Maggie Lebherz ’08, modern languages and linguistics, was featured in a recent Baltimore Sun article about the evolution of olive oil. The owner of an olive oil shop in her native Frederick, Md., Lebherz shared her thoughts on the way the public has embraced the versatile oil in their cooking.

Read the full article in the Baltimore Sun.

Lebherz also shares her recipe for lemon olive oil cake with wild blueberry icing.

In an interview with UMBC Magazine in Fall 2011, Lebherz explained how she decided to pursue her business, Lebherz Oil & Vinegar Emporium (LOVE), and how she fell in love with olive oil while visiting Salamanca as an exchange student:

“Tasting fresh olive oil added an entirely new dimension to it, and I also learned about the health benefits of olive oil,” she says. “I had never had true balsamic vinegar, and even the best ones on the market here could not compare to what I had in Spain.”

Read the UMBC Magazine story here.

Hi everyone. My name is Sarah Khalife, and I am part of the Academic Affairs Department in SGA. I'm hoping to increase new student participation in Y-Sections. However, I would like to get an understanding of other students' perspectives and experiences with these classes. So I am wondering have you heard of or taken a Y-Section (i.e: ENG101Y)? Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Y-SECTION SURVEY

1. Have you heard of a Y-Section, TRS, or IHU class before? Yes/No

If so, can you describe what you've heard?


2. Have you taken a Y-Section class before? Yes/No

If you did, how would you rate it? (1-Great, 5-Terrible)

Could you please explain your choice?


3. Would you suggest it to a first year student (students in their first year of college or who have transferred from another institution)? Yes/No

As we enter the last phase of the general election most of you are probably thinking “please make it stop” but there is a series of events we think everyone should watch: The Presidential Debates.

There are four debates in all with three featuring the President and Mitt Romney and one for the VP candidates.

The debates can be pivotal events of the campaign. The debates were critical to Reagan beating Carter and Kennedy defeating Nixon. 

So, with so much at stake, you would think both campaigns would be hyping the opening debate as much as possible right? Wrong. There is a kind of twisted math that goes into debate strategy called the Expectations Game.

As there is no declared winner at the end of the each debate,  people just have to make up their own minds. That decision is informed largely by how they thought a candidate was expected to do. If, for example Mitt Romney promises a crushing victory and delivers, well, Touchdown. But if he only kind of beats Obama it is the same as a loss because he failed to live up to expectations. 

Strategically, President Obama has little to gain from the debates; he has been up in the polls pretty consistently riding some post convention momentum. So it’s not surprising to hear his senior campaign advisor, Robert Gibbs say this:

Mitt Romney, I think, has an advantage, because he’s been through 20 of these debates in the primaries over the last year. He even bragged that he was declared the winner in 16 of those debates. So I think, in that sense, having been through this much more recently than President Obama, I think he starts with an advantage.

And a Romney Surrogate say this:

We’re going to be ready — very ready to face the president and we’re going to win,

The Romney campaign is gambling (oops) that by hyping the debate and delivering sparkling victory, the candidate will be able to demonstrate a clear edge over Obama. Anything short of that is a win for the President. 

Thoughts?