Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Fla., recently took an unusual approach to opposing the Keystone XL oil pipeline: arguing that it’s an earmark and thus not in line with current House rules. The fact-checking site PoliFact asked UMBC political science professor Roy T. Meyers to weigh in on the accuracy of that statement.

Meyers told PolitiFact, “Earmarks have been criticized, often justifiably, for not being subject to sufficient scrutiny on their policy merits.” He continued, “Unlike most research grants that are subject to demanding peer reviews, or many contracts that must undergo extensive agency review and competitive bidding, earmarks are awarded only after cursory reviews, typically by committee staff. Congress substitutes its judgment on a particular case, cutting agencies and other experts out of the loop.”

However, in this case Meyers was “astonished to see how [Grayson] selectively and misleadingly edited the definition of earmark, then compounded the fault by drawing a bizarre inference regarding the bill’s effective approval of a permit. This bill is about administrative regulation, or more accurately, the lack of it.”

Meyers argued,  “Grayson would be smarter to argue that the bill violates the spirit, not the letter, of the earmark moratorium and the philosophy that supposedly backs it.”

In a new Washington Times article on Maryland’s minority-contracting program, UMBC political science and public policy professor George La Noue argues that definitional and structural program flaws translate to too few businesses “graduating” from the program (i.e., losing eligibility through successful growth to a certain size).

La Noue argues that the definition of what qualifies a business as “disadvantaged” for program eligibility is too broad. He suggests, “To argue that someone is economically disadvantaged who has that kind of money is a very tortured definition of that concept; it would mean that 95 percent of all Americans are disadvantaged. The economic definition of net worth is way too high and there are also a number of ways to get around it,” such as keeping liquidity in the business or a spouse’s account.

Update: La Noue commented in a second Washington Times article on June 6th that explored the Department of Transportation’s Office of Minority Business Enterprise, Maryland’s certification agency for Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) programs. La Noue suggested that the office’s enforcement/regulatory responsibilities conflict with its mission to promote and expand the programs.

Christine Mallinson, associate professor in the Language, Literacy & Culture Program, is co-editor, with Becky Childs and Gerard Van Herk, of the new book, Data Collection in Sociolinguistics: Methods and Applications (Routledge, 2013).

The book website notes, “This edited volume provides up-to-date, succinct, relevant, and informative discussion about methods of data collection in sociolinguistic research. It covers the main areas of research design, conducting research, and sharing data findings with longer chapters and shorter vignettes written by a range of top sociolinguists, both veteran and emerging scholars. Here is the one-stop, go-to guide for the numerous quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods that are used in sociolinguistic research, ensuring that Data Collection in Sociolinguistics will be not only useful in the classroom but also as a reference tool for active researchers.”

Professor J.K. Chambers of the University of Toronto writes in the foreword to the volume, “This collection provides a balanced, judicious, forward-looking summation of the ways in which we collect, access and process the data that is the foundation of our enterprise. In its format and its tone, it has the feeling of a symposium involving a select group of sociolinguists sharing their personal experiences as well as their collective wisdom. It is an invaluable sourcebook for researchers and students and also for veteran fieldworkers in the diverse situations we face on entering the community.”

Kathleen Warnock ’80, interdisciplinary studies, has pursued a successful career as a playwright – including a production of one of her newest plays, Grieving for Genevieve, at Venus Theatre in Laurel this summer. She’s taken many roads to get there – sports journalist, travel editor, game show contestant – and profited greatly from her passions for rock’n’roll, classical literature and lesbian erotica.

Warnock says there is a method to her mercurial ways: “I constantly re-evaluate my priorities by asking, ‘Is it worth it to me to continue to do this?’ and I am constantly shifting my load.”

Take Grieving for Genevieve, which won the John Golden Award for Excellence in Playwriting in 2005 and was selected by Deborah Randall ’94, theatre, artistic director at Venus Theatre and a 2012 recipient of UMBC’s Alumna of the Year Award, for the theatre’s 2013 season. The play grew out of a writing exercise given to the playwright by her mentor, American Academy of Arts and Letters Award-winning playwright Tina Howe, and Warnock produced the play herself at New York’s Midtown International Theatre Festival with part of her $50,000 winnings from the game show, Who Wants to be a Millionaire. (Warnock has also appeared on Jeopardy and Cash Cab, and quips that game shows are “the new arts funding.”)

