9/18/20
Two years ago, our campus community came together and demanded to be heard. Faculty, staff, and students sat down with President Hrabowski and campus leadership to voice urgent concerns over how UMBC prevents and responds to reports of sexual misconduct. That group of activists became known as the “Sunday Group.” Through protests, conversations, and listening sessions, the Retriever Courage initiative was created to address our community’s experiences and to make UMBC a safer, more caring, living, learning, and working environment for all.
Change requires the courage to speak out, listen, learn, and take action. Our community showed tremendous courage two years ago when we began the mission of Retriever Courage and it has continued to show courage as campus-wide changes were made. Thanks to our community’s continued commitment to this work, we have been able to complete many of the recommendations made for our campus, including making an online Title IX reporting form that permits anonymous reporting, a new campus card with resources listed on the back, creating and staffing the Office of Equity and Inclusion, and establishing the Inclusion Council.
We have been able to accomplish a great deal in the last two years, but there is more to do and we are committed to doing it in collaboration with the ongoing anti-racism work happening in our country, and on our campus, right now. The Inclusion Council, which was formed to advise the Office of Equity and Inclusion and whose members serve as ambassadors for the office across campus, has launched working groups, one of which is focused on sexual misconduct and harassment to help with this work. There are also other campus partners working with the Office of Equity and Inclusion in an advisory capacity. This work remains important to our campus community.
While COVID-19 has disrupted our world and changed how our community comes together, it has not changed our commitment to the values of Retriever Courage. Our community faces new challenges now and we must adapt to address the barriers created by an online world. We are still listening and we are still working.
Nadia BenAissa ‘20
Member, UMBC Inclusion Council
Co-Founder, We Believe You
]]>Scholarships of up to $7,500 a year are provided to help cover costs associated with tuition, mandatory fees, books, room and board. A sophomore who receives a Goldwater Scholarship will receive up to $7,500 in each of his/her junior and senior years. A junior who receives a Goldwater Scholarship will receive up to $7,500 in his/her senior year.
1. Be a full-time matriculated sophomore or junior pursuing a degree at an accredited 2- or 4-year institution of higher education during the 2020-2021 academic year,
2. Intend to pursue a research career in a natural science, mathematics or engineering,*
3. Have a college grade point average of at least a 3.00 on a 4.00 scale, and
4. Be a U.S. citizen from the 50 states or the District of Columbia; a U.S. national for those students nominated by institutions in Puerto Rico, Guam, Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; or a permanent resident. A permanent resident nominated for the scholarship must include a letter stating his/her intent to become a U.S. citizen. A photocopy of the nominee’s Permanent Resident Card, also known as the Alien Registration Card or Green Card, must also be submitted.
There will be a follow-up workshop on October 16, for writing a winning application for Goldwater.
Internal deadline for UMBC students to apply: November 30, 2020.
Presenter: April Householder, Director of Prestigious Scholarships
For more info, contact aprilh@umbc.edu
Whether this is your first semester at UMBC or you were with us in the spring, it’s clear we are all still adapting to learning and connecting within a virtual community. Some days you may feel like you have a good handle on online learning, while other days may feel overwhelming. We understand and want to ensure you that this ebb and flow is normal!
UMBC’s faculty and staff are committed to ensuring you have all of the resources and support you need to have a successful semester. Yes, we are virtual, but similar to in-person learning, it’s often the extra steps you take to stay organized, manage your time, and utilize campus resources that influence the outcome of your semester.
We encourage you to check out The Academic Success Center’s Online Learning Resource website, which includes a series of videos and a link to an interactive module to prepare you for success.
The Division of Information Technology’s (DoIT) Learning Online website also includes some helpful information about how to make the most of the technology you are using for your classes.
If you are looking for a student’s perspective, see what some of our OAPA peer advisors have to say about how they’ve navigated online learning:
Note: Not all online classes are similarly structured. Some of your courses this semester may be synchronous, meaning you meet with the instructor and your class online at the same time, while others may be asynchronous, where your instructor provides you the course content to access at any time.
