The Shriver Center is currently seeking students to serve as SUCCESS Peers for the SUCCESS initiative that will launch this Fall 2012 semester.  The UMBC SUCCESS initiative, formed in partnership with the Maryland Department of Disabilities, will serve young adults with intellectual disabilities in Maryland.  Through participation in courses and campus-based activities here at UMBC, a co-hort of 6-8 SUCCESS students will be connected to employment and prepared for independent living upon completion of the program.  

The Shriver Center is recruiting SUCCESS Peers to work alongside students in the SUCCESS initiative.  The volunteer role is multi-faceted, and SUCCESS Peers will serve as mentors, advisors, and tutors to students with intellectual disabilities who are enrolled in the SUCCESS initiative.  The SUCCESS Peers will lead activities from an established curriculum and will serve an integral role in this pilot year of the program.

Position Description:

The SUCCESS Peer will be expected to:

• Serve as a mentor, tutor, and support to students with intellectual disabilities that are enrolled in the SUCCESS initiative.  
• Be available to serve in this role on Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:00-11:50am.  Students will have the option of participating in additional service-learning activities on Friday afternoons from 1:15pm-4pm.
• Participate in guided activities for the SUCCESS students, based on the service-learning curriculum that has been created.
• Attend the Pre-Service Training before the start of service.
• Enroll in the 096 Practicum, a zero-credit course that is required for all Service-Learning participants through The Shriver Center.  Students will receive a transcript notation of "Service-Learning" that recognizes their participation in weekly, sustained service.
• Complete reflection activities as outlined by 096 Practicum requirements.

Qualifications:

The SUCCESS Peer is expected to:

• Have a desire to serve as a mentor and tutor to students enrolled in SUCCESS.
• Be flexible, patient, and comfortable providing one-one-one support to students with intellectual disabilities. 
• Demonstrate a strong desire to learn from new experiences and have fun building new relationships through service! 

Interested students must complete a Volunteer Application (attached to this post).  

Please email completed application by Friday, July 20th to: Clare Greene, Service-Learning Program Coordinator:  clare6@umbc.edu

Ephesians 4:26-27 (NIV)

26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.

Exodus 34:4-7 (NIV)

4 So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the LORD had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. 5 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

Psalm 103:8-12 (NIV)

The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Reflection:

The Lord is compassionate and slow to anger. He does not treat us as our sins deserve. But the enemy of God is also our enemy. He will do anything to cast a dark shadow on the glory of Christ’s death and resurrection that has saved us from the anger and wrath of God. God’s enemy wants us to taste being treated or treating others as our sins deserve – anything to breed disunity and unforgiveness. There are certainly times to be appropriately angry according to God’s ways, but we are also to not stay angry because it will lead us to a sinful path.

Response:

Let’s be mindful that the enemy wants to divide God’s people, but let’s not allow him any opportunity to gain that foothold. Let’s ask God to extend His mercy toward us during those times when we become angry or feel mistreated, so that the devil will not gain a foothold in our hearts and our anger leads us toward sin. During those moments, may we come before the Lord and ask for His Spirit so our hearts may be changed.

Image taken by Matt York for AP Photography, courtesy of NPR.

The Men and Women in Black are at it again.

They’ve kept the nation on edge waiting for two big politically-charged decisions.

First up: the Arizona tough and daring immigration law.

The Supreme Court delivered their decision for that case on Monday (available here).  The jurists decided to strike down several key provisions of the controversial law.

These included the banning of illegal immigrants from seeking work in public places, made it a state crime to not carry immigration papers at all times, and allowed police to arrest immigrants without a warrant if officers believed they had committed a crime which made them deportable.

Despite these changes, the court did uphold one of the most controversial provisions of the legislation, which required police officers to check the immigration status of people they stop, even for minor traffic offenses.

Reactions to the court decision varied. President Obama has said of the decision,

“I am pleased that the Supreme Court has struck down key provisions of Arizona’s immigration law…At the same time, I remain concerned about the practical impact of the remaining provision”.

Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney said of the decision,

“Today’s decision underscores the need for a President who will lead on this critical issue and work in a bipartisan fashion to pursue a national immigration strategy…I believe that each state has the duty–and the right–to secure our borders and preserve the rule of law, particularly when the federal government has failed to meet its responsibilities”.

However, the Republican governor of Arizona, Jan Brewer called the decision,

“A victory for the rule of law”.

With the Supreme Court set to release another landmark decision Thursday, this time on the “Obamacare” health care law, we here at US Democrazy can only guess at the electoral fallout that will stem from the Supreme Court’s moment in the spotlight.

Here is a fun Mr. Rogers remix to make the week wonderful. A challenge: try to watch this video without feeling like you’re five again.