Heidy George is the Program Associate for Student Diversity and Inclusion. When she manages to find spare time, she likes to take dance classes and HGTV her living room.

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I am very much aware of my privilege. I also know that I have many things to be grateful for. And yet, I’m not going to lie…I am struggling. No, like, really struggling. 

Before starting my position at UMBC, I was recuperating from an eleven-month stint as a stay-at-home mom. The experience was simultaneously euphoric and debilitating. For eleven months, I watched in awe: as my baby grew, hit all her milestones and explored the world around her. I held her when she cried, changed what seemed like an impossible amount of diapers and learned how to function without sleep. I am not exaggerating. I no longer know what sleep is. I hear people talk about it and wonder, what is this mystical thing people keep mentioning? It’s as elusive as TikTok. 

But I digress. 

I read a lot of books before becoming a mom. However, the parenting books did not prepare me for any of this. They failed to mention the horrors of projectile diarrhea when your infant is sick, how your heart skips a beat when they smile at you, or that you may be parenting a toddler during a pandemic. 

I had only been working at UMBC for six months before the physical campus was closed. I was really just starting to get the hang of things when we all were informed that we would be working from home. 

After going back to work, I remember sitting at my desk and thinking, “I really miss my baby. I wish I could work from home so that I could spend more time with her.” Wait, am I responsible for all of this? I now know that being a mom means you acquire super-powers. Maybe, I need to be more specific the next time I ask the universe for something. Now I am figuring out how to juggle being a working mom and a professional in a brand new Institution - my living room.

In all honesty, I’m not sure how much more of this my body can take. My back hurts from the lack of exercise (don’t you dare tell me I can exercise at home like I don’t have a seventeen month old!). My eyes hurt from all the Webex, Zoom and Google Hangout meetings. I just may need new glasses because I am pretty sure my eyesight is deteriorating more and more each day. On the upside Aldi’s now delivers in my area and my 17-month-old now knows how to open the bathroom door. 

Yay, milestones!

When well-meaning work folk ask, “how are you?” I honestly struggle with the answer. Is it professional to say that most of the time I don’t have a solid answer? Is it professional to admit that I don’t know if I brushed my teeth this morning before our 9am call? Is it professional to say that most days I really just want my mommy? Is this blog even professional? What is professional anymore? Have I shared too much?

Going back to work was not easy but somehow not being able to go back to work is even harder.

On the toughest days, I rely heavily on a select group of family, friends and colleagues that make me laugh and are able to hold all of my emotions. Their support helps motivate me to push through the sadness. I guess you could call them my village. I hope you have a village to help support you through whatever this is. If not, we always have room for more.

The Lavender Awards celebrate the wonderful achievements of UMBC's LGBTQ+ graduating seniors, graduate students, and their allies. We recognize students as well as the allied alums, staff, faculty, and programs that work to support them. Although we may not be able to host our Seventh Annual Lavender Awards on campus this semester, we can still honor the contributions of some of our most dedicated and committed LGBTQ+ community members. 

In the midst of all of the changes and challenges that 2020 has put upon us, we invite you to take some time out of your day to acknowledge and celebrate the good by nominating your peers and or colleagues for a Lavender Award. The award categories are: Emerging LGBTQ+ Student Leader, Service to the LGBTQ+ Community, Outstanding LGBTQ+ Ally, LGBTQ+ Student of the Year and the Lavender Legacy Award. 

A committee of 5 members has been formed to review all of the submitted nominations and vote on the awardees. Please help us recognize the achievements of our LGBTQ+ graduating seniors, graduate students and their allies by submitting your nominaton(s) by May 8th at 11:59pm. If you are a graduating senior or graduate student, you may also use this link to receive a lavender cord. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Heidy George at hmg@umbc.edu.

Many thanks in advance for your help as we acknowledge and celebrate some of our best and brightest. 

Trigger warning: the following post contains potentially distressing material to survivors of sexual violence.

Women of color experience sexual violence at a disproportionate rate. The fight to eradicate sexual violence must focus on ending ALL forms of oppression. Given the numbers, each one of us has either experienced sexual violence or knows someone who has.  

In order to better support survivors we need to:

• Believe survivors and become an informed ally. Don’t make marginalized women teach you about their oppression or your role as a bystander. 

• Do the research and get involved at the legislative level. Use your privilege to center Black and Indigenous women in the discussion and in your advocacy. 

