April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and the Women’s Center is hosting its 5th consecutive Take Back The Night (TBTN) on Thursday, April 13th. Over the years, we’ve had a lot of questions about what Take Back the Night exactly is, why it looks the way it does, and how students can get involved. To help get those questions answered this year, we’ve doing a “What You Need to Know” series focused on TBTN so stay tuned for more posts over the next couple of weeks. This is the 2nd post in the series and it focuses on the survivor speak-out.

The survivor speak-out is the heart of Take Back the Night. This is the point in the night where survivors are encouraged to come up and share their story with the crowd before the march throughout campus. As a survivor, sharing your story at TBTN allows you to publicly acknowledge your experience with a crowd that believes you and supports you.

I, student staff member Kayla Smith, have started the speak out for the past two years and I cherish that moment as a time where I can share my experience with people who I know won’t judge me. I can look out into a crowd of people who won’t tell me its my fault, ask what I was wearing, ask if I was drinking, or tell me that I was responsible for my assault. Speaking out about my assault empowers me to talk about my experience with confidence.

There are a variety of stories and experiences that are shared during the speak- out. Some may share stories or healing while others are still angry, sad, or scared. All of our stories and experiences are valid. And, no matter where you are at in your experience as a survivor (i.e. your assault happened 10 years ago or just last week), you’re welcomed to share your story. 

Women’s Center Student Staff Member Kayla Smith speaking to the crowd at TBTN 2016

If you’re thinking about speaking at Take Back the Night, feel free to reach out to Women’s Center staff ahead of time if you feel like it would be helpful to talk to someone ahead of time about your story and how you may want to share it. Of course, we know many survivors may not plan on speaking at TBTN and then feel called to do so once the speak-out begins and that’s okay!

It’s also totally okay if don’t feel ready to share your story at Take Back the Night – there’s many other ways you can share your story in less public ways throughout Sexual Assault Awareness Month (like making a t-shirt for the Clothesline Project or attending the Monument Quilt workshop) and Take Back the Night (counselors will be available throughout the event and there will be the self-care station). Survivors or anyone impacted by sexual violence can also always schedule a time to talk to Women’s Center staff – we’re quasi-confidential resources on campus and can link you to additional support and resources.

Here’s some helpful information about the speak-out we think is helpful for everyone to know whether they’re speaking or listening:

• Any one can be a survivor of sexual violence. Any survivor regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation is welcomed to share their story at the speak-out. 
• The survivor speak-out is intended to center the voices and experience of survivors of sexual violence. The speak-out is for allies to listen and survivors to break their silence. Thank you in advanced for respecting this request. Allies are also encouraged to attend the Women’s Center workshop on Supporting Survivors of Sexual Violence on 4/12.
• Since TBTN functions as a public forum, normal reporting procedures look a bit different. If you choose to share your story, and want to go no further in the reporting process, we encourage you not to disclose any names or other specific identifying information, such as locations or familial relationships, as those details may prompt staff to follow up with you for reporting matters. Staff are available at the event for those who do want additional resources and want to report their experience through UMBC’s Title IX reporting process or police.
• We ask that you try to limit your story to about 3 minutes. We know it may be hard to do so but we want to make sure as many survivors as possible can speak during the allotted speak out time which is one hour long.
• Speakers will have the option to identify their story as confidential by placing a sign marked “confidential” on the microphone. Speaking from the “confidential” microphone prohibits anyone from taking pictures, quotes, or recording of any kind.
• Counselors-On-Call will be available throughout the evening. Any one needing additional support or simply needs to take a break are invited to visit the self-care station that will be set up in the Commuter Lounge.

For more information about UMBC’s TBTN (check out Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter too by searching the hashtag #UMBCTBTN):

• Supporting Survivors of Sexual Violence Workshop information for faculty & staff and students.
• Speak: Knowing a Survivor Without Knowing Their Story – a blog post on cultivating a survivor-responsive campus.
• The Women’s Center 2016 TBTN roundup
• The Retriever Weekly photo gallery of TBTN
• Stop by the Women’s Center on April 11, 12, and 13th to make a rally sign for the march!
• Stop by the Clothesline Project on 4/6 on Main Street!

Stay tuned for the next installment of what you need to know about TBTN 2017! 

A weekly round-up curated by Women’s Center staff member, Michael Jalloh Jamboria

In the spirit of my friend, who gave us the glorious name ‘Slaying on the Weekly’, every week I will be bringing you some interesting, funny or thought-provoking content from the internet! Be sure to join us next week for more and continue to slay!

Thank you for joining us this past Women’s History Month! March may be over but the celebration never stops in the Women’s Center. Join us in celebrating women, their lives, their stories and their resistance.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.  “Every 107 seconds, someone in America is sexually assaulted. Approximately 4/5 of rapes are committed by someone known to the victim.  Survivors of sexual assault are 3 times more likely to suffer from depression.”  The Women’s Center is dedicated to programming centered around sexual assault awareness. Be sure to check out the Sexual Assault Awareness Month Calendar. 

Take Back the Night is coming up! Here’s what you need to know about Take Back the Night!!

There has been a lot of Twitter buzz about black and brown girls missing from DC and Baltimore. What’s that about? Learn more by checking out The Rise in Human Trafficking in the State of Maryland.

