Marvel Cinematic Universe’s newest member, the Black Panther, has traveled a long road from Wakanda to U.S. theaters. Black Panther was one of the most anticipated films of the year, and rightfully so. The film exceeded all expectations, and all expectations were outrageously high.
T’Challa, now king of Wakanda, was introduced in Captain America: Civil War in 2016. His cat-like reflexes and emotion-driven aggression left the audience curious of T’Challa’s personal story. In Civil War, T’Challa was a very powerful addition to Tony Stark’s campaign. However, in Black Panther, we get to see just how powerful the king is when fighting for his own cause.
Wakanda is a disguised country. The rest of the world sees it as a helpless, poverty-stricken third world country when in reality, it invents and houses the world’s most advanced technology. The belief behind