This week is your last chance to both shop from and donate to the Retriever Re-Store until the Spring!

Donate via the green collection bins in the residence hall lobbies, Walker Clubhouse, and the Apartment Community Center (publicly accessible for drop off). 

The Retriever Re-Store, UMBC's Green Move Out donation collection initiative, is up and open for business in Upper Flat Tuesdays, on the second floor of the Commons. 
Students can donate unwanted goods and items from their dorms/apartments in the green bins located in each residence hall lobby.

 Donations are collected and sorted in the free store in Upper Flat Tuesdays for all to browse from, free of charge! Help us keep these items out of the landfill and into a new home by donating to the Re-Store!
See the attached flyers for a list of accepted items and donation locations. 

Learn more at https://sustainability.umbc.edu/home/campus-initiatives/

If you are a staff/faculty member interested in donating, please email us to set up a donation appointment.  

Temporary accommodation available – Private Room at Westland Gardens
Available: December 25th to January 25th

Details:

• In-unit washer & dryer

• Central heating and cooling

• 2-minute walk to UMBC bus stop

• 10-minute walk to UMBC campus

• Flexible rent

Ideal for students or short-term stays near UMBC.
DM to +1 (667) 431-0141 for more details.

A couple of years ago, Jessica Floyd was enjoying delicious olive flatbreads in Opio, France, a village on the French Riviera, thanks to the hospitality of Judith Legman, who owned the olive grove and a manuscript Floyd had been trying to find for her doctoral work for three years. This bucolic heaven was not where Floyd, who studies erotic folklore, thought she would find the holy grail of erotic chanteys by Stan Hugill, a renowned British sailor and chantey singer. These sailors’ work songs, first collected in the 1900s, were passed down verbally by sailors, with some never recorded. These bawdy versions were never meant to be heard or read by women, much less shared between them.

“When you’re talking about erotic content, it automatically becomes something that is salacious and provocative and therefore seen as taboo,” said Floyd, Ph.D. ’17, language, literacy, and culture, an adjunct instructor of English. “Publications that are not conservative in their treatment of sex, gender, and sexuality are often deemed taboo. Scholars who are actively working in this field have to fight not only for their legitimacy, but also because we’re considered dirty workers. We also fight for the legitimacy of the materials that we’re researching. These are real human experiences. They just happen to be from the darker corners of the human experience.”

Like other scholars in the field seeking access to a variety of documents, Floyd reached out to the librarians at the Kinsey Institute, which holds the largest historical archive on sexuality. “They weren’t sure if the manuscript could be found in the extensive archive of Gershon Legman, which Judith, his wife, had donated,” said Floyd, of her research for her debut book Cabin Boys, Milkmaids, and Rough Seas: Identity in the Unexpurgated Repertoire of Stan Hugill (University Press of Mississippi, 2024). 

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She emailed Legman, following a tip from other chantey folklorists and researchers that Legman, a famous connoisseur and collector of erotic jokes, folklore, and songs, had the manuscript. “Lo and behold, she emailed me back. I still get chills talking about it,” said Floyd. “Judith said, ‘Not only do I have it, I actually just sent it to the Kinsey Institute. If you’d like, I’ll send you the copy.’” Dispersed throughout Legman’s chapter on erotic folk songs were Hugill’s erotic chanteys that had never been circulated.

Chasing erotic rare texts

Floyd is used to the chase and thrill of finding rare texts. She studies the gender and sexuality of sailors during the height of British and American sailing, from the mid-16th to the mid-19th centuries—when sailing ships dominated global trade and naval warfare—as well as 17th and 18th-century literature, erotic folklore, gender and women’s studies, and queer theory. This passion began in high school and continued through her undergraduate and graduate studies researching the life of John Wilmot, the Second Earl of Rochester, a late 17th-century English nobleman better known for questioning authority while also enjoying the excesses of court life and writing poetry that explored sex, desire, rebellion, and challenged social and gender norms.

