Thursday, October 28th
5 pm, Lecture Hall 3

Contact: Thomas Moore
Director of Arts & Culture
410-455-3370
tmoore@umbc.edu

UMBC's InterArts Series and the Visiting Artist Lecture Series present a lecture by Preston Poe on Thursday, October 28th at 5 pm in Lecture Hall 3. Poe, an artist who specializes in video and sound art, is the new media curator and director of The Electronic Gallery at Salisbury University. Poe's recent creative work focuses on participatory performance through spontaneous song-writing (YouTunes) and developing new platforms for audio, utilizing transducers and motion graphics (Somnambutable). His work has been exhibited throughout the U.S. and was recently included in the Conflux performance art festival, and at the Contemporary Museum in Baltimore in association with Neighborhood Public Radio.

Admission is free. For additional information visit http://www.umbc.edu/arts.

On October 4, USYCA President Jamie Harrison brought cricket to Eldersburg Elementaryin Carroll County, Maryland. Due to inclement weather outside, the presentation was held inside the school's gym, which was no problem for the easily adaptable Schools Program. Jamie was there at the invitation of Debbie C. Buenger, one of Eldersburg's two PE instructors and the 2008 NASPE National Teacher of the Year.

The children took to cricket quickly and enthusiastically, as each class only needed a quick overview of the game before they were up and playing. Ms. Buenger and the school's other PE instructor, Billy Kavalos, were very welcoming hosts. They have committed to making cricket a regular part of the school's PE curriculum.

As an additional bonus, the cricket presentation was observed by Linda Kephart, Supervisor of Health and Physical Education for Carroll County Public Schools. Ms. Kephart was so impressed with the USYCA Schools Program that she immediately invited Jamie to present it to all county physical education teachers on February 22 at an in-service event at Winters Mill HS.

In a follow-up email, Ms. Kephart said, "Cricket is a great striking and strategy sport that can be enjoyed by students of all ability levels…. what a great addition this will be to our physical education curriculum!"

One of the sessions from that morning was videotaped by school staff and should be available on the USYCA YouTube site later this month.

Check out the McNair Scholars program, accepting applications until October 29. McNair scholars conduct research in their field (including social sciences and humanities), present at national conferences, and prepare strong graduate school applications. Must be sophomore or above and have at least a 2.7 GPA. Pick up application today in MP room 213.

I always think of things I should have added in the hour after making a post. Sigh. Here goes…

The situation is perhaps not so different from mailing lists, Google groups or any number of similar systems. I can set up one of those and add people to them without their consent — even people who are are not my friends. Even people whom I don’t know and who don’t know me. Such email-oriented lists can also have public membership lists. The only check on this is that most mailing lists frameworks send a notice to people being added informing them of the action. But many frameworks allow the list owner to suppress such notifications.

But still, Facebook seems different, based on the how the rest of it is configured and on how people use it. I believe that a common expectation would be that if you are listed as a member of an open or private group, that you are a willing member.

When you get a notification that you are now a member of the Facebook group Crazy people who smell bad, you can leave the group immediately. llBut we have Facebook friends, many of them in fact, who only check in once a month or even less frequently. Notifications of their being added to a group will probably be missed.

Facebook should fix this by requiring that anyone added to a group confirm that they want to be in the group before they become members. After fixing it, there’s lots more that can be done to make Facebook groups a powerful way for assured information sharing.

You can join a research team or design your own research or creative project, starting now. Learn how at the Undergraduate Research Consultation held on Friday, October 22 at noon in Lecture Hall 3 in the Administration Building. These students found valuable research experiences. You can, too. Now is the time to select your research location for Summer 2011. Find out how to get a great placement.