• Listen to Black and Indigenous women. Support organizations that advocate for survivors, validate their voices and experiences and are led by survivors.

Every 73 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted. 

Every. 73. Seconds.

Throughout the country April is recognized as Sexual Assault Awareness Month. A month, not of celebration but of educating the public, advocating for and raising awareness of the grim experiences lived and survived by many; most of them - already marginalized women. One of the root causes of sexual violence is oppression and it comes in many forms: racism, sexism, ableism, heterosexism, and/or cissexism. The numbers don’t lie. In fact, they are horrific.  Indigenous and Black women are at an even more alarming and disproportionate risk of experiencing sexual violence.

According to the National Center on Violence Against Women in the Black Community:one in four Black girls will be sexually abused before the age of 18. Black girls and women must learn to navigate a world where they are disproportionately likely to survive childhood sexual abuse, rape and human trafficking. All too often, systemic and cultural considerations prevent survivors from reporting these crimes. Native American women are at an even greater risk of sexual violence. The U.S. Department of Justice reports that Native American and Alaska Native women are more than two and a half times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than other women in the USA. Most Native American women living on tribal lands never seek justice against their attackers because they are forced to navigate a complex maze of tribal, state and federal law. If they do report the crime, they are perpetually met with inaction or worst yet indifference.

How do we protect our LGBTQ+, cis, and straight Black and Indigenous girls already vulnerable due to the gendered, intersectional and systemic oppressions they experience from girlhood to womanhood?

We get involved. 

The fight to eradicate sexual violence is far from over but we can all do our part to make a difference and support survivors.

Campus Life’s Mosaic, Interfaith and Pride Centers Community Members,

This is our third post in our COVID-19 related updates. To check out the content of our first two posts, please click here. This post covers Campus Life resources and how to stay connected to us through our virtual platforms. We encourage you to read this and previous COVID-19 posts in their entirety to answer any frequently asked questions.

Resources

Campus Life Student Diversity and Inclusion Area updates:

Retriever Essentials: Due to our physical spaces being closed, the Mosaic is not currently serving as a Distribution Center for Retriever Essentials. We encourage you to visit the Retriever Essentials myUMBC group page for updates or contact the UMBC Police (410) 455-5555.

Social Media: Brand new!Our area now has an Instagram Account! Be sure to follow us at @umbc_clmosaicinterfaithpride (no posts have been made live yet) for our regular posts starting Wednesday, April 1st!

As our following base grows, we will provide opportunities for UMBC community members to promote their diversity, equity, and inclusion based events, initiatives, and/or resources. Please contact Heidy George, Program Associate for Student Diversity and Inclusion if you have any questions related to our social media accounts.

We also encourage you to use the #UMBCtogether to stay connected with the wider UMBC community!

Other Campus Life Resources and contact information

In the meantime, we also encourage you to “like,”  “follow,” and/or “favorite” other Campus Life related pages below:

• Campus Life

• myUMBC | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Website | campuslife@umbc.edu

• Commonvision 

• myUMBC | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Website | commonvision@umbc.edu

• Events Conference Services and Operations

•  myUMBC | schedule@umbc.edu

• Student Government Association (SGA) 

• myUMBC | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | sga@umbc.edu

• Students Events Board (seb) 

• myUMBC | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | seb@umbc.edu

• For other questions related to Greek Life, Leadership, and Student Organizations, please contact Jen Dress, Associate Director for Engagement at dress@umbc.edu.

• For other Campus resources, please stay tuned to updates in our COVID-19 resources and updates document. 

Community Resources

• For access to health and human services information, visit 2-1-1 Maryland or dial 2-1-1.

• If you would like to include any further Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion-based resources for students from your department and/or office, please fill out our Campus Life’s Student Diversity and Inclusion Resource Submission Google Form. 

• If you would like to submit any UMBC resource to the wider UMBC community, please email the Community Resilience Workgroup at reachtogether@umbc.edu.

-Campus Life's Student Diversity and Inclusion staff

Hello Campus Life’s Mosaic, Interfaith and Pride Centers Community Members,

This is the second post in our COVID-19 related updates. To check out the content of our first post, please click here. As we continue our online transitions, we would like to provide you with information related to our Spring 2020 programs. We encourage you to read this and previous COVID-19 posts in their entirety to answer any frequently asked questions.

