The Inclusion Council is looking for graduate students to make their voices heard and work towards meaningful change in our community. The GSA highly encourages anyone looking to make a difference! 

 

Follow this link to sign up and to provide your proffered subcommittees. 

"We have consulted with campus leaders to appoint a UMBC Inclusion Council, consisting of students, faculty, staff, and alumni working with the campus community. The team’s work begins immediately, and their first meeting will be held in July. 

The Inclusion Council has been given the charge of providing advice and guidance from a variety of perspectives to the Office of Equity and Inclusion (OEI), to act as ambassadors for the office across campus, and to provide a venue for discussion of issues as they arise. The Council will hold monthly joint meetings with the University Steering Committee (USC) and the Campus Equity Advisory Council (CEAC), a subcommittee of the USC. 

The Council will work with the campus community to identify short- and long-term goals and recommendations. In addition, they will bring many more colleagues into this work by establishing subcommittees."

What I have learned from 27 years of voting, though, is that it is just one tiny little part of what it means for me to be an engaged citizen. Our representative democracy means that whomever we elect, the chances they’re going to share my values are really tiny. Elected officials represent huge swaths of a diverse population with diverse needs, demands, and priorities. I can count on zero hands how many times I’ve felt like my whole self was at the political table due to my vote. If I really want to build the world I want, I have to do that building outside the voting booth, even as what I do in the booth can make a real difference.

This November, the importance of organizing beyond the vote has become even clearer to me. We elected Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, but I know that doesn’t mean they are coming to save us. I look out at a world where one in three families with children is food insecure, where unemployment rates are high—and even those with jobs often don’t make enough money to make ends meet, and where a global pandemic is raging through the nation with nary a hint of aid or leadership at the national level. So, I voted, and I’m glad for the results, but I know that the results will not change the lives of people in my community any time soon.

In the wake of the pandemic I am increasingly drawn to the work of people organizing mutual aid projects. Mutual aid means coming together and sharing resources—skills, food, emotional support, etc.—with each other. It means that we organize to save ourselves at the same time we organize to challenge the state and its structures that produce the very precarity that threatens so many of us. 

I voted, gave myself a treat, and am doubling down on my efforts to use the resources I have to support the communities I am in and that I actively build—in my city, my neighborhood, and in my classrooms. All we have is each other, and that is what is getting me through a rough 2020, and it will be my balm through the challenges ahead.

Contact the author, Kate Drabinski, at drabinsk@UMBC.edu.

Like many of you in the UMBC community, I am watching the post-election situation with a deep hope that our democratic institutions and calmer heads will carry us through this transition period. It is often said that democracy can be messy and I am truly hopeful that this is one of those messy times that we’ll get through sooner than later.

It is stressful enough to live through the most important election in our lifetime, but we are also living through a once in a century public health crisis that continues to sweep through our country. And as some in our country mourn and protest the murders of Black people due to senseless police brutality and mistreatment of people of color, we continue to reckon with the undeniable truth of systemic racism. 

It is a lot to handle. And it is important to acknowledge that. Yet, it is at times like this that we look to our UMBC community to share and be heard, and to find common ground where we can.

I am generally an optimistic person, but this year has tested my brighter nature. The missed family gatherings (including my parent’s 50th anniversary celebration), birthday parties, and time with my family and friends have taken a toll, but I know that these are temporary losses. What has affected me more deeply, because I know it reaches beyond the lifespan of this global health crisis, is the trauma of witnessing continued racial injustice, the loss of so many lives, and my sadness at seeing our country so divided. I am fully vested in everything that is happening and want to do my part while also feeling fatigued by the conflict and chaos I see on my computer and TV screen and cell phone for hours each day. 

But even during these challenging times, my optimism somehow finds its way to the surface and I find myself looking for opportunities and solutions to the big challenges that we’re grappling with--like I’m looking for the sun that cracks through the dark skies after a summer thunderstorm. So, I want to share some of the reasons for my optimism and why I remain hopeful. 

I remain hopeful because I interact with students, faculty, and staff members who are committed to addressing injustices and solving this country’s big problems. 

I remain hopeful because I watch young people of all races, religions, political beliefs, identities, and cultures stand up for what’s right.

 

I remain hopeful because I watch dedicated scientists work with haste to deliver a safe vaccine. 

I remain hopeful because I hear Dr. Hrabowski and Dr. Rous talk about “demonstrating the moral leadership necessary to unite our nation in true pursuit of both liberty and justice for all.”

I remain hopeful because I see our democracy grinding away towards certifying a true and fair election. And then because I think about how many young people in our UMBC community and beyond exercised their right and voted. 

I remain hopeful because I talked with my daughter, a college junior, who after standing in line for two hours in 38 degree weather to vote in Pennsylvania said, "We're ready to do our part too, mom.”

I was recently reading an excerpt from President Barack Obama’s new book, “A Promised Land”. He says, “In [a] world—of global supply chains, instantaneous capital transfers, social media, transnational terrorist networks, climate change, mass migration, and ever-increasing complexity—we will learn to live together, cooperate with one another, and recognize the dignity of others, or we will perish.”

I’m committed to doing my part—for my daughter and her future, for our democracy, and for all of you. 

And so I encourage you to continue to raise your voices against injustice, continue to stand for the truth and what is right, continue to work on real solutions in collaborative ways with others in our campus community and beyond, and continue to make time to listen to each other.

Let’s strive to live in a world where we can celebrate what makes us unique while acknowledging our similarities. As my favorite poet and activist, the esteemed Dr. Maya Angelou said in her poem, Human Family, “I note the obvious differences in the human family…[but] we are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike. We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.”

Register here.  

What: Winter Welcome Week 2021

Casting Your Whole Vote means working to build community and address challenges collectively every day, not just on Election Day. Here are four timely opportunities for members of the UMBC community to stay engaged and work together:

 

STRiVE is a five-day immersive experiential learning program for undergraduate students held off-campus during Winter Break. STRiVE’s intensive and engaging curriculum supports participants in developing critical thinking, leadership, community engagement, and cultural organizing skills. Well over 99% of the hundreds of UMBC students who have participated in STRiVE said they would recommend the experience to a friend. STRiVE 2021 will take place virtually from January 11-15, 2021. The application is due THIS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH at 11:59pm.

 

Alternative Spring Break (ASB) is a five-day immersive learning experience held during Spring Break. Participants think critically about social issues in Baltimore and develop skills in problem solving, community building, and storytelling. They meet with and learn from community partners, government officials, and scholars to develop a sophisticated understanding of local resources and challenges and lay the groundwork for long-term collective civic action. Alternative Spring Break 2021 will take place virtually from March 15-19, 2021. The application is due on Monday, November 23rd at 11:59 p.m.

 

After the Election: A Conversation with UMBC Legislators is an opportunity to engage with the District 12 legislators who represent UMBC and the surrounding communities in the Maryland General Assembly. This program provides an opportunity to talk in small groups about important issues, and learn about pathways for anyone, independent of their major or role on campus, to contribute to the civic health of our community. After the Election will take place virtually on November 18, 2020 from 5:00 - 7:00pm. RSVP here while spots are available but no later than Tuesday, November 17th.

 

The Civic Courage Journaling Project creates space for individual reflection on personal experiences with important civic implications. UMBC student, faculty, staff, and alumni journal bearers respond to prompts from the Center by creating entries in their journals and discussing them at monthly journal bearer gatherings. The next Civic Courage Journaling Project gathering will take place virtually on Friday, November 20th from 3:15 - 4:45pm. Sign up any time by sending an email indicating your interest to civiclife@umbc.edu.