Come see us in ITE 104 for the Opening Session, and then ITE 229, 231, 233, 237 and 239 to see some amazing presentations by CWIT Scholars & Affiliates! 

Prize Raffle in ITE 104 after the event!

Join us at OGSL for Circle Up for Community: OGSL Conversations—a space for graduate students to pause, reflect, and connect through guided conversation.

We’re using a restorative circle format where you can share your experiences, listen to others, and engage in meaningful dialogue around graduate life, stress, and support. There’s no pressure to speak—participate in whatever way feels right for you.

And yes—food is here now from The Halal Guys.

Come through, grab a plate, and be part of a welcoming, non-judgmental space centered on connection, care, and community.

Join us at OGSL for Circle Up for Community: OGSL Conversations—a space for graduate students to pause, reflect, and connect through guided conversation.

We’re using a restorative circle format where you can share your experiences, listen to others, and engage in meaningful dialogue around graduate life, stress, and support. There’s no pressure to speak—participate in whatever way feels right for you.

And yes—food is here now from The Halal Guys.

Come through, grab a plate, and be part of a welcoming, non-judgmental space centered on connection, care, and community.

Hey Retrievers and Happy Wednesday!

Today's meeting will be on "Under the Hood of `apt`: How Debian Handles Your Software." by me!
This is a comprehensive introduction to packages and package managers as a whole, but I chose to look at Debian to best explain things.

As usual, the meeting will be held in Sherman 103 at 7:15PM

Elections
As stated previously, elections are being held next meeting (Wednesday April 29th)

All positions can be run for. Please fill out the interest form if you would like to run for a position: https://forms.gle/9btFsoSCkbG5SpiM9
If you would like to run, expect to give a short presentation on election day.
Incumbent board members will be running for all positions except Treasurer.

Congratulations to all of our Academic Success Center Peer Educators who are presenting today at URCAD. We are all so incredibly proud of you and are always amazed and inspired by your work in and out of the center.

Please consider attending a session below from our brilliant students!

Celine Anong, Kaila Hoskins, Madeine Rippin, Hallel Dereb | Women in Computing: Understanding Needs, Attitudes, and Obstacles in Recife, Brazil | Carolyn Seaman | Information Systems | RAC 230 | 1:55-2:10 

De'Onna Battle | Role of CD68+ Monocyte-Derived Macrophages in Regulating Adipose Tissue Growth During Diet-Induced Obesity | Diana Elizondo | Biological Sciences |RAC Arena, 10-11am, Poster #17

Shrikant Bhatnagar | UMBC AIAA DBF and SUAS Aircrafts | Joseph Washington | Mechanical Engineering | Special Exhibit, RAC Upper Track, 1st Floor

Michael Duffy and Christian Price-Burnett | Voyages: Chapter Seven | Nigel Semaj | Theatre | Special Exhibit, RAC Upper Track, 1st Floor

Isabel Kendall | Missionary Position: Power and Cultural Mediation Through the Lens of 16th-Century Missionaries and Postwar Sex Workers | Julie Oakes | History | Special Exhibit, RAC Upper Track, 1st Floor

Gabriel Kengni, Jr. | Comparative Study of Genome Packaging Mechanisms in HIV-1 and MoMuLV: Dimerization, Cap Sequestration, and RNA Fate | Michael Summers | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | RAC 050 | 2:35-2:50

Hira Khan | Female Choice for Body Size in Rainbow Darters (Etheostoma Caeruleum) | Tamra Mendelson | Biological Sciences | RAC Arena, 2-3pm, Poster #40

Precious Nwanna | Beyond the Gate: A Guide to Reentry Reform in Urban America | Elaine Macdougall | Political Science, English | Film Presentation, 10-10:20, RAC Track (First Floor) 

Talia Raysor | Art, Faith, and Healing in the Middle Ages | Kimberly Anderson | Visual Arts | RAC 106 | 10:40-10:55

Aya Saeid | Understanding the Arab Patient's Healthcare Experiences in The United States | Robert Anderson | Interdisciplinary Studies | RAC 106 | 2:15-2:30

Amir Walton-Irvin | Analysis of FMRI Data to Characterize Brain Connectivity Across Socioeconomic and Racial Backgrounds | Tulay Adali | Computer Science and Electrical Engineering | RAC 230 | 11:20-11:35 

Please visit the orginal post: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/vpsa/posts/158468

For the full schedule visit: urcad.umbc.edu

Key Takeaways from this Update

• Deadline Extension: The federal digital accessibility mandate is now April 26, 2027.

