On September 1st, new and returning students received an email from safecolleges.com. This is NOT SPAM. It is information regarding a mandatory training from OEI. More info below:

**This has been reposted on behalf of the Office of Equity and Inclusion. original post.** 

The Office of Equity and Inclusion (OEI) assigned new and returning students our updated Sexual Misconduct/ Title IX/ OEI training through SafeColleges.

Trigger Warning: If you have been personally affected by sexual or interpersonal violence and are concerned that you may not be able to complete the training in this format as a result of this experience, please contact Mikhel Kushner - Title IX Coordinator.

If you are experiencing sexual violence or discrimination or are being impacted by past experiences with them, you can report using OEI’sonline reporting form, you can also find information aboutRights and Resources here. 

The training must be completed by October 31, 2020: A registration hold may be placed on the student's account if they fail to complete the training.

Before beginning the training students are encouraged to review UMBC’s Policy on Sexual Misconduct, Sexual Harassment and Gender Discrimination, (updated August 14, 2020), as well as the Discrimination and Equal Opportunity Policy, which outline UMBC’s expectations of conduct towards members of the UMBC Community.

Questions about the policies and procedures related to sexual assault, domestic/ dating violence, sexual harassment, or stalking, should be directed to Title IX Coordinator Mikhel Kushner at Kushner@umbc.edu. If you have any questions or concerns about the policies and procedures related to discrimination and bias, please contact OEI at oei@umbc.edu. 

Students will receive an email with instructions about how to complete the training which can be found at:

https://umbcstudents-md.safecolleges.com/

We thank our students in advance for participating in this training which will help address harassment, assault, and discrimination on our campus and promote an environment where all members of our community can study, learn, work and play.

Relationship Violence Awareness Month (RVAM) brings people together to create and generate discussion and skill-building on how to prevent relationship violence in our schools, workplaces, and communities. While providing support and care to survivors of relationship violence is an everyday action, this awareness month also carves out intentional moments to honor and believe survivors’ stories and experiences. As we continue this work throughout the pandemic, it is also critical for us to consider how the intersections of covid-19 and social isolation have exacerbated relationship violence over the past several months.  

Since most of campus remains learning and working remotely, we won’t be able to physically come together this October to do this critical work in person. The Women’s Center and all of our campus partners including the Office of Equity and Inclusion, University Health Services, the Counseling Center, Green Dot, We Believe You, and Retriever Courage, and more will nonetheless continue to promote awareness and prevention this month.

We are now in week 3 of our learning about relationship violence from different perspectives, and this week is about The Matrix of Oppression. We are focusing on how people at different marginalized intersections experience power-based violence. This round-up features resources for Indigenous survivors, LGBTQIA+ survivors, Women of Color, and Black women.

Please take time to click, read, and learn at your own pace.

The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center has online resources ranging from brochures to webinars. They even have a webinar on how to safely seek help for survivors with pets.

This presentation on domestic violence from WOC, Inc. pays special attention to the issue within Black/African-American communities, Asian/Pacific Islander communities, Hispanic/Latinx communities, and North American Native communities.

For many survivors, police presence only makes their situation more dangerous and stressful. This is especially true for survivors of color that fear for the life of their abuser. This Huffington Post article provides alternative strategies for bystanders that want to help, but aren’t 100% about dialing 9-1-1.

LGBTQIA+ survivors often have a hard time accessing support when they experience violence due to homophobia, transphobia, and heteronormative beliefs about what abuse looks like. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence provides stats and framing in this blog post to raise awareness for the gravity of this problem.

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Earn full tuition, fees, and stipends $25,000 – $34,000 annual scholarships for up to 3 years

(government employment required for every year of scholarship)

For BS (rising juniors or seniors), MS, MPS, or PhD in CS, CE, IS, Cyber or related fields

USA citizenship or permanent residency required

MINIMUM GPA of 3.25

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Contact: Dr. Alan Sherman *protected email*

For more information: www.sfs.opm.gov                                                                                              or                                                                                               https://cybersecurity.umbc.edu/scholarship-for-service-sfs/

APPLY THROUGH SCHOLARSHIP RETRIEVER:https://scholarships.umbc.edu/retriever/

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