As graduate-forward Joe Sherburne stood on the court at the UMBC Event Center in what was perhaps his final game at his home stadium, he thought to himself, “this cannot be the way my career ends,” which he also recalled after the game. This is because Sherburne found himself in the midst of what could have been one of the worst collapses in playoff basketball history. The Retrievers had their backs against the wall, and they were staring the end of their season directly in the eyes.

It was a much different feeling than it had been earlier. The Event Center was previously rocking, as fans barraged the Hartford Hawks with jeers. “You have five points,” melodically reigned down from the stands as Hartford was being dominated in every facet of the game. This was during an impressive 11-0 UMBC run, their second large run in only eight minutes.

UMBC began the game on an 8-0 run before Hartford scored on consecutive possessions to bring the score of the game to 8-5. It was then that UMBC began their next run. It looked as if the Hawks were lost on the court, as the Retrievers continued to stifle them on offense, and pick apart their defense. Eventually, UMBC would extend the lead to 20 with 3:37 left in the half, and they would end the half with a 37-18 lead.

Early on in the second half, things did not seem to get any better for the Hawks. They shot an air-ball on their first possession, and UMBC kept running up the score. Freshman-guard RJ Eytle-Rock subsequently hit a three-point shot, junior-center Sam Schwietz made a layup and junior-guard KJ Jackson made a three-pointer to give UMBC their largest lead of the game at 26 points.

At that moment, fans seemed certain that the Retrievers were destined to play in the America East title game. But, those aspirations were put on hold. After a timeout, Hartford began to speed up their offense, beginning to play with a feverish pace. They also switched their defense to zone coverage, which began to stifle the Retrievers’ offense. They would have eight empty possessions in a row, giving Hartford a 10-0 run over roughly 7 minutes.

Overall, Hartford would outscore UMBC 35-13 over 13 minutes, which would lead to Hartford shooting free-throws with 16 seconds left in regulation. They would drain both free-throws and take a late 68-67 lead. With 3 seconds left in the game, Jackson went to the basket for a layup that would’ve given the Retrievers the victory, but he was fouled in the process. He went 1/2 from the line, sending the game to overtime with the score at 68-68.

The first overtime of the game went by like a flash. Players from both teams were visibly tired, but neither team was willing to budge. They traded baskets up until the very end of the period when Hartford took the lead with 15 seconds to go. Sophomore-forward Brandon Horvath would drive to the basket with 8 seconds remaining, and draw a foul on his way. He made both free-throws, and Hartford failed to score at the other end, sending the game into a second overtime at 76-76.

The second overtime was much more eventful than the first. UMBC started the period by making two straight layups to give them a 4 point lead. Hartford would follow up by making two free-throws before UMBC brought their lead back to 4 points with another layup. Things then got interesting, as Hartford hit a three-point shot to cut their deficit to just 1 point. After a Horvath layup, Hartford would hit another three-point shot to tie the game with 1:54 to go in the game. After trading free-throws, the teams would be tied 85-85 with 1:13 left.

After two free-throws from Horvath, UMBC would finally be able to put the game on ice. As Hartford attempted to tie the score once again, Jackson would leap up in the air, swatting away a shot attempt by a much taller Hartford player. He would then drive to the basket, where he would be fouled, making the subsequent free-throws. After two Eytle-Rock free-throws, the game would come to an end as Hartford failed to convert in their final possession of the game, and the team would rush out onto the court to celebrate, as they would be moving on to the America East Championship.

A total of five UMBC players would score double-figures on the evening, led by Jackson and Eytle-Rock. Jackson scored 21 points, with 8 rebounds. Eytle-Rock scored a career-high 16 points, with 8 rebounds. Sherburne notched a double-double with 12 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists. Horvath and junior-forward Arkel Lamar also scored double-figures.

The Retrievers will play next on Saturday, March 16 as they take on the Vermont Catamounts in a rematch of last year’s championship. The game will be televised at 11 a.m. on ESPN 2.

You didn’t believe me.

You said I was okay,

No,

You said I was “healthy.”

You said my heart was just falling asleep

Hearts aren’t meant to fall asleep—

They are meant to coo at the sound of a lover’s voice,

to fight irrational battles against the mind,

to pound on their cages with an undying need for attention,

to beat.

