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Graduate Students and Postdocs,
PROMISE invites you to participate in an exciting professional development opportunity available to you this summer. The Inclusive STEM Teaching Project, a NSF grant-funded program, is launching a FREE Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) from June 15th - July 27th.
The six-week MOOC is designed to advance the awareness, self-efficacy, and ability of STEM faculty, postdocs, graduate students, and staff to cultivate inclusive learning environments for their students. Participants will engage in deep reflection and discussion around topics of equity and inclusion across a variety of institutional contexts. YOU CAN EARN CREDIT FOR FOUR CIRTL WORKSHOPS by participating!! Please contact CIRTL Director Dr. Jamie Gurganus (jmedof1@umbc.edu) if you are interested in using this toward CIRTL certification.
Course registration: https://www.edx.org/course/the-inclusive-stem-teaching-project
We estimate you will spend 3-5 hours per week engaged in the course and associated discussions, which includes review/completion of course materials. Visit www.inclusivestemteaching.org for more details about the course content and expectations.
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Please see the latest updates on UMBC’s Retriever Ready website. Questions? Email covid19@umbc.edu.
As part of our ongoing commitment to security, the Unix Infrastructure group will be conducting its quarterly system patching on Thursday, May 27th and Saturday, June 5th. While many of the systems will be patched without any service disruption, there are some systems which require the downtime of key services. The schedule below outlines which key services will be offline and for how long.
Thursday, 5/27/2021 between 5pm and 10pm (most systems will only be down for a short period during this time):
Saturday, 6/5/2021 between 9am and 11am(most systems will only be down for a short period during this time):
Please let us know if you have any concerns or questions.
Thanks!
Tim Champ
Manager of Unix Infrastructure
UMBC DoIT
Dear UMBC Community,
As announced earlier, the University System of Maryland and UMBC will require COVID-19 vaccinations for all students, faculty, and staff who will be on the UMBC campus and at UMBC-operated off-campus locations in Fall 2021. However, we know that some members of our community have medical and religious reasons that will prohibit them from receiving the vaccine.
Our medical and religious exemption process is now available for community members. More information and all necessary forms can be found here. If you have questions, please email covid19@umbc.edu and we will direct your email to the proper office.
We expect that exemptions to this mandate will be few. First and foremost, we agree with Chancellor Perman that “mandating a COVID vaccine is the most effective strategy we have, especially as we try to reach herd immunity.” We ask that members of our community remember that vaccination, while a personal action, is a commitment to the health of our entire community. In addition, as it relates to medical exemptions, the Centers for Disease Control are clear that the list of medical conditions that would preclude an individual from safely being vaccinated is very limited. In most cases, the risks of becoming ill with COVID-19 is a more urgent health issue for those with certain pre-existing medical conditions.
Finally, we know that some community members have questions about the vaccine’s designation of Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA. This FAQ from the University System of Maryland clearly explains the actual meaning of that designation and the scientific understanding that “both the safety and efficacy have now been demonstrated well beyond the initial clinical trial data.”
We are requesting that all community members either report their vaccine or have an exemption request on file by July 6, 2021.
Thank you for your patience as we developed this process.
Provost Philip Rous
Vice President for Administration and Finance Lynne Schaefer
COVID-19 Planning Coordinating Committee Co-Chairs
DoIT is depreciating the legacy campus phone system and needs to meet with departments to migrate their phone numbers to the new phone system. We ask that a department representative please contact me to begin these discussions.
This past year DoIT has been aggressively working with administrative and academic departments to convert individual and departmental phone numbers over to a new campus phone system. To date, we have moved more than 800 campus numbers which represents the bulk of those types of phones on campus. If you or your department has not yet started this migration with us, we strongly encourage you to reach out to us to start this conversation.
In addition to improved support and reliability, the new campus phone system offers many new features that enhance and simplify your experience including:
You will no longer need FAC codes to make long distance calls.
Using the Webex app on your computer or mobile device to natively make and receive calls using your campus extension improves mobility and hybrid work schedules.
Receive Voicemail messages delivered to your email as an audio file.
Advanced in-call features including call waiting and easy conferencing.
Ray Soellner
Assoc. Director - DoIT
Please see the latest updates on UMBC’s Retriever Ready website. Questions? Email covid19@umbc.edu.
STIs can be transmitted between partners through:
Vaginal sex
Anal sex
Oral sex
Since we’re still in a Pani (aka the COVID-19 Pandemic), its best to:
Have solo sex (aka masturbation)
Have sex with partner(s) that have been living with you
Have sex if you and your partner(s) have been fully vaccinated.
Sex should be pleasurable AND safe! Let’s discuss how you can make informed decisions that protect yourself and your partners—all while keeping the thrill in sex.
There are three types of STIs— bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections. Bacterial infections can be cured with antibiotics. Bacterial infections include
The “Big 4,” or the viral infections, that cannot be cured but are treatable with medication include
Lastly, parasitic infections like trichomoniasis, or “trich,” spread through small hosts called parasites. These can be cured with antibiotics.
To protect yourself and your partners from STIs during vaginal, anal, or oral sex, use condoms both correctly and consistently. To put on an external condom:
Get consent from your partner(s)
Check the expiration date
Carefully open the package and remove the condom
Once the penis is erect, place condom on the penis and hold the tip of the condom to squeeze out air
Roll condom all the way down the shaft of the penis to the base
Keep the condom on until you’re done having sex
Once you’re done, hold the rim of the condom and withdraw penis
Take off condom and throw in trash
If you’re wondering what an internal condom (sometimes called a “female condom”) is, you’re not alone. Plenty of people aren’t aware that internal condoms are “a thing.”
To protect yourself and your partners from STIs during oral sex on a vulva, use a dental dam. You may be thinking “what the heck is a dental dam?” A dental dam is a thin piece of latex that covers the vulva. The vulva is the external, visible part of the sex organs. The vagina is one of the internal sex organs (thanks Anatomy 101!).
Media often depicts safer sex as less pleasurable, and even boring. THE LIES! Safer sex is fun, pleasurable, and exciting! Here are a few tips to increase pleasure and keep sex safe:
Use lube
When having pentrative sex (vaginal or anal), water-based lube helps things to go in and out smoothly. Some types of water-based lubricants are designed to create a warming sensation that is pleasurable for all partners. Avoid oil-based lube (including coconut oil or vaseline) that can damage condoms and make them less effective.
Spice things up
Try using fun games, sex toys, or flavored condoms for oral sex. Just be sure to clean sex toys after each use. If you have no idea how to clean a sex toy, don’t worry. Here’s a step-by-step guide to cleaning sex toys of all materials, shapes, and sizes.
Talk about it
Discuss your turn-ons (and turn-offs) with your partner before, during, or after sex. While there’s no one way to talk about sex, it’s always a good idea to be honest but gentle with your partner. Try using I-statements like
“I really enjoy...” or
“I’d love spending more time on…
Not only does this build trust, but it can also set the mood.
External condoms are available on campus at
Residence halls
University Health Services
Office of Health Promotion
The Women's Center
Internal condoms, dental dams, and lubricants are available on campus at University Health Services and the Office of Health Promotion. For more information on safer sex for college students, visit https://www.cdc.gov/std/prevention/default.htm.
A lot has been covered but you probably have a few more questions. No worries. Let a couple of our campus Sexperts help you out. Check out their latest video where they answer some of UMBC students’ best questions about sex.
