All events will be held in the entreSpace in the old Theater Building, room 139 at Noon. 

Canadian sex workers are concerned.

 Of course, “concerned” may be an understatement when your entire industry may be ruled illegal in December.

The potential law, Bill C-36, aims to protect sex workers and prevent and penalize human trafficking.  Both of these are honorable causes for policy to focus on. Because of the nature of the nature of their work, sex-workers face high amounts of violence. Many young women, men, and trans-workers are forced into sexual slavery everyday…

Yes, this is a problem. 

But maybe the problem with the bill is that Minister McKay disregarded five years worth of research. And accidentally failed to note that the majority of sex-workers are not victims and, indeed, are perfectly happy in their work.  Oops. 

In fact, the new bill, which would prevent prostitutes from advertising and criminalize those caught in the act, in the process may further marginalizing workers and increasing violence and secrecy.

How could they overlook this?  Well, a good place to start would be the complete lack of real-life, non-imaginary, and knowledgable sex-workers at the Bill’s roundtable. 

Naturally, the best ways to prevent human trafficking and violence is very much up to debate. But, what we at USDemocrazy can agree on is that the continued  shaming, marginalization, and lack of representation that sex-workers face has to stop.

We expect this sort of behavior from twitter, who seems to think porn stars warrant their own category when it comes to domestic abuse (Highlight? “No woman deserves that, not even a porn star”)…but not inviting sex-workers to participate in a bill that mainly effects them? That’s like not inviting a friend to their own birthday party. 

Hope you like neighbors, because it looks like we’re getting a few billion more.

A team of researchers from the United Nations Population Division and several universities have published an eye popping study. It predicts that, rather than leveling off around 2050, world human population will continue to grow into the twenty-second century. 

The change in this estimate is mostly due to unexpected population growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

In the researcher’s model, a slight uptick in birthrates leads to higher number of reproducing adults in the next generation, producing a cascading effect across generations. Small changes in conditions produce big ones in projections. 

By the end of the century, this planet will probably be shared by somewhere between 9.6 and 12.3 billion of our species, up from previous estimates of a measly ten billion.

Uh oh? 

Maybe. 

First, the study produced projections, not certainties. 

Second, while overpopulation is a problem, overconsumption is a worse one. 

Third, science has not reached a consensus on the consequences of population growth either socially or environmentally. 

Just ask UMBC professor Earle Ellis, who made waves with his essay entitled Overpopulation is Not the Problem and inspired environmental activist Alon Tal to strike back with Overpopulation is Still the Problem.

Whatever the problem is, we have a choice: avoid it, prepare for it, or both? 

Make up your mind. The clock is ticking. 

UMBC's Asian Studies Program and the Asian Studies Council of Majors has recently created a food pantry for low-income Asian senior citizens living in the Longwood Apartment in Columbia, MD. 

This year they are sponsoring 90 residents and they need your help! Look for the red collection boxes in the Administration building, the Commons, the RAC, the Shriver Center, AOK Library, and the University Center. 

Suggested items include: 

• Asian noodles 

• seaweed

• canned tuna

• span

• canned mackerel

• peanuts

• soybeans

• canned fruit

• canned vegetables

• any non-perishables

For more information please contact Julie Rosenthal at x52094 or julier@umbc.edu.

In a recent story the Washington Post wrote about what animals, specifically octopus, cuttlefish, and squid otherwise known as cephalopods can teach us about camouflage.

The ability of humans to camouflage themselves is very important in military applications.

UMBC biology professor, Tom Cronin, is quoted as saying:

Military applications will come first, predicts Thomas Cronin, a biologist at the University of Maryland Baltimore County who is part of the research community with octopus-to-gadget ambitions. “When a machine or person moves to a different environment or background, these camouflage systems could automatically reduce the level of detectability to any imaging system,” he says.