Connecting Community Partners Service Fair

by Janet McGlynn

UMBC’s giving office is very happy to welcome new Phonathon Coordinator Logan Wern. In this position, Logan manages the nearly 40 UMBC students whose job it is to chat up alumni and parents throughout the year. It’s an important job, but also fun, with Logan serving as a sort of motivator-in-chief for this lively office.

We sat down with Logan, who earned her master’s degree in higher education administration and student personnel from Kent State University, for a few minutes to learn a little more about who she is and what she brings to the table…er, telephone.

Q: Tell us a little bit more about what your job entails.

A: Well, what I really do is manage the Call Center where students call alumni or parents of current or past students and ask them to give to the Annual Fund or more specific departmental funds. I’m really excited to be here…I like it already!

Q: Part of your job involves getting to know UMBC really well so you can help your students as they talk with alums and parents. So, what’s the coolest thing you’ve learned so far about UMBC?

A: Wow, a lot of things. But, I think the thing that most impresses me is what an innovative campus UMBC is. And that’s one of the things that attracted me to accepting this position, because it’s such a young campus — which to some could be seen as not having the traditions and structure — but it’s really more of a good thing when you’re trying to grow programs like the Annual Fund. I think it’s a really exciting place to be because it is so new and young.

Q: How would you describe the atmosphere of the Call Center when it’s filled with students chatting merrily on the phones?

A: Well, on a busy night it’s a really exciting place to be with all the students on the phones talking to alumni or talking to parents and making connections. And since I’ve been here, I’ve started a game with a sort of meter to see how much money we raise for UMBC each night, and it’s kind of based on the theme of “making it rain,” so it’s like “April Showers Bring May Flowers.”  I have a little display on my wall and every time a student gets a pledge they fill out a rain drop and stick it on the wall. So, it’s starting to pour because the students are doing really well. The students kind of made fun of me for it at first, but I think it’s working!

Yesterday brought us the birthday of the postage stamp book. Created in 1900, these books came with 12 cent, 24 cent, and 48 cent stamps.

Although the mail is used less and less today with the popularity of email and iMessage, people are still fond of sending each other postcards, Christmas greetings, and ricin.

Yes, ricin. On Tuesday, an envelope containing the toxic poison was intercepted at the congressional mail center. It was addressed to Senator Roger Wicker (R) of Mississippi, a “low-profile senator in his second term.”

What exactly is ricin? It’s a protein found in castor oil plants and has surfaced occasionally as a dangerous chemical for the past forty years. According to CNN,

“as little as 500 micrograms — an amount the size of the head of a pin — can kill an adult.” 

Lets take a look at some past incidences involving ricin:

• 1978– Bulgarian dissident and writer Georgi Markov is shot and killed with a ricin pellet that came from an umbrella gun.
• 1981– Exposed CIA double agent and KGB infiltrator Boris Korczak is shot in the kidney with a ricin pellet at a Giant Food Store. However, the pellet was flushed out because his body thought it was a kidney stone.
• 1997– James Dalton Bell, an electronics engineer, was in communications with a friend about obtaining castor beans to extract for ricin. He had also acquired the addresses of nearly 100 federal government employees and confidential voter records.
• 2002– Kenneth Olsen tried to explain to FBI officials that he kept ricin in his office cubicle for research on a Boy Scout project.
• 2003– Six men from Algeria were arrested after London police claimed they were plotting a ricin attack on the subway. Only one was convicted… but that was for stabbing an officer during the raid. The following month, Colin Powell spoke of the incident during his speech to the UN to justify the invasion of Iraq. 
• 2009– A manager of a dozen gay bars in Seattle received a letter from a gay man himself, threatening to put ricin into the drinks of five customers at each bar. However, nothing ever happened.
• 2011– Four elderly men from Georgia who formed an anti-government militia inspired by Mike Vanderboeghe’s novel, Absolved, were found guilty for planning an attack on Washington with ricin explosives. Their secret meetings were held in a local Waffle House.

No one is sure yet what prompted the poison plot, or who exactly did it. According to “authorities,” an individual who “writes lots of letters to lawmakers” is the best suspect, but the motive is up in the air. Why a small town Senator from a small, rural state?

As the latest USDemocrazy blog points out, some might hear of this “terrorist attack” and cry “Muslim.” It’s also interesting that this incident has already been labeled as a terrorist attack by the media.

But one news website, Deep South Progressive, raises an interesting question:

This afternoon, we learned that Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker (R) was sent an enveloped that contained ricin, a poison that could have been fatal. For the past week, Sen. Wicker has been on the receiving end of a relentless amount of hatred from conservatives and gun nuts across the nation, who have accused him of treason and tyranny for voting to allow debate on common sense background checks, and who have vowed to ensure payback. Do you think the letter had anything to do with his vote to allow debate on gun safety?

It’s true –Sen. Wicker was one of the 16 Republicans to end the gun control filibuster, stating

[I am] in accord with the NRA’s position. I have never voted for gun control and will not do so. This begins a debate to put the Senate on record about a basic constitutional freedom. [Allowing debate would give lawmakers] the opportunity to vote on measures to strengthen gun rights, such as an amendment to protect veterans from unfair restrictions when trying to purchase a firearm. [I] will filibuster passage of a final bill if it contains gun restrictions or a weapons ban.

Does it seem like there is a connection between Sen. Wicker’s political stance and the letter with ricin? Has the gun control turned into a  fight leading to murder plots? Is this too far?