“Personally, I have found listing all the assignments I need to complete for the week on my laptop to be the most helpful to keep me organized. It can get overwhelming at times, but setting a schedule and planning the day can help tremendously. I've found myself doing assignments back to back just to get it over with, and it can be very draining. Make sure to give yourself breaks in between! The majority of my classes are asynchronous, so when I have a question, I've noticed the Blackboard discussion board [is] the most beneficial [way] to find the answer to my questions.” – Irene Thomas, Biological Sciences
“I keep in contact with other engineering students by utilizing the app Discord. It allows for different forms of chatting, including voice and text. Also, similarly to Webex, it allows you to share your screen with other people in your group. In general, communicating with other students, even outside my major, helps with this new online format and not feeling completely isolated during the semester.” – Tre Barr, Computer Engineering
“When it comes to synchronous classes, I have found one savior...alarms. Using calendars is a great way to schedule and divvy up your time, but when it comes to getting to a class on time from the comfort of your home (or wherever you're beaming in from) that can be tricky. Since this pandemic has started my sleep schedule is relatively non-existent, so having alarms go off throughout the day has been helpful--even if I'm already up it's very in-my-face.” – Jenika Brown, English
“Although most of my classes are asynchronous, something I found helpful to stay on top of work is that I try to do work for each class at that normally scheduled time. (ex: if anatomy was supposed to be from 10-11am, I do my anatomy work at home from 10-11am, even though there is no live lecture.) This helps me stay on top of all the assignments, and not wait till the last minute to do it all.” – Leah Mathews, Health Administration & Policy
Finally, it’s important to make sure you connect with your professor, academic advisor, or another member of your support network, early on if you find you are having difficulty with your online classes. This will ensure you get the help you need with enough time to get back on track.
If you would like to speak to someone in the Office for Academic & Pre-Professional Advising, our advisors are available to meet via scheduled appointments. Additionally, if you would like to speak with one of our peer advisors, we now have a virtual front counter that can be accessed Monday-Friday from 8:30am-4:30pm.
University of Maryland College Park, with the help of University of Maryland Baltimore and University of Maryland Baltimore County, will be hosting the Restorative Practices in Maryland Higher Education Biannual Meeting on Thursday, September 17, 2020, 9:00am-1:30pm est.
----
The BRAVE consortium, comprised of eight area colleges and universities in the Baltimore region focused on survivor centered, trauma informed approaches to sexual assault, stalking, dating and domestic violence, invites you to attend a training presented by Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence “The Connection Between Rape Culture, Prevention and Bystander Intervention”. The training will take place Thursday, September, 17 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm Virtually.
This post was written by Carlos Turcios ‘15, ‘17 M.A. Coordinator with Initiatives for Identity, Inclusion and Belonging (I3B). *Please note that some references are accessed through the AOK Library Databases and will ask you to be logged into your UMBC account.*
National Hispanic Heritage Month (HHM) has been recognized by the federal government and celebrated across the United States since 1968. Representing approximately 18.5% of the U.S. population, there are an estimated 61 million people who have ancestries connected to Latin American countries who reside in the United States (U.S. Census Bureau, 2020), including myself and a few folks on our I3B professional and student staff. This represents a significant increase from the 2000 Census, which registered the Hispanic population at 35.3 million or 13% of the total U.S. population. Many labels are used for our community with the most common umbrella terms being “Hispanic” and “Latina/e/o/x.” Hispanic/Latine/x Americans have been influential in every part of U.S. history, from day laborers, politics to the arts to businesses and innovation to the military. The U.S. Hispanic/Latine/x community have had a profound and positive influence on our country through their strong commitment to family, hard work, and service. They have enhanced and shaped our national character with centuries-old traditions that reflect the multiethnic and multicultural customs of their community.
So why does HHM start in the middle of September and end in Mid-October?
HHM is celebrated annually from September 15th through October 15th to honor the history, culture, and contributions of Americans whose ancestry can be traced to over 20 countries and 14 dependent territories in Latin America, including Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. The start of this cultural month, September 15th, is significant, as the majority of Latin American countries celebrate their independence from Spain throughout the second half of September through early October (i.e. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua).Mexico, Chile, and Belize also celebrate their independence days during this period and Columbus Day (Día de la Raza) is October 12 (Rachum, 2004*).
So should I use Hispanic? Latina/o? Spanish? What’s the difference and why does it matter?
The term Hispanic, refers to the racially and ethnically group of folkswho are from Hispanophone (i.e. Spanish speaking) countries that were historically colonized by Spain. This term is inclusive to those who are also from Spanish origin. The term Latina/o however excludes Spain, but includes non-Spanish speaking Latin American countries such as Belize, Brazil, Guyana, and Haiti. Please note that even if folks may have ethnic roots from Latin America, they may identify as both, either, or neither Hispanic and/or Latina/o. We encourage you to check out how the term Hispanic has been reclaimed and its impacts on the Brown Power Movement, as well as our upcoming [Free]dom Friday (details below). What our community chooses to identify as is connected to the complex history of how the terms Hispanic and Latina/o came to be. Those who reject both Hispanic or Latina/o may identify with their national origin instead (i.e. Chicana/o/x, Salvadoran, Chilean, Domincan). Others may identify more closely to their racial identity (i.e. Indigenous, Afro-Latinx).
