Image By: Toshihiro Gamo

When has dieting gone too far?

After reading “The Heavy: A Mother, A Daughter, A Diet,” many would say it’s when a mother puts a 7-year-old child on strict dieting regimen.

The story of Dara-Lynn Weiss and her daughter, Bea, first came to light last spring after Weiss wrote an article for Vogue magazine. According to Weiss, the issues with her daughter’s health started when Bea was only 3. By the time she turned 6, Bea was just over four feet tall and already weighed 93 pounds—making her clinically obese.

Scared for her daughter’s future, Weiss went into a dietary lock-down.

Special menus, diet sodas and 100 calorie snacks were in. For the young Bea, her new strict food regimen extended to her friends’ houses.

Momma Weiss explained in Vogue the reasons behind her decision to restrict Bea’s calories. Weiss quickly came under fire by individuals who believed she was instilling the wrong kinds of values in her daughter and damaging Bea’s self-esteem. In a recent interview, Weiss recognized the controversial nature of her choices:

“I know I look like the bad guy. There are lots of times I looked like a crazy, overbearing mom and I felt like a crazy overbearing mom. But it was the only way I found to help my daughter.”

Weiss’s book, which was released earlier this week, is meant to be an extended version of the Vogue article. Although many people continue to disagree with her choices regarding her daughter’s diet, others in the same situation with their children admire Weiss for prioritizing her daughter’s health in the face of criticism.

Is it ever too early to start dieting? Let us know in the comments below.

Applications are now being accepted for the Information Assurance Scholarship Program (IASP) and the Federal Cyber Service: Scholarship for Service (SFS). US citizens capable of receiving security clearances are eligible.  The deadline for both programs in February 8, 2013.

These scholarships require the recipient to work for the government following graduation. The awards include full tuition, stipend ($30k/year for PhD students, $25k/year for MS/MPS students, and $20k/year for BS students), and more.

(1) Information Assurance Scholarship Program (IASP)

The Information Assurance Scholarship Program is a yearly awarded Department of Defense sponsored scholarship/fellowship program to promote the education, recruitment, and retention of rising junior and senior undergraduate, MS, MPS, or PhD student status in CMSC, CYBR, or related field at UMBC (including IS, Math, EE, CE, physics, public policy).

(2) Federal Cyber Service: Scholarship for Service (SFS)

The Scholarship for Service is a yearly awarded National Science Foundation sponsored scholarship program to promote the education, recruitment, and retention of rising junior and senior undergraduates and graduate students in cybersecurity-related studies. See https://www.sfs.opm.gov/ for more SFS details. (We have 2 CYBR MPS, 1 BS in CS, and 1 PhD in CS, students presently in this program.)

Completed applications for both programs are due by 12:00 (noon) on February 8, 2013.  The same application form is used for each program.  This deadline is strict.

More information, points of contact, and application instructions for both programs can be found at http://www.cisa.umbc.edu/scholarships.php.

The UMBC Center for Information and Assurance (CISA) was created in 2001 as the central point of contact at UMBC for Information Assurance (IA) including  research, teaching, and best practices.  It is because of CISA that UMBC has been recognized as a national center of academic excellence in IA education and research (CAE/CAEr).

Charm City Cakes, owned by UMBC alumnus Jeffrey “Duff” Goldman ’97, history, will bake the official cake for President Obama’s Monday inauguration, the Baltimore Sun reports.
Read the story here.
According to the story, the bakery will create a six-tier cake, with each layer representing a branch of the United States military. Tier flavors will include red velvet, lemon poppy seed, pineapple coconut, and pumpkin chocolate chip.
Goldman, former star of the Food Network’s “Ace of Cakes,” was named an Outstanding Alumnus of the Year by UMBC in 2009.
Read a UMBC Magazine article about Duff’s rise to fame.