The historic Men's Basketball upset of #1 seeded UVA in the NCAA tournament has shined a light on UMBC for not only its success on the court, but also in the classroom. They swim! They run! They score! But did you know that UMBC's Student Athletes also conduct research and create art? Check out these Student Athletes who will be presenting their research and creative work at URCAD on April 25th:

Courtney Mattson, Biological Sciences (Cross Country/Track and Field)

Title: The Role of Olfactory Cues in Male Mate Choice in Etheostoma zonale

Location: Poster 10-11:30am UC Ballroom

Hannah Aris, Engineering (Cross Country/Track and Field)

Title: Characterization of CMI-7000 Membrane for Implementation in Resource Recovery Systems

Location: Poster 10-11:30am UC Ballroom

Courtney Culp, Visual Arts (Soccer)

Title: Color of Me (Animated film)

Location: Film Festival, 3pm UC 310

Jethro Ssengonzi, Engineering (Swimming)

Title: Surface Phenomena Driving Natural Surfaces

Location: Poster, 10-11:30am UC Ballroom

Matthew Kane, Biological Sciences (Cross Country/Track and Field)

Title: Scratching the Surface of Bahama Oriole Pine Forest Nesting

Location: Poster, 1-2:30pm UC Ballroom

To read these and other abstracts, visit the URCAD page! 

Emmanuel Mones is a major in Intermedia - Film, Photography, and Design, class of 2018. His research project is entitled, ALT.MASC: Man Redefined

Describe your project in 1-2 sentences: I created a men’s streetwear brand called ALT.MASC. Short for “alternative masculinity,” its purpose is to redefine our image, concept, and expressions of manhood. So, I designed some clothing, developed a brand philosophy, and shot some photographs that serve as its ad campaign.

Who is your mentor for your project? Mark Durant, Visual Arts Department (Photography). I took ART215 with Professor Durant my first semester at UMBC and decided we'd be a good fit. Immediately, I was inspired by the way he thought about the role of art in society. That, beyond form and process, it’s a means of communicating abstract ideas in a way that’s accessible and is able to transcend human language. It’s a way of finding order from life’s chaos, and a way of finding truth. It’s become my philosophy of art. With regards to this project, Professor Durant himself identifies as an alternatively masculine person, so him having that personal connection with the content made me feel like I could trust him to give me the kind of guidance that I needed to fully realize this endeavor.

How did you become interested in this project? There’s a sort of parallel that runs through this project and my own process of maturation. It’s born out of my own attempt at trying to define masculinity, and really my identity as a whole, for myself. I’m a queer, effeminate, Filipino immigrant. Growing up, I didn’t really have many people to look up to that empowered my kind of personhood. So, through fashion and photography, I’m trying to create these articles of pop culture that my younger self would have wanted to see, in the hopes that they might help guide someone else going through what I went through.

How has being a URA scholar helped you to carry out this project? Upon receiving the award, you’re informed of the expectations that come with being a recipient of the URA - particularly, presenting your work at URCAD. Having this end goal in mind lit a fire under me that inspired me to put in the work to come up with something that I can feel proud of sharing with an audience. I will be doing an oral presentation at 2:15pm on April 25th!

What has been the hardest part about your research/what was the most unexpected thing about being a researcher? For me, because I am working in the creative field, the hardest part is dealing with how nonlinear the process is. I crave security, but that’s almost impossible in this arena. I’ll think that I’ve nailed a specific design choice. Then, two weeks later, I’d realize that it was tacky, or uninspired, or just not good. Building the resilience to able to start from the beginning over and over again has been challenging but also necessary and transformative.

What has been the most rewarding part? Sharing my project with men who I didn’t think would understand what it is exactly that I’m doing, and having them tell me that they believe in it and that they understand its significance. That has been really rewarding and moving to me. I doubt myself a lot. But, people seem to get it. And, because it’s born out of a really vulnerable place, it’s comforting to know that I wasn’t alone in feeling those things.

How will you disseminate your research? ALT.MASC will be available for sale at altmasc.com (coming soon) and the ad campaigns will be shared on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter under the account @alt.masc. I’m also setting up pop-up shops at art shows and trade shows in the DMV area come the summer. I will present my research at URCAD on April 25, from 2:15-2:30 in UC 312.

What is your advice to other students about getting involved in research? Find a research subject that you are personally invested in, something you really care about. What will keep you motivated is the search for knowledge that goes beyond a surface level interest. It should driven almost by necessity, like a real need to learn.