“It made sense for me to research sexuality in chanteys because I want to understand why men sing dirty songs. What can chanteys tell us about how sailors negotiate sex and gender, especially in the constrained environment of the sailing ship?” said Floyd.

An epistolary discovery

Like Wilmot, Hugill also wrote and published his work. In the 1950s, Hugill began writing down the songs he remembered. In 1961, he published Shanties From The Seven Seas, a collection of over 400 chanteys now considered by chantey researchers and folklorists as the most comprehensive work on chanteys. Sailor Town was published in 1967, Shanties and Sailors’ Songs in 1969, followed by Songs of the Sea: The Tales and Tunes of Sailors and Sailing Shipsin 1977. Between 1962 and 1994, Hugill released 10 recordings—LPs, CDs, and cassette tapes—of chanteys and chantey history. Three were released posthumously. His Sea Songs CD, released in 1980, is now part of the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings catalogue.  

However, unlike Wilmot, Hugill never penned the erotic versions and only sang them after a performance to an all-male audience. When Gershon Legman learned about Hugill’s repertoire, he wrote to Hugill, urging him to commit the erotic chanteys to paper for his vast collection. Hugill capitulated after years of correspondence with the condition that Legman not publish the manuscript before he could. Both men died in the 1990s without ever publishing it. With Hugill and Legman as the only witnesses of the manuscript’s existence, what was left for the chantey folklore community was rumors and the lore of its existence.

Thanks to funding from a 2016 UMBC Dresher Center for the Humanities summer fellowship, Floyd visited Judith Legman to study these letters alongside the manuscript. “Judith also had the letters shared between Hugill and Legman, which confirmed that this indeed was the sought-after manuscript,” said Floyd. She notes that by the time she left France, she had everything she needed to do a close analysis of the songs. 

“Erotic worlds have fascinated me for a long time. It’s not your run-of-the-mill construction of gender. It’s actually focusing on the part of the human experience that we’re really reticent to talk about, especially in academic work,” said Floyd, who sports a palm-sized tattoo of Wilmot on her upper right arm. “This is the heart of my research—how do we write erotic worlds?”

Floyd is once again on the hunt for rare texts and has completed her second book, The Sons of Neptune. In this study, she is looking at cultural artifacts, from the 18th to the 20th century, that provide insight into why sailors are often thought of as sexy. This project is set to be published through the University of Mississippi Press in May 2026.

Read other books in our Humanities Books series.

By: Bekkah West, Social Work Major & WGEC Intern, Psychology Minor

Growing up, I did not understand the gravity of how symbols of hate could tangibly impact a person; how they justify violence, hostility, stigma, and prejudice. You can attribute that to my ignorance, privilege, the developing brain, social conditioning, the predominantly white, rural, and conservative area I grew up in. Whatever the root may be, what is important is that I do now (and have for some time) grasp how crucial it is to not just spout promises of inclusivity and diversity, but to do your best to prove it in action through various means, like through curating a culturally responsive physical environment or following through on committing to advocating for those who are marginalized—or at the very least, not putting them in harm’s way. I fear we as an institution are failing the LGBTQIA2S+ population we serve and our value of inclusive excellence by allowing private corporations such as Chick-fil-A to establish ground here and profit off our student body who may have to compromise their morals and/or sense of safety for an edible meal. It is not “just about chicken” and it is quite literally that deep; or perhaps only as deep as people feel comfortable exploring themselves, their values, and living them fully. 

To give a little background for those who may not know, along with over a dozen employment discrimination filings between 1988 and 2007, Chick-fil-A has a long and extensive history opposing gay marriage, publicly denying the validity of the LGBTQIA2S+ community, and donating millions to various organizations set on endangering this population by denying them their human rights and legal protections. Such organizations include the American Family Association (AFA), the Family Research Council (FRC), Exodus International, the Salvation Army, and the Marriage & Family Foundation. The company attempts to conceal their heterosexist views and intentions through the veil of conservative, Christian principles. CEO, Dan Cathy incited protests in 2012 nationwide for encouraging the “biblical definition of the family unit.” It was not until around seven to eight years later that the bad press and pressure would fold Cathy, at least in part, with him officially announcing his discontinuation of donations to organizations with “political agendas.” 

