During these challenging times with navigating physical distance, managing classes exclusively online, and adjusting to new living situations, now might be the time to sharpen your resiliency reserves.
Resilience is one’s ability to recover from difficulties which is certainly being challenged for most of us. It is thought that resilience can be learned and includes being aware of, and changing how we think about events from initially negative to more positive appraisals. For example, “the pandemic is going to make it impossible for me to find a job, why even try!” While it is true that it might be more challenging to find a job after graduating, another way to look at this challenge is “While I may not be able to find the exact job I was hoping for, I have skills in being able to work online, and can add a lot to a company. I am going to apply to a wide range of positions!” The first statement might leave you feeling defeated and not wanting to do anything while the second statement validates the difficulties and invites creative action.
The Counseling Center has a few resources to support your cultivation of resilience:
You’ve Got This: Four-Week Resilience Building Webinar - for more information and to register go to myUMBC
Topic 1: Mindfulness and stress management (5/6, Wed. at 2 p.m.)
Topic 2: Thought as Thought (5/12, Tues. at 11 a.m.)
Topic 3: Emotion as Emotion (5/20, Wed. at 2 p.m.)
Topic 4: Interpersonal Effectiveness (5/27, Wed. at 2 p.m.)
WellTrack - free app for UMBC students with materials to address depression, anxiety/stress, and public speaking with the very new addition of resilience materials to tackle overwhelming feelings. It includes a new course on resiliency to help you understand your feelings during this time of crisis, and helps teach techniques and perspective to apply when these feelings can seem overwhelming.
On behalf of the Office of Undergraduate Research and the Division of Undergraduate Academic Affairs, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to all the students researchers, their mentors, and the guests who participated in URCAD Online this year.
A special thanks goes out to Michael Mower, UAA’s IT Web, and Graphic Design Specialist, and to our partners in the Division of Information Technology for helping to transition URCAD online using the VoiceThread platform. Thank you also to our Alumni Keynote Speaker, Dr. Keisha John, for her inspiring words of wisdom in these challenging times. I would also like to acknowledge the URCAD Selection Committee and its chair, Dr. Stephen Miller, for all their work in making selections and giving students feedback on their abstracts, and Dr. Raimi Quiton and Dr. Timothy Phin for helping prepare the students to present. And thank you to Provost Philip Rous and Dean Katharine Cole for their continued support of the event.
You will still be able to view the presentations until September 4, 2020, although some students may choose to turn off their comment function. To view student projects, see the URCAD presenter listing and click on any VT icon. Projects are also viewable by department.
URCAD.umbc.edu
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for URCAD 2021, which will be held next year on Wednesday, April 21, 2021! Stay safe, and we hope to see you next year on campus for URCAD XXV!
Dr. April Householder
Director of Undergraduate Research and Prestigious Scholarships
Why Do We Like Rappers Cuckolding and Having Sex With Lesbians?
Kenneth M’Bale
Mentor: Rebecca Adelman, Media and Communication Studies
In rap there is a curious trend of rappers rapping about cuckolding the listeners’ girlfriend and having sex with non-heterosexual women.This project sought to explore why these reoccuring lyrics resonate with audiences. Rap may have originated from a black community, but it is the most global genre of music. Thus, it has to be seen as a cultural force among all listeners outside of that black community. With this understanding, the project explored where the listening obsession for cuckolding and sex with non-heterosexual women originates. The project focused on the listening audience, as many rappers are performing a fantasy for the listeners, and do not live nor believe the lyrics that they write. This included performances from confirmed straight female rappers like Cardi B or Nicki Minaj, and rappers like Kendrick Lamar or Kanye West. The project explored the nature of black hypersexuality, the expectations of what a rapper must look and be like, the homophobia rampant in mainstream rap, the objectification of women, and objectification of non-normative sexuality as a whole. The project concluded that this cuckolding is a form of sexual violence from one man to another. Further, the objectification of non-heterosexual women renders them sub-human.
On-Campus Resources Available for Virtual Support:
Visit Retriever Courage for a full list of campus resources and support to include resources for USG students, faculty, and staff
For up-to-date details on how to access these resources during this time of distance learning visit UMBC’s COVID-19 resources page.
To report a complaint of sexual misconduct or discrimination, please submit this online form.
Off-Campus Resources:
TurnAround, Inc. Helpline (Available 24/7): 443-279-0379; Office: 410-377-8111
MCASA is still open and supporting survivors.
The National Sexual Assault Hotline is 24/7, confidential and free: 800-656-HOPE (4673) and through chat.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 24/7, confidential and free: 1-800-799-7233 and through chat.
Visit Retriever Courage for a more extensive list of off-campus resources and support
Heidy George is the Program Associate for Student Diversity and Inclusion. When she manages to find spare time, she likes to take dance classes and HGTV her living room.
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I am very much aware of my privilege. I also know that I have many things to be grateful for. And yet, I’m not going to lie…I am struggling. No, like, really struggling.
Before starting my position at UMBC, I was recuperating from an eleven-month stint as a stay-at-home mom. The experience was simultaneously euphoric and debilitating. For eleven months, I watched in awe: as my baby grew, hit all her milestones and explored the world around her. I held her when she cried, changed what seemed like an impossible amount of diapers and learned how to function without sleep. I am not exaggerating. I no longer know what sleep is. I hear people talk about it and wonder, what is this mystical thing people keep mentioning? It’s as elusive as TikTok.
But I digress.
I read a lot of books before becoming a mom. However, the parenting books did not prepare me for any of this. They failed to mention the horrors of projectile diarrhea when your infant is sick, how your heart skips a beat when they smile at you, or that you may be parenting a toddler during a pandemic.
I had only been working at UMBC for six months before the physical campus was closed. I was really just starting to get the hang of things when we all were informed that we would be working from home.
After going back to work, I remember sitting at my desk and thinking, “I really miss my baby. I wish I could work from home so that I could spend more time with her.” Wait, am I responsible for all of this? I now know that being a mom means you acquire super-powers. Maybe, I need to be more specific the next time I ask the universe for something. Now I am figuring out how to juggle being a working mom and a professional in a brand new Institution - my living room.
In all honesty, I’m not sure how much more of this my body can take. My back hurts from the lack of exercise (don’t you dare tell me I can exercise at home like I don’t have a seventeen month old!). My eyes hurt from all the Webex, Zoom and Google Hangout meetings. I just may need new glasses because I am pretty sure my eyesight is deteriorating more and more each day. On the upside Aldi’s now delivers in my area and my 17-month-old now knows how to open the bathroom door.
Yay, milestones!
When well-meaning work folk ask, “how are you?” I honestly struggle with the answer. Is it professional to say that most of the time I don’t have a solid answer? Is it professional to admit that I don’t know if I brushed my teeth this morning before our 9am call? Is it professional to say that most days I really just want my mommy? Is this blog even professional? What is professional anymore? Have I shared too much?
Going back to work was not easy but somehow not being able to go back to work is even harder.
On the toughest days, I rely heavily on a select group of family, friends and colleagues that make me laugh and are able to hold all of my emotions. Their support helps motivate me to push through the sadness. I guess you could call them my village. I hope you have a village to help support you through whatever this is. If not, we always have room for more.
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