What are your career goals? I want to continue to grow as a person along with this project. More than a research project, I feel like ALT.MASC is my personal philosophy. It’ll be a business coming out of this process, but I’ll follow it wherever it takes me and manifest whatever form it wants to take. More immediately, I’d like to get into digital marketing, as a way to better inform myself the ways I can share this content. But, beyond that, I just want to see where this thing goes.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and the Women’s Center is hosting its 6th consecutive Take Back the Night on Thursday, April 12th. Over the years, we’ve had a lot of questions about what Take Back the Night exactly is, why it looks the way it does, and how students can get involved. To help get those questions answered we started the “What You Need to Know” series focused on TBTN last year and are continuing on the tradition, so stay tuned for more posts over the next couple of weeks. This blog focuses on the evening’s campus march against sexual violence.

1,2,3,4 WE WON’T TAKE IT ANYMORE

 5,6,7,8 NO MORE VIOLENCE! NO MORE HATE!

As a survivor of sexual assault, the Take Back The Night march reminds me that I’m not alone.

Mariana De Matos Medeiros, ’16, and former student staff member at the Women’s Center, said “To me, having the opportunity to speak and march at TBTN last year reminded me that I am not alone and that I can stand in my power to speak about my experience. It took me 3 years to finally speak about my assault and one of the very first times was at TBTN last year. Seeing so many gathered to support allowed me to speak and speaking has allowed me to heal.”

It can be easy to blame yourself, isolate yourself, and feel like you’re the only person struggling with your healing; However, the march lets you connect with people who support you and believe you.

Sarah Lilly, a 2016 and 2017 Take Back The Night student leader says “Marching is us showing that solidarity is a verb, and it brings me great pride to feel so supported by my local UMBC community and to see the unconditional support for everyone else in our community.”

In an open letter in her school’s newspaper, survivor and student activist, Angie Epifano, recounted the aftermath of her sexual assault, namely her experience with institutional betrayal. She ended the letter with, “Silence has the rusty taste of shame.” Due to rape culture, victim blaming, a lack of support for survivors, and more, it is understandable that many survivors do not disclose their experience and sexual assault is rarely spoke of in public.

Much like the Baltimore-based Monument Quilt is creating and demanding public space for survivors to heal, Take Back the Night demands for space in which we will not be shamed into silence. Activists like Angie, the Monument Quilt creators, and YOU during the march are creating a new culture where survivors are publicly supported, rather than publicly shamed. Come see the Monument Quilt at UMBC on Tuesday, April 17th.

Here’s some helpful information about the campus march against sexual violence to those attending Take Back the Night at UMBC: 

• The survivor speak-out is intended to center the voices and experience of survivors (of all identities) of sexual violence. The speak-out is for allies to listen and survivors to break their silence but the march is for EVERYONE to GET LOUD! 
• We encourage individuals and groups to make rally signs ahead of time. Signs are a great way to show your solidarity and support while also representing your student orgs, res hall communities, and frats/sororities.
• We’ll line everyone up in the march in waves. Survivors wanting to march up front with other survivors are invited to line up first along with other community members needed to take an accessible route march. Everyone else will then line up as survivors begin to march towards the south exit of The Commons.
• As we march, walk slowly and stay together. Try to avoid large gaps in the line.
• Due to construction, there will be a change in the march route this year. As we make out way through the new route we will stop midway through the march and hold our first Survivor Circle.
  • The Survivor Circle is a chance for survivors who may or may not have shared their story during the speak out to be recognized, come together, and be surrounded in support and healing by those attending the march. This is an opportunity for those who identify as survivors to come together without having to speak out or share their story if they do not wish to do so.
• The march will end back on Main Street where the space will be ready for the evening’s resource fair and craftivism. As you’re heading back into The Commons, come all the way into Main Street so everyone else behind you can get into the space as well.
• There will be one more chance to share your experience as a survivor post-march at a survivor discussion group led by the student organization We Believe You in the Women’s Center. (This event will be private and for survivors only).
• Counselors-On-Call will be available throughout the evening. Any one needing additional support or simply needs to take a break are invited to visit the self-care station that will be set up in the Commuter Lounge.

For more information about UMBC’s TBTN (check out Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter too by searching the hashtag #UMBCTBTN):

• Stop by the Women’s Center the week leading up to TBTN to make a rally sign for the march on April 9th, 10th, or 11th.
• A blog post about UMBC’s 2005 TBTN march written by alum, Dr. Grollman.
• Speak: Knowing a Survivor Without Knowing Their Story – a blog post on cultivating a survivor-responsive campus
• Register for and attend an upcoming Supporting Survivors of Sexual Violence workshop. Click here for more details on the students workshop.
• The Women’s Center 2017 TBTN roundup
  

Stay tuned for the next installment of what you need to know about TBTN 2018!