The play explores a reunion of three sisters (a guitar tech, a rock singer/seamstress, and a nun) with their mother, a chain-smoking, retired nurse, in Baltimore’s Hamilton neighborhood. It’s a situation Warnock dubs “loosely autobiographical,” observing that her mother is a chain smoker, her sister worked her way through nursing school making costumes for strippers, and her wife, Donna Bungo, is a former nun.

“There’s something incredibly ‘Baltimore’ about this play which drew me in,” says Randall, who also appears as an actor in the play. “It treats siblinghood and motherhood with voice that has an extreme sense of honesty and out of this sense comes something unapologetically funny.”

Warnock’s path as a writer began in high school, covering sports for the school newspaper. “When I arrived at UMBC,” she continues, “I went straight to the The Retriever to find out if they had any openings.” She ended up as The Retriever’s sports editor for two years and its editor-in-chief for a year, while also taking an internship on the sports copy desk at the now-defunct Baltimore News American. “I got the roots of what I do at UMBC,” she says.

Warnock also studied ancient Greek for four years at UMBC as well, and she credits a trip to Europe with ancient studies professors Jay Freyman and Walter K. Sherwin for opening her eyes to the world and to words: “I had learned so much about structure and language from them and this was my first trip abroad. It whetted my appetite for more.”

Warnock also caught the theatre bug during her time in Baltimore. “Back in those days,” she reminisces, “CENTERSTAGE gave away tickets at a significant discount for anyone willing to watch the shows from the aisle steps… It was great. I saw F. Murray Abraham as Cyrano sitting on those steps!”

Warnock moved to New York City in 1984 and quickly found her way to acting classes and a job working for the off-Broadway Mirror Repertory Company. She also wrote her first play, To The Top, in New York, taking a scandal involving a women’s basketball team that erupted during her first post-graduation job as a sportswriter in South Carolina as inspiration.

Warnock recalls that the hoops controversy she covered “contained the traditional arc of classic tragedy” and To the Top won South Carolina’s Trustus Theatre Annual Playwrights’ Festival – a national contest culminating in the professional world premiere of the winning play. (The play also eventually appeared under the imprint of theatrical publisher Samuel French.)

New York was also where Warnock met Tina Howe (who became a longtime friend and “guardian angel”) while working at the West Side YMCA Writer’s Voice writing programs, and it was during her time in Howe’s playwriting workshop at Hunter College that Warnock started the “En Avant” playwrights’ group.

With Howe’s assistance, En Avant secured funding and space at Hunter to produce three nights of one-act plays – and eventually morphed into the influential “En Avant Playwrights” online message board, which maintains a constantly updated listing of submission opportunities and has helped many playwrights find homes and awards for their work. Warnock adds that over the eleven years she has run En Avant, the list has prodded her to circulate her own work to the many festivals where it has appeared.

Warnock and Randall also have bonded over their love of rocker Joan Jett, and the playwright is a self-confessed “Jetthead” who’s followed the legendary rocker around the world. Another one of her plays, Rock the Line, was inspired by her fellow Joan Jett fans and produced by New York’s Emerging Artists Theatre in 2006 – and won the Robert Chesley Award for Lesbian and Gay Playwriting.

That “10 years of following Joan Jett” to various global locales also helped Warnock land her “day job” editing travel guides, first for IDG/Hungry Minds, then for John Wiley & Sons (publishers of Frommer’s travel guides) and now for web information giant Google, where she is a senior editor.

And when playwriting and the day job don’t have call on Warnock’s attention, she also hosts a monthly reading series, Drunken! Careening! Writers! at the New York literary bar KGB and edits the annual Best Lesbian Erotica series published by Cleis Press. It is no wonder she has titled her blog Too Many Hats!