You said I just needed to slow down and catch my breath

Breath is not meant to escape—-

It is meant to enliven the lungs with a minty, cooling sensation,

to sweet talk the air and lure it inside,

to keep pace and ease the running thoughts,

to follow a pattern. Consistently.

The day I learned that you were wrong,

I met Relief.

My heart still palpitates,

and my breath still escapes

My vision still imagines worlds foreign to Reality,

and my body still worships Panic’s constant attacks

My mind still chases the circles my thoughts have shaped themselves into,

and my hands still shiver at any false prediction of Fear’s arrival

But,

I met Relief,

And he and I have become lifelong friends.

~Blue Roses

This is an installment in The Retriever’s new creative writing section.  If you would like to submit your creative writing or art for possible publication in The Retriever, please contact pawsforartsubmissions@gmail.com.

Every experienced moviegoer cheers with excitement as the tradition of staying for Marvels’ post credit scenes comes to fruition. After the bit of fun is done, the screen cuts to black with one sentence appearing front and center: “Captain Marvel will Return in Avengers: Endgame,” as if we did not already anticipate it.

Avid fans and casual moviegoers are still waiting for the conclusion to the ten-plus year culmination of the battle between the Avengers and Thanos in “Avengers: Endgame,” scheduled to premiere later this year. To satiate the thirst for superhero action, Marvel Studios released “Captain Marvel,” debuting the powerhouse Captain Marvel aka Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) who is set to continue into Endgame and help in the awaited fight.

Captain Marvel’s solo origin adventure takes the opportunity to tell a story that pushes heavy lore and story building into the already established Marvel Cinematic Universe. Rather than telling the story from the present’s perspective and onward, “Captain Marvel” takes the plot into the 1990s and works backwards.

Set nearly twenty years before the first Marvel movie, the film uses the opportunity to establish some characters and plot devices that are relevant throughout the MCU. Costar Samuel L. Jackson reprises his role as Nick Fury, this time as a CGI-deaged agent in the 90s. All earlier instances of Nick Fury in the MCU shroud the character in heavy mystery and secrecy. During rough times in “Captain America: Winter Soldier,” Fury exclaims, “Last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye.” With this early incarnation of Fury, we finally get to learn how he loses that eye. Goose the cat, later revealed to be an alien, scratches his eye leading to the famous eye-patch look.

Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) is another character we get to see in his earlier form. Coulson, Fury’s number 2, was part of the early Avengers Initiative which led to the formation of the Avengers. His heroism and bravery in stopping Loki in 2012’s “Avengers” led to his death and exit from the MCU. Having Coulson appear in the past deepens his importance to the original Avengers’ run and shows loyalty to the fans who have kept up with the MCU franchise.

The coveted MCU macguffin, the Tesseract, makes its 9th cinematic appearance in “Captain Marvel,” filling in gaps of time between its appearance in the 1940s during “Captain America: The First Avenger” and the modern timeline of 2012’s “Avengers.” The Tesseract’s involvement in multiple past films forms strong bonds that build the foundation of the entire MCU.

As a film, “Captain Marvel” takes plenty of shortcuts to service its eventual positive conclusion. The action at times suffers from issues common to Marvel’s films such as fighting a horde of faceless enemies and convenient attacks that completely wipe out opposition. Danvers herself also undergoes little development as the film progresses. Through the plot, we learn with Danvers about her true identity and origin. However, there is not much she stands for on her own. The heart and soul of the film rely on other characters like Danvers’ best friend, Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch), who exude courage and passion.

Just as “Black Panther” was praised for its spotlight on African American empowerment, “Captain Marvel” intends to deliver a message that encourages female empowerment. The attempt is, however, poorly constructed and overall meaningless to the entire narrative. In Danvers’ flashbacks to her life on Earth, she experiences memories of sexism against her both as a child and an airman.

The film’s true antagonists, the Kree Starforce led by Yon-Rogg (Jude Law), try to convince Danvers that their plans to assimilate her into the Kree warriors would empower her. Their actions to empower her have no connection to her gender which has no connection to how or why she gained powers at all.