In all reality, Dan Cathy just stopped publicly donating to hateful organizations and instead created a private arm of Chick-fil-A, “WinShape”, where he donates to others such as the National Christian Charitable Foundation, who actively opposes the Equality Act, which could amend the current laws to protect LGBTQIA2S+ individuals from discrimination based on how they identify or what their sexual orientation may be. This was only discovered after financial reports were released, and Chick-fil-A and its affiliates appear to continue to dodge any real answers to questioning on these deceitful means of abating public disapproval. Without this as public of an issue as it once was, people may not know that they are still giving their money to a company that has every intention of investing in the devaluing and oppression of the LGBTQIA2S+ community. This is where you, like I once did in my teens, may be thinking to yourself that your individual contribution could not possibly make a difference in the grand scheme of things. This is also where I was, and you very well could be, perpetrating harm unintentionally, in complacency. Just as we see, at times, in our country’s voting process, or in action and lack of consistent progress toward any other pertinent social issue that does not typically impact the majority and/or one directly. 

This shortfall in collective action by our campus community can mean Chick-fil-A’s presence on campus leaves some LGBTQIA2S+ students feeling rejected, unsafe, and/or at the very least, uncomfortable. This company is a national symbol of violent discrimination, conversion therapy, trauma, abandonment, and anti-LGBTQIA2S+ rhetoric. Their existence says to LGBTQIA2S+ community members that you are never fully protected or accepted here, in this world, even with offices set up specifically for your population on the exact same campus. It says, a chicken sandwich holds more weight to this institution than the rights and sentiments of the LGBTQIA2S+ students, staff, faculty, and allies on this campus. How can one feel comfortable expressing their true selves fully, with safety and dignity, on a campus that would proudly set such an establishment up—one that vehemently denies their right to exist and love as they please? To overlook this would go against much of what UMBC’s mission and vision is. 

This discussion cannot be had without the acknowledgement that 1) there is no entirely ethical consumption under capitalism and 2) there are people of low-SES who may not have a choice between eating what is available and choosing something more ethical. It is a privilege to be able to consume ethically nowadays. That said, there are ways of minimizing harm that we should all try our best to accomplish. There are many different on- and off- campus options outside of Chick-fil-A, and many potential opportunities to partner with new companies, local and otherwise, of equal or lesser cost to the institution. Redirecting funds to finding other non-discriminatory options and the university upholding its statements on inclusion and social justice is possible, shown through many other college campus experiences across the country, and even here in Maryland, such as at St. Mary’s College. We should hold our partners to the same standards we hold ourselves and our community. 

There are many ways we can come together as a community to resolve this issue, and I encourage fellow students at UMBC to think about and engage in these ways, if possible. Organizing a campus forum, where students, staff, faculty, dining services, and other administrators can make their voices heard would be valuable. Petitions could be started to collect signatures for the partnership to be discontinued. The Student Government Association could potentially get involved, structuring this in a way that is sound and getting people together in a concentrated effort. Educating each other on the dishonest and harmful background of Chick-fil-A is crucial, as well, even if it can be uncomfortable—your cisgender and heterosexual peers will never know what it is like to have to worry about being and/or feeling victimized in this way. 

I am making a call for action not just as an advocate to the LGBTQIA2S+ community or because it is the right thing to do, but as an identifying member myself. We should follow in former Washington D.C. mayor Vincent C. Gray’s footsteps, letting Chick-fil-A know it is not welcome in our city, dubbing it “hate chicken.” Do not get me wrong, I do not think poorly of the students and staff who work hard every day to serve students food at Chick-fil-A here on campus, as they may just need the income, location, and a schedule that works for them. There are larger powers at play here who are more responsible for creating an inclusive and socially just environment for said people to work within. What I believe was part of my responsibility was to bring attention to this issue, firstly, and now to observe how my community will move with me from here. Similar attitudes have been shared with me on campus in the last year and a half I have been here, and I am grateful to have a platform to bring light to such concerns.