– Sara Barker

Kathleen Warnock’s Grieving for Genevieve will play at Venus Theatre in Laurel from June 6 to 30. For more details, go to www.venustheatre.org

For Caitlynn, a biology major, one family emergency nearly meant having to leave UMBC. Thankfully, she’s now on track to finish what she started — fulfilling her dream not only of helping people as a radiology assistant, but being the first in her family to graduate from college.

Imagine working and studying hard for years, then losing it all because you can’t quite make one tuition bill payment. Imagine having to pay off years of student debt without a degree to show for it.

Sadly, hundreds of UMBC students experience need that isn’t fulfilled by scholarships or financial aid. Many of them work two or more jobs while attending school – and sometimes, that still isn’t enough. Those are the times when they need you most.

When students have the scholarship support they need, they can do AMAZING things. And during the month of June, we’re showcasing students who are doing just that — making the most of their time at UMBC, and changing the world for the better, with the aid of scholarships. Our aim? To raise enough money to award 30 scholarships of $1,000. It’s a big goal, but you can help us reach it, and when you do, you’ll be helping students in need.

>> Make your gift to support students today

While Caitlynn was fortunate enough to receive support that enabled her to stay at UMBC, there are many students who still need your help. That’s why your support is more important this month than ever before. Please, make a gift today and help us raise the funds for 30 scholarships in 30 days.

In this week’s news of Maryland’s 2014 gubernatorial race, Harford County Executive David R. Craig set a date to announce his Republican candidacy and Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown’s campaign confirmed that his running mate in seeking the Democratic nomination will be Howard County Executive Ken Ulman.

Donald F. Norris, professor and chair of public policy at UMBC, told the Baltimore Sun that in selecting Ulman, Brown’s campaign is “appealing to a different Democratic base.” He predicts that while Brown’s strength is among Baltimore and Prince George’s County voters, Ulman can help Brown pick up votes in Howard, Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties.

Norris argues that David Craig faces the challenge uniting a divided Maryland GOP, but he has notable strengths. “If [Craig] is able to get the Republican nomination — the Republican nomination has been taken over by the very far right — he’ll be credible in a general election,” says Norris. “I think he’s a very credible candidate against any Democratic candidate. He can attract conservative Democrats in Baltimore County.”

In The Daily Record, Norris also weighs in on the potential candidacy of Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, who has said he does not plan to decide whether to run for governor until the fall. Norris notes that the primary schedule is accelerated this election, with votes cast next June rather than next September. This makes getting into the race early particularly important. Norris says of Gansler, “He can’t wait too long, because the campaign is going to be over in January.”

Every so often, we highlight the importance of student scholarships by introducing you to the very students they help to succeed. Today, we’re speaking with Liz Winters, a senior psychology major who is also a Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation Scholarship recipient. This scholarship is given to returning female students over the age of 25. If you’re interested in learning more about the Returning Women’s meetings or scholarships, contact the Women’s Center at womens.center@umbc.edu.

Name: Liz Winters, married mom of 2
Grad Year/Major:  Psychology major, senior year
Affiliations: Student Veteran’s Association, Health Leads, Psi Chi

Q:  Tell us about yourself!

A:  I’m Liz Winters, a senior Psychology major. This year I have been part of the Student Veteran’s Association, Health Leads and Psi Chi, among other organizations. I’m a married mom of 2, a veteran, a triathlete, and an aspiring marathoner. I plan on being a nurse one day soon.

Q:  What benefits have you experienced as a Newcombe Scholar?

A:  Being a Newcombe Scholar has helped me to foster a lasting connection to the Women’s Center community that helps support me in academic and personal growth endeavors. My support network includes grad students, undergrads, and staff & faculty mentors in all reaches of campus. The group is comprised of people, like me, who want to succeed and finish strong in various areas of academic study. The tone is overwhelmingly positive, even when we are in the thick of deadlines and coursework pressures. These benefits are invaluable to making my UMBC experience overwhelmingly positive.

Q:  What do you wish traditional students knew about being a non-traditional student?

A:  We have more in common than you might think. We may be older, but we can certainly relate to the daily life of a traditional student. We feel the pressure to do well in classes. We wish we had more time to participate in all of the fun campus activities. We want to get out there and enjoy the nice weather. We want to relax and enjoy the weekend, too. Don’t let our age be the thing that stops you from getting to know us.