Due to the physical campus closure, the remaining programs for Spring 2020 will be postponed to Fall 2020.Event links will be posted in the upcoming weeks. The events impacted due to this closure and new calendar updates are listed below:

• PAWTalks: Janel Martinez: Ain’t I Latina? Exploring Anti-Blackness in the Latinx Community

• Original Date:Tuesday, March 24th

• New Date: Wednesday, October 7, 2020 | Time: 5:30-7:00 p.m. | Location: The Skylight Room

• Pawsitive Bodies and Minds: Living with HIV: Exploring HIV and HIV Stigma

• Original Date: Monday, April 6th

• New Date: Tuesday, December 1, 2020 | Time: 6:00-7:30 p.m. | Location: The Commons 331

• PAWTalks: Andy DeVos: Understanding Racial Disparities in Baltimore City

• Original Date: Wednesday, April 15th

• New Date: TBD

• What’s The (T)ea? “Okay Boomer”: Socioeconomic challenges facing Millennials and Gen Z

• Original Date: Thursday, April 30th

• New Date: Wednesday, November 18, 2020| Time: 4:00-5:30 p.m. | Location: The Commons 329

• How to be a Better Ally: People with Limited Voting Access: Analyzing Voter Suppression in The United States

• Original Date: Wednesday, May 6th

• New Date: Wednesday, December 2, 2020 | Time: 4:00-5:30 p.m. | Location: The Commons 329

• Mosaic’s 7th Annual Lavender Celebration* 

• Original Date: Tuesday, May 12th

• Tentative New Date: Tuesday, December 8, 2020 | Time: 6:00-8:00p.m. | Location: The Skylight Room

• Our June and July SafeZone LGBTQ+ Allyship Development Workshops are currently unaffected by the physical campus closure. Please be sure to use this link to RSVP!
• Dates: Friday, June 26th and July 17th | Time: 8:45 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. | Location: The Commons 331

Dear Campus Life’s Mosaic, Interfaith and Pride Centers Community Members,

We hope this message finds you well during this virtual transition. As our campus transitions online, we would like to provide you with information related to our operations, programs, resources and other important updates. We encourage you to read this post and other posts in this series in their entirety to answer any frequently asked questions. Please note that this Campus Life Student Diversity and Inclusion specific information is subject to change based on the rapidly changing federal, state, and/or local public health response to COVID-19. To stay up to date to updates related to our departmental spaces, please click herefor updates beyond today, March 27th 2020.For UMBC campus wide information related to COVID-19, please visit covid19.umbc.edu.

General Updates and Contact information

Campus Life’s Mosaic, Interfaith, and Pride Centers have migrated online and our physical spaces will be closed until further notice. Our Student Diversity and Inclusion staff will be available from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday either online or by phone. Please refer to our contact list below for further details:

• If you are a student or student org leader who would like to reach out to our Summer 2020 Student Diversity and Inclusion Peer, please email Sofía Encarnacíon at sencarn1@umbc.edu. 

• If you have questions regarding Mosaic related resources or upcoming programs, please contact Carlos Turcios, Coordinator for Student Diversity and Inclusion at carlos6@umbc.edu, (410) 455-1825, or at mosaic@umbc.edu.

• If you have questions regarding the Interfaith Center or Religious and Spiritual resources, please contact Erin Waddles, Coordinator for Student Diversity and Inclusion at waddles@umbc.edu, (410) 455-3242, or at interfaith@umbc.edu.

• If you have questions regarding the Pride Center or LGBTQ+ resources, email Heidy George, Program Associate for Student Diversity and Inclusion at hmg@umbc.edu, (410) 455-3014, or at lgbtq@umbc.edu.

• If you have other questions related to our diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice work, resources, partnerships and collaborations, please contact Lisa Gray, Associate Director for Student Diversity and Inclusion at lisamgray@umbc.edu or at 410-455-8478.

Campus Life’s Student Diversity and Inclusion staff also will be available virtually by appointment starting Wednesday, April 1st. Below are links to each of our appointment times. If possible, please schedule your meeting 48 hours in advance. 

• Diversity Peer, Sofía: Please email her directly to schedule an appointment time.

• Carlos: Available appointment slots

• Erin: Available appointment slots

• Heidy: Available appointment slots

• Lisa: Available appointment slots

Please note that we will be sending out additional posts related to our Summer 2020 programs, virtual resources, social media, and student employment opportunities for the 2020-2021 academic year! In the meantime, please feel free to email us with any questions.