Image courtesy of The Daily Beast. Remember the victims not the perpetrator.

I believe faith will save us. To lose this faith is to let the darkness win.

This was said by Pastor Kathleen Adams-Sheperd of Trinity Episcopal Church in Newtown in a service this past Sunday. Many services have been held for the townspeople as they grapple with tremendous trauma and grief.

Perhaps due to it’s proximity, the church has become a place of refuge during this time for all those who grieve, regardless of religious affiliation. In tragedy, differences seem less significant.

The act of these communitarian services says much about the human psyche in this century where religious lines create tensions around political correctness. In desperate and difficult times, particularly those fueled by injustice, cruelty, and inhumanity, we want to feel united to avoid otherwise going crazy. We think, “How could this happen? How is this real? Am I alone here?”

Today’s spiritual New Age leaders talk of a time of secular spirituality. Some religious groups find this idea to be sacrilege.

According to a PEW research report, Americans are truly divided and some are unsure of their beliefs

The unaffiliated also are more skeptical than others in the general public of the idea that churches and other houses of worship contribute to solving important social problems, and the notion that religious organizations protect and strengthen morality in society.

Yet, possibly due to a confusing time regarding religious choices, proximity, tradition, uncertainty, community, or desperation, we still often flock to places of worship when tragedy strikes.

Even some of our greatest social justice leaders were religious and, even more surprisingly, followed religious leaders outside their affiliation, like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who connected with Ghandi’s teachings. Dr. King spoke similarly to Pastor Adams-Sheperd when he said:

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

So what do you make of these places of worship? Are we heading into a new age of enlightenment or will religion always been an issue?

Without forgetting the people of Newtown and if you are wanting to lend kind words or encouragement, here is the mailing address of Sandy Hook Elementary. They could really use continued comfort over the next several months.

Sandy Hook Elementary School
12 Dickenson Drive
Sandy Hook, CT 06482

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.

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).

The Heidelberg Laureate Forum is an extraordinary opportunity for a group of students and young researchers to interact with some of the greatest minds of Mathematics and Computer Science for a week of scientific exchange and inspiration.

It will bring together winners of the Abel Prize, the ACM Turing Award, and the Fields Medal with young scientists from Computer Science and Mathematics. The first forum will be held over a week in September 2013 in Heidelberg and will consist of presentations, workshops, panel discussions and social events, all of them involving both the laureates and the young scientists. Some travel support is available.

The Forum will invite undergraduate students, PhD candidates, and young researchers at the postdoctoral level. Apply online by submitting a statement of purpose, CV, and the names of 1-3 people who can write recommendations. PhD candidates and postdocs should provide more information on their research. The deadline for applications is February 15, 2013 but may close early if the maximum number of applications that can be reviewed is reached.

Image By: Steve Johnson

By now, there are few people who haven’t heard about the Connecticut elementary school shooting that occurred early this morning.

The event has sent waves of emotions throughout the Newtown community and the entire nation, especially with the Aurora movie theater shooting having occurred only a few months ago.

As new information continues to come in we find ourselves glued to our TVs and Internet browsers, asking how something like this could possibly happen. But maybe the real question is whether news outlets should devote such heavy coverage in the aftermath of these types of events.

After the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, film critic Roger Ebert said that school shootings are most likely influenced by past media coverage of similar incidents:

When an unbalanced kid walks into a school and starts shooting, it becomes a major media event. Cable news drops ordinary programming and goes around the clock with it. The message is clear to other disturbed kids around the country: If I shoot up my school, I can be famous. The TV will talk about nothing else but me. Experts will try to figure out what I was thinking. The kids and teachers at school will see they shouldn’t have messed with me. I’ll go out in blaze of glory.

Without media coverage, we would have no way of receiving updated information about these events. But do news outlets end up glorifying killers in their efforts to explain them?

Let us know in the comments below.

David Clurman, Assistant Director of Residential Education, was awarded the James Hurd Distinguished Service Award by the Mid-Atlantic Association of College and University Housing Officers (MACUHO).

David’s active involvement in MACUHO began in 1998 and since that time he served 10 years on the executive board, including as president in 2009 and as the host co-chair of this year’s conference that was held in downtown Baltimore.

Timothy J. Brennan, professor of public policy, has been named 2013 recipient of Public Utility Research Center (PURC) Distinguished Service Award for his contributions to the understanding of regulatory economics and finance. The Award recognizes the cumulative impact of an individual’s research and policy analyses on both the academic community and regulatory policymakers. Brennan will receive the award as he speaks on utility regulation at the Annual PURC Conference on February 13, 2013 at the University of Florida.

In addition, Brennan will co-direct the spring 2013 Center for Research in Regulated Industries’ Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics in Dublin, Ireland. Topics covered will include issues facing the new generation of postal companies, such as strategy, competition, innovation, marketing, universal service, cost analysis, demand analysis and new services.

An article in today’s Gazette on what the State of Maryland can expect in Governor Martin O’ Malley’s final two years in office, prior to a possible presidential run, quotes UMBC’s Roy T. Meyers, professor of political science.

Meyers suggests that if O’Malley is interested in the presidency, he will need to commit more of his time to raising money and traveling. However, Meyers also suggests that one state issue he won’t be able to ignore in his final term as governor is overhauling Maryland’s transportation funding program, saying, “He can’t let that fester.”