Wait!! Did you hear that 2020 US census won’t have questions related to sexual orientation nor gender identity? I did. Read more on this Huffington Post article.

What the Heck is the Clothesline Project?? Find out on Thursday April 6th from 10-4pm on Mainstreet. Can’t wait until then, be sure to check out the official Clothesline Project Website.  Starting Monday April 3rd, through April 6th, the Women’s Center will have Clothesline Project t-shirts available for survivors of sexual assault to participate in the Project. Just in case you needed the reminder, the Women’s Center will always serve as a home away from home for those who need a safe space to exist. We’ve got your back!

This month can be particularly triggering for survivors of sexual assault or violence. Stop by the Women’s Center if you need to chat and be sure to check out some of these resources related to self-care during Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

• Teen Vogue: 6 Self-Care Tips For Sexual Assault Survivors
• RAINN: Self-Care After Trauma
• The National Domestic Violence Hotline:  5 Powerful Self-Care Tips for Abuse and Trauma Survivors

Who ever you are, what ever your story, we are here to listen. We see you. You are home. You belong. You matter. See you next week!

Making in the Classroom: the Rationale, the Challenge and the Imperative

Professor Francis Quek
Department of Visualization, Texas A&M University

3:00-4:00pm Thursday, 6 April 2017, ITE 217, UMBC

Computing is increasingly focused in interaction with the physical world rather than just in the abstract virtual world of screens and pixels. Physical computing combines the design of physical electronics with computation to bring about possibilities that simply interacting with pixels behind glass cannot. One manifestation of physical computing in our culture is seen in the Maker movement. Technologies such as 3D printing and open source electronics and accessible computing have combined to give rise to a Maker movement that promises to broaden participation in technology-based innovation and production. The potential of Making to enhance learning, especially in areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) has led to calls to bring Making into education. However, the characteristics of innovation, discovery, and student-directed learning for which Making is prized is not easily incorporated into public school learning. Making-based learning are thus often provided in clubs, community Makerspaces, and workshops. This poses a severe issue of equity as youth participants are implicitly self-selected through parents who have the knowledge and means to enroll their children at such venues. Taking a human-centered perspective, we present a project where Making is integrated with the formal curriculum of a public elementary school that serves predominantly underrepresented populations. We will examine the rationale for employing Making-based classroom learning and review our strategy for curriculum alignment. We will see how our ‘double scaffolding’ approach supports both learning of STEM curricula and knowledge and skills associated with computing and Making. Beside learning STEM material, our approach seeks to support the development of STEM self-efficacy and self-identities in children who may not otherwise see these possibilities in themselves. We present results of our year-long study that show the promise of our approach.

Professor Francis Quek is a Professor of the Department of Visualization (and by courtesy, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering and Professor of Psychology) at Texas A&M University. He joined Texas A&M University as an interdisciplinary President’s Signature Hire to bridge disparities in STEM. Formerly he has been the Director of the Center for Human-Computer Interaction at Virginia Tech. Francis received both his B.S.E. summa cum laude (1984) and M.S.E. (1984) in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan. He completed his Ph.D. in Computer Science at the same university in 1990. Francis is a member of the IEEE and ACM. He performs research in Making for STEM learning, embodied interaction, embodied learning and sensemaking, multimodal verbal/non-verbal interaction, multimodal meeting analysis, interfaces to support learning, vision-based interaction, multimedia databases, medical imaging, assistive technology for the blind, human computer interaction, computer vision, and computer graphics. He leads several multiple-disciplinary research efforts to understand the communicative realities of multimodal interaction.

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Innovate Good is a 24-hour student Hackathon that held at UMBC 29-30 April 2017 with the theme of creating software or hardware projects to benefit social causes. Participating will give you an opportunity to learn new skills, make friends, create your wildest idea, and share it with the world. Whether you want to create a website, dabble with Photoshop, make a robotic arm, or develop a game, it’s up to you to decide what to learn. Food, beverages, swag, workspaces, and sleeping areas will be provided.

Innovate Good will have four main tracks with awards for the best projects (Health/Environmental, Legal/Justice Housing and Education) as well as additional sponsor prizes.

If I don’t have a team or an idea, it’s not a problem. You can find a team once you arrive. Most hackers arrive without a team. You will often find inspiration for ideas at the hackathon.

If don’t don’t code, it’s opportunity to learn something new. There will be workshops geared towards beginners and mentors to help you throughout the event.

All kinds or projects are welcome, including Web, mobile, desktop, IoT and hardware. Projects will be judged based on creativity, technical difficulty, polish, and usefulness.

For more information and to register, see the Innovate Good site (http://innovate.hackumbc.org/). Register early since there is only space for a limited number of participants.

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April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

UMBC’s Game Developers Club will hold its twelfth annual Digital Entertainment Conference from 11:00-5:00 on Saturday April 11 in the UMBC Commons. Come learn about the game industry from local game developing companies. High school students, college students, aspiring game developers, and game developers are all welcome.

• Meet professionals in the game industry
• Learn the latest in game art, code and technology
• Network with local game developers

Lunch will be provided. If you have any questions, send email to *protected email*

Parking: You can park in any A, B, or C lot on UMBC Campus. The closest parking garage is the Commons Parking garage on Commons Drive inside the UMBC Hilltop Circle.

If you have any questions, send email to *protected email*

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