Regardless of its shortcomings, the film plays ball with all other Marvel Cinematic Universe films. It does a good job of introducing the complicated character of Carol Danvers while packing in loads of lore building to further cement the foundations of the MCU.

UMBC has enjoyed a prosperous relationship with the Fulbright Program since first participating in 1970. Since then, 70 UMBC students have been selected to be Fulbright Scholars and have been sent around the world to pursue graduate studies, conduct research and other projects. Gabi Salas, a senior global studies major, hopes to add to that number after being named a semifinalist for the award in January.

Salas’ research focuses on the impacts of stratified reproduction, which she defines as the “imbalances and inequality in the ability of different races, ethnicities, nationalities, classes and genders to reproduce and nurture their children.” She focuses specifically on the experiences of Latinx women by researching the type of contraception historically made available to them and the lasting impacts today.

Salas began her research studying the experiences of Mexican-American and Puerto Rican women with sterilization in the 1960s and 70s and compared her historical analysis with the experiences that women of these demographics have presently with contraception. She was able to begin her research by applying to an opportunity called The Leadership Alliance through Columbia University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, which she learned about from her advisor. Through this program, she completed her own research project, worked with a graduate faculty mentor, attended a GRE prep course and a graduate school workshop class and received a stipend for her time. Upon returning to UMBC, Salas approached a faculty member on campus to mentor her through an independent study. She presented her research at URCAD and at a conference in Utah, which undoubtedly bolstered her application to the Fulbright Program.

If selected as a Fulbright Scholar, she hopes to further her research in Puebla, Mexico. Salas says that in Mexico, she will be able to “ask different women of Puebla, Mexico what their experiences were in accessing contraception.” Salas hopes that this will help her determine whether or not there is a similar pattern of stratified reproduction among the women in Puebla and the Latinx women in the United States.

When asked what advice she would give to UMBC students hoping to do research in the humanities and social sciences, she says, “my advice would be to ask questions! Ask for more information from your professors, faculty, advisors and friends.” Professors are often looking for or know a colleague who is seeking help with their research, and there are lots of summer programs available for those with busy semester schedules. Salas’s initiative to seek out new opportunities and her dedication to her research has presented her with countless unique opportunities, and will hopefully send her to Mexico to continue her research.

Over the past two years, there have been increasing concerns over Baltimore County law enforcement’s use of sexual assault confidential release authorizations, which prompt survivors of sexual assault to waive their rights to an investigation. Here is how one UMBC student is making waves in the community to solve this problem.

Many UMBC students remember the controversy surrounding sexual assault claims on campus last spring. Recently, more light has been shed on this problem when Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski, Jr. called out Baltimore County law enforcement for its excessive use of sexual assault confidential release authorizations.

This is a practice in which law enforcement prompts sexual assault victims to waive their rights to an investigation, usually by stressing the bureaucracy, paperwork and general nuisance victims might incur by going through with an investigation. To a shaken survivor of sexual assault, being prompted to waive investigation rights by a law enforcement officer may seem like the best option.

Alarmed by the excessive use of this practice, Olszewski asked the Baltimore County police department to discontinue the use of sexual assault confidential release authorizations in February, citing a report that states members of the police department engaged in this practice over 150 times in the last two years alone. Olszewski then created a skilled task force to further investigate the situation, including UMBC student and president of We Believe You, Nadia BenAissa, gender and women’s studies, ’20.

After a close friend was a victim of sexual assault and BenAissa was the key witness, the two realized the lack of available resources for survivors of sexual assault on campus and became two of the founding members of We Believe You. Now the president, BenAissa calls her organization the “survivor advocate” of campus as an organization that will support and defend victims of sexual assault. She states that through her presidency of We Believe You, she has “met with many victims who have gone through the police,” adding, “There’s a definite issue with how information is passed from our police to Baltimore County police and how the Baltimore County police choose to handle that information.”

The task force is designed to investigate the current law enforcement practices used regarding sexual assault reports. It is projected to convene over the next six months to examine current investigation policies and review training for law enforcement officials involved in the response to sexual assault allegations. The task force will also ensure proper tracking is in place for these cases, assess available resources for investigations, and research and recommend new practices. BenAissa hopes that by the end of the six months, the task force will have “suggested best practices and research-based solutions to how [law enforcement] handles sexual assault.”