• No Slowdown: Our project timeline and phase goals remain unchanged.

• Phase 2 Kickoff: We begin reaching out to Phase 2 site admins next week.

• The "90 Score" Myth: A Silktide score of 90 is a great start, but it only covers about 40.8% of total WCAG AA barriers.

The federal mandate deadline

If you haven’t yet heard, the federal government has extended the digital accessibility mandate deadline by 1 year to April 26, 2027.

While this is a relief of the pressure valve for many of us, it does not change the charge of the Sites digital accessibility project team, nor does it change our projected phase timeline. We are doing this work not just because it is required of us, but because it is the right thing to do. We sincerely appreciate all the hard work that has been done and is ongoing with our Phase 1 site admins and websites, and we look forward to beginning to reach out to Phase 2 site admins starting next week!

We also wanted to address an ongoing conversation we’ve been having a little more directly, which is:

“If my site is at a Silktide score of 90, does that mean I’m done?”

The short answer: It means you are making really great progress towards accessibility and probably have no huge accessibility red flags, but likely there is still further work to be done. Silktide can’t check for all of the accessibility barriers that the Sites digital accessibility project team is evaluating for.

The much longer answer….

To help you understand what the Silktide score actually means, here’s a breakdown of what it includes and what it does not include.

The Silktide Accessibility Score includes:

• All automated checks (the first tab of checks when you open the accessibility checks panel)

The Silktide Accessibility Score DOES NOT include:

• All assisted checks (the second tab of checks when you open the accessibility checks panel)

• Most PDFs (each Site has been allocated 1 PDF in Silktide)

• Any embedded or linked google files (docs, sheets, slides, etc), Microsoft files (docs, excel, powerpoint, etc)

• Any embedded or linked media (videos, audio files, etc)

• Any evaluation of the function of your site’s navigation

• Any evaluation of the cognitive or mental load of your website: Can people find what they are looking for easily? How many clicks does it take to find something? Is information organized in a way that is straightforward?

• A full evaluation of screenreader function: Silktide can evaluate most of the technical aspects (Can a screen reader read this to someone?) but it can’t evaluate if it is being done well, or makes logical or cognitive sense.

Per Silktide’s help articles:

• Silktide can only guarantee that your Silktide Accessibility score covers 40.8% of all possible accessibility barriers identified in the WCAG AA guidelines.

• 75% of WCAG AA guidelines are covered in Automated OR Assisted checks, meaning an unknown quantity of those aren’t counted in the Accessibility module score. 

• 24.5% of all WCAG AA guidelines Silktide cannot evaluate at all.

(source)

Silktide is an excellent tool that we are thrilled to be using, it is a huge improvement and a leg-up on the digital accessibility process! Without it, it would take us many more manual hours of repetitive checking for the many fixes, both big and small, that it can tell us are needed. At the end of the day, however, it is just a tool, and the digital accessibility process requires the human touch to do well, and the project team is here to help provide that!

If you are working ahead of the project team and you have gotten your site up to a Silktide Accessibility score of 90, you have done fantastic work, and we are excited to help you polish up the remainder. 

Proactive Steps You Can Take

If you are working ahead of the project team and you have gotten your site up to a Silktide Accessibility score of 90, you have done fantastic work, and we are excited to help you polish up the remainder.

If you want to keep going, here are some options for you:

1. Start working through your Silktide accessibility assisted checks, found in the second tab of the accessibility checks panel

2. Don’t forget about the content review!

3. Review your Site’s media storage and start deleting anything not currently in use

If you have any questions about your score, this process, or anything about digital accessibility, head to one of our upcoming drop-in clinics or put in a Sites RT, we’re happy to help!

Campers! We are so excited to welcome you all to Camp Pride, from April 27th to May 1st!

Hello RC Members! Come join us TODAY Wednesday 04/22/26 in FA215 from 12pm-1pm to practice some vital skills in Bandage Wrapping! Bring a Friend so that you can practice on each other!

Hi Officers!

The Student Orgnization Support Team would like to take inventory of the struggles of Student Org Officers. Please fill out the survey so we can get to know your experience here.

The form closes on Friday, May 1st at 11:59 pm. Submitting to the form will enter you into a raffle for an Owala, Lego Set, or Speaker! There will be three winners.

Any concern contact me at nicolab2@umbc.edu 

Retrievers! Today is our Commuter Pizza Party! We're excited to spend time with our wonderful commuters and enjoy a delicious lunch together! Stop by, 12-2pm, in The Pride Center, UC room 101!