, director of Student Activities, likes to watch wrestling introductions to begin his day in the office. “Usually, it’s the Rock,” he said. He then tackles the day with the rest of the Student Activities staff. “Our staff is so much fun, very supportive and cares about our students,” he said. “At the end of the day, I consider them my friends.” Before coming to Towson, Allen lived in Philadelphia, working in recreation [...]

Administrators are involved in students’ lives every day. From making policy to just being a friendly face on campus, administrators are the gears that make Towson University move. However, students are often unaware of the people who make the campus efficient, which ultimately makes or breaks their campus experiences. In order to facilitate a greater connection between these administrators and students, The Towerlight sat down with six of these familiar faces, and asked them about [...]

For Victor Collins, assistant vice president of Student Affairs for Diversity, it wasn’t until a mudslide in Knoxville, Tenn. nearly took his life that he realized he needed to follow his true passion. “I remember when it happened I was standing there and it was pre-dawn, raining very hard,” Collins said. “I remember thinking ‘I’m glad it’s raining because it’s covering the tears in my eyes.’ But oddly, they were tears of joy because I [...]

When lunch break comes around and Jim McTygue is in his office, it’s time to log onto BaltimoreRavens.com. McTygue, the director of Event and Conference Services at Towson, is an avid Baltimore Ravens fan, and most recently has been following the team’s selections in the 2013 draft. “I was very interested in the draft as to who [the Ravens] we’re going to pick and who our division mates were going to select,” he said. McTygue [...]