BenAissa serves as the student voice on the task force, but she is clear that she is representing the voices of college students in Baltimore County as a whole. She explains, “It made sense for a UMBC student to be involved … to talk about student needs that Baltimore County police are meeting and current attitudes UMBC students have on police.”

Other members of the task force include a program manager with the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Commander for the Baltimore City Police Department’s Special Victims Unit, a program manager at GBMC for the sexual assault forensic exam, and the CEO of TurnAround, Baltimore County’s rape crisis center. BenAissa says the members were chosen to “get all the key players in Baltimore County that work on this issue involved,” which will hopefully ensure citizens are well-represented.

BenAissa is hopeful that, by the end of the six months, progress can be tracked by an increase in reported cases of sexual assault, proving “faith can be restored in police and their ability to actually go after people who commit these crimes.” Her ambition and dedication as a student advocate for survivors of sexual assault aims to provide hope that this issue will begin to see more coverage. If all goes according to plan, her work in the task force will provide “stepping stones for people to improve on because there’s always room for growth and always work to be done.”

For the past month, Jody Shipper and Cherie Scricca, a team of sexual misconduct consultants hired as a part of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s Retriever Courage initiative, have been interviewing students, faculty and staff to gain a better understanding of the climate on campus as it relates to Title IX processes and procedures. In the coming months, they will be using the information obtained to “provide a written report of the findings and recommendations for improvements,” according to the Solicitation for Title IX Consultant Services sent out by the university on Oct. 16, 2018.

As noted in a previous article, Shipper and Scricca are part of a larger firm called Grand River Solutions, founded in Nov. 2018, which aims, according to its website, “to achieve a level of compliance and reporting consistent with the spirit of the law while also gaining significant measurable improvements in efficiency and process.” Prior to joining GRS, they owned and operated the non-profit Project IX, which had the same goal. They also both have experience working at universities in Title IX and admissions departments. Shipper cites this as one of the reasons that they are equipped to provide suggestions to institutions; they have experienced Title IX cases from an administrative perspective.

In an effort to learn more about the university, Shipper and Scricca have held two public information gathering sessions in which they have invited input about how to best address sexual misconduct on the UMBC campus. They have also conducted private meetings with student organization representatives and have invited anyone unwilling or unable to participate in these sessions to reach out via a Google form. As of March 1, when The Retriever spoke with Shipper and Scricca, no one had used the form. Along with conducting these interviews, their research also involves reading “all documents that we can get our hands on related to the process or related to education and training,” according to Scricca.

They are looking to use these interviews to gain a full understanding of what solutions will be most effective at UMBC. They expressed their tendency to “craft something that’s doable,” offering university-specific and nuanced suggestions. “What works for one school might not work for another,” Shipper explained. “An itty bitty school in the middle of nowhere? Their needs are different.” In hearing the perspectives of “everything from the police to the president,” as Scricca summarized, the team hopes to get as close to a full picture as possible of UMBC’s campus culture.

Shipper and Scricca expressed a particular interest in investigating how information regarding sexual misconduct is communicated between administrators and students. They noted that, while information may be readily available on UMBC’s websites, that information has no value if no one knows where or how to find it. At this point in the process, Shipper and Scricca were not able to make any immediate suggestions to remedy this situation.

Shipper and Scricca’s work is focused solely on issues directly related to Title IX. Therefore, despite campus-wide concerns regarding the UMBC police department, they will not be working with campus police, except on matters pertaining to Title IX investigations. Additionally, Shipper and Scricca will not be advising UMBC on its rulings in any prior Title IX cases; rather, they will be focusing on conducting “a comprehensive review and assessment of current University processes, policies, procedures and practices regarding prevention efforts and response to campus sexual misconduct and interpersonal/relationship violence,” according to the Solicitation for Title IX Consultant Services.

After their research is complete, Shipper and Scricca will submit a final report to the university detailing their findings and suggestions. UMBC is paying Shipper and Scricca $55,000 for their consultancy work.

Julia Arbutus contributed to this article.