Q:  What do you wish the University and professors knew about being a non-traditional student?

A:  We don’t expect preferential treatment based on age or previous professional experience. We may often keep our non-traditional status to ourselves to keep the playing field even. When we chat with you after class about things we might have in common, we are doing it to make connections, not gain favor. Always give us the opportunity to rise to the challenge. Please be willing to mentor and teach us knowing that we will put forth our best effort in order to be better in our studies.

Q:  What is one piece of advice you would offer to new non-traditional students at UMBC?

A:  Make UMBC your own, don’t be a bystander. Get to know the other students in your classes. They are very smart and talented in the subject matter of your courses, even if they lack confidence sometimes. Get involved on campus in academic organizations and clubs, these connections will be valuable to getting you through to graduation. If you are a parent, your time spent volunteering on campus will be the one of the best examples you can give your kids that will make them see college as something they want to do, too. Have fun, and try not to stress out! When you do get overwhelmed stop by the Women’s Center for some tea or yoga, or go to the RAC and do some ZUMBA- do anything! Just be active and get involved!

On May 29, Jodi Kelber-Kaye, associate director of the honors college, was a guest on the Marc Steiner Show to discuss the 162nd anniversary of Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech.  Kelber-Kaye was joined by Lea Gilmore, singer, activist, and Center for Emerging Media cultural correspondent; Dream Hampton, journalist and cultural commentator; and A. Adar Ayira, project manager of the More in the Middle Campaign for Associated Black Charities and facilitator and analyst at Baltimore Racial Justice Action to discuss African American women and feminism.

“The word feminism is a more recent invention, and if we want to say it was invented out of white women’s movements we could easily say that.  Black women’s rights people have always had a dissonant relationship with that term,” said Kelber-Kaye.

The full conversation can be heard here.

In his latest Baltimore Sun column, UMBC political science professor Thomas F. Schaller, responds to the White House’s challenging month, including more Benghazi developments and scandals involving the IRS and journalist bugging.

“Taken separately, none of these episodes is fatal,” writes Schaller, “But, taken together, these three political problems reveal an underlying fault in President Obama’s leadership style. […] Mr. Obama too often seems politically detached.”

How has this become problematic in the Obama presidency? Schaller suggests, “We tend to equate the abuse of presidential power with its use…In Mr. Obama’s case, however, the abuse of power emanates from non-use. Failing to employ the power of the presidency to protect journalists, whistleblowers, and political opponents constitutes the abuse of power in absentia and is byproduct of this president’s political detachment.”

Five students in UMBC’s College of Engineering and Information Technology have been selected for major scholarships to pursue studies in cybersecurity-related fields under UMBC’s participation in the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Scholarship for Service (SFS) Federal CyberCorps program.

As SFS Scholars, students receive full tuition, fees, annual reimbursement of professional development expenses ($3,000), a nine-month stipend ($20,000 for undergraduates, $25,000 for MS/MPS students, and $30,000 for PhD students) for up to two years (three years for Ph.D.), and assistance with federal cybersecurity internships and career placement.

The awardees for academic year 2013-14 are:

• Nathan Price, MS (CMPE)
• Punlada Muangrat, BS (IS)
• Shannon Mcpherson, MPS (CYBR)
• Alex Cooke, BS (IS)
• Denis Danilin, MS (IS)

These new awardees will join existing UMBC SFS Scholars Oliver Kubik (BS, CMSC), Mary Mathews (PhD, CMSC), Brendan Masiar (MPS, CYBR) and Brandyn Schult (MPS, CYBR).

The CyberCorps program produces highly-qualified professionals to meet the United States government’s increasing need to protect American’s cyber infrastructure. While in the program at UMBC, SFS CyberCorps Scholars participate in special SFS program activities, have opportunities to engage in mentored research opportunities both at UMBC and its partners from industry and government, and must complete a paid summer internship for the federal government. Upon graduation, each student must work for the government (for pay) for one year for each year of scholarship received. CSEE Drs. Alan Sherman and Richard Forno direct the program under a five-year $2.5 million NSF grant received in 2012.

This post originally appeared in UMBC Insights.