It should come to no surprise that numerary luminary Connie Pierson, AVP in IRADS—UMBC’s primary source for official campus statistics to comply with government reporting requirements and support decision-making—is good at keeping track of things. This Friday, December 19, Pierson ’90, M.A. ’92, celebrated her 300th black and gold Friday. 

Originally conceived as a way to stay connected with fellow Retrievers when the world went virtual in March 2020, Pierson is not one to give up on a good streak. “This is part of my personality. I mean—you got to be a little anal retentive to be a data analyst and to have that mindset,” Pierson says. 

For this lifelong Retriever (and it should be noted that her full first name is Constance), this means donning one of her numerous pieces of black and gold clothing—often with a hair accessory—and posting to social media, along with a hashtag that keeps a record of her record-long series. Sometimes she’ll bank some pictures to use later, like when she attends a UMBC athletics game.

If you scroll through the 4.5+ years of photos on social media, Pierson’s hair grows (it also grays, as she points out), she wears a hat, a headband, different glasses, she gets licked by her pups, she’s outside or in—there are many different variables, but one stays the same. She’s got a mega-watt grin that makes you smile back. “It’s part of my weekly routine. You got to get dressed—you got to put black and gold on,” she says.

Pierson has a reason to boast her black and gold bonefides—she’s spent 31 non-consecutive years at UMBC as both a student and staff member. After leaving the university to earn her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a short stint at the U.S. Census Bureau, Pierson returned to UMBC in 1999 for a job in the Office of Institutional Research, Analysis, and Decision Support where she has been ever since.

Pierson says, personally, her commitment to the streak is a way to keep in touch with the larger UMBC community, especially with her retired colleagues. “I’ve had people tell me, ‘Don’t stop! It’s how I know it’s Friday,’” Pierson laughs. She guesses that she’s only missed six or seven Fridays.

Even when her father passed away, Pierson used a picture of her and him at a Retriever’s game for her regular post in his honor. The digital data decision maker plans to retire in summer 2026, and wants to continue her trend into her next stage of life—as an alumna and retiree—so she will always know when the weekend is about to start.

On December 5, the campus celebrated this year’s Arts+ initiative with five concurrent events featuring UMBC students, faculty, and guest artists. In a sold out concert in Linehan Concert Hall, the UMBC Symphony Orchestra and String Chamber Orchestra, directed by assistant professor Philip Mann, performed Alexander Glazunov’s Violin Concerto, featuring professor Airi Yoshioka, and works by professor Linda Dusman and Rich Sigwald ’03, music.

Down the hall in the Black Box Theatre, UMBC Theatre presented Street Scenes, with text by Langston Hughes and his contemporaries, with music by Kurt Weill, adapted and directed by associate professor Eve Muson, with musical direction by adjunct professor Andrew Hann—also to a sold out house.

The Department of Dance presented the Fall Dance Showcase on the stage of the Proscenium Theatre, featuring striking capstone works by senior students and independent student research.

The PAHB lecture hall was home to a Film and Animation Showcase, featuring works by 18 students and recent graduates of UMBC’s Intermedia and Digital Arts (IMDA) program.

The Center for Art, Design, and Visual Culture presented a collaboration between 2023 MacArthur Fellow María Magdalena Campos-Pons and musician Kamaal Malak, known collectively as KaMag. Their work, entitled Vignettes in 3 Sessions: An Immersive Ancestral Experience, delighted a capacity audience and was followed by the launch of a new public projection by KaMag, I Am Soil — My Tears Are Water, in the Fine Arts Building amphitheatre.

The Arts+ initiative will continue in spring 2026 with performances by Baltimore Dance Project and Orange Grove Dance, a faculty art exhibition, a lecture by visual artist Lynda Barry, a production of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and more than a dozen music concerts by faculty and guest artists. A full schedule will be available in January 2026.