Hello oSTEM! We hope you had a wonderful break and are rejuvenated to finish the semester strong.

Now that we have gotten our foot in the door with some meetings and events, UMBC oSTEM is ready to take our next step- a project!

To be blunt, we know the struggle of finding an organization that is accepting without putting your safety on the line. This is why we are proposing a project to collect responses of current employees in Baltimore-based organizations. The data will be used to create an employment safety index for queer people in the Baltimore area. 

To make this project a success, we are asking for your help. Though not required, a project like this is a great opportunity to give back to the community and be involved in the change you want to see.

We will have three phases to this project: 

Phase 1 (Jan to Mid Feb): Material Creation. We need students to develop a survey that will protect users while still collecting the data we need. Additionally, we will need students to standardize the language we will use when distributing and explaining the survey.

Phase 2 (Mid Feb to Early May): Distribution. We need students to distribute the survey. We have a few organizations in mind, and word of mouth will help. Boots on the ground and hanging flyers is an option as well.

Phase 3 (Early May to early June): Sorting and Graphics. We need students to sort through the data and produce results we can share with oSTEM national and local LGBTQ+ support groups. We want to finish these in time for pride month so organizations have it in time for their celebrations.

And beyond: We hope to circle back next fall to discuss what went well and what we can do to improve this project in the future. Our hope is to create something that other oSTEM chapters can use for their local cities. We'll want a few students to get internal feedback during and after the process for this part.