Spanish on the other hand, only applies to those who are Spaniard or have a direct lineage to Spain. If those do not apply, PLEASE do not use the word “Spanish” to identify Hispanic/Latina/e/o/x folks. Also note that although Hispanic and Latine/x have been racialized in the U.S., they are ethnic, NOT racial identities.
Latinx? Where does this term fit in? The debate on gender and gender inclusivity.
Originating in the mid-2000’s, the term Latinx (pronounced La-tee-nex) came out of the limitations of the term Latino. As a binary gendered language, Spanish only has a masculine and feminine version for all nouns. Every noun whether it being an inanimate object, an animal, or person all have a “gender” regardless of the individual’s sex. However, this comes into conflict for those who do not identify within the gender binary.
Additional critiques of the word “Latino” exist, including the patriarchal nature of the language. Specifically, the default plural in Spanish is masculine, regardless of the gender distribution of the group. For example, if you referred to our entire I3B professional and student team of seven folks, the plural would still default to masculine even though I am the only member who identifies as a man. Latinx serves as a way to deprioritize masculinity.
So, what about Latine?
As gender-inclusivity becomes increasingly global, variations of gender inclusive identifiers (i.e. Latine pronounced La-tee-neh) have popped up in Spanish speaking countries. Unlike “x,” “e” can be used to fit the grammatical structure of Spanish much more easily that facilitates its use for Hispanophones. There is no right or wrong between Latinx and Latine, just know that regional variants exist and are a product of their creators and who identify within the community.
Which term should I use?
From an inclusive standpoint, the terms “Hispanic” and “Latin(e/x)” would be best for general communication when referring to a large group. They are both umbrella terms that are gender inclusive. However, this could look different when you are addressing individuals. Understand that Pan-ethnic labels are clunky and some people do not “fit in” perfectly (Pew Research Center, 2020). What a person chooses to label themselves can be affected by their race, ethnicity, birth place, dominant language or generational group. These factors make it messy but I encourage you to learn about our vastly diverse community. Finally, we invite you to share this with your friends, colleagues, professors, and networks across campus. When in doubt, just ask!
I3B Hispanic/Latine/x Centered Events
Below is a list of our Fall 2020 events that are either Hispanic/Latine/x centered or will have some focus on the Hispanic/Latine/x community. Questions? Contact i3b@umbc.edu.
[Free]dom Fridays: The Brown Power Movement and Liberation
The Brown Power Movement and the Continued Struggle for Immigrant Rights
Friday, September 18, 2020 | 2:30 - 4:00 p.m. | Online via Blackboard Collaborate
myUMBC Event Post: Link | BlackBoard Collaborate Session: Link
PAWTalks: Janel Martinez: “Ain't I Latina?”Deconstructing Anti-Blackness in the Latine/x Community
Wednesday, October 14, 2020 | 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. | Online via Blackboard Collaborate
myUMBC Event Post: Link | BlackBoard Collaborate Session: Link
Retriever Immigrants United 2.0 Welcome**
A check-in conversation on your needs!
Thursday, October 15, 2020 | 12:00 -1:15 p.m. | Online via Blackboard Collaborate
myUMBC Event Post: Link | BlackBoard Collaborate Session: Link
Pawsitive Bodies & Minds: COVID-19's Assault on Black & Brown Bodies
A Presentation on Race and COVID-19
Tuesday, December 1, 2020 | 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. | Online via Blackboard Collaborate
myUMBC Event Post: Link | BlackBoard Collaborate Session: Link
Retriever Immigrants United: Heritage, Family, and Culture**
A discussion on our culture and most meaningful relationships
Tuesday, December, 15, 2020 | 12:00 - 1:15 p.m. | Online via Blackboard Collaborate
myUMBC Event Post: Link | BlackBoard Collaborate Session: Link
Latine/x-Centered Orgs
We encourage community members to follow these groups on myUMBC or Social Media!
Undergraduate Student Orgs
Hispanic Latinx Student Union (HLSU) | IG: @umbc_hlsu
Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc. (LTA) | IG: @lta_betakappa
Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science at UMBC (SACNAS) | IG: @umbcsacnas
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) | IG: @shpeumbc
Alumni
Faculty
Latino/Hispanic Faculty Association (LHFA)
Staff/Graduate Students
*No Hispanic/Latine/x specific organizations currently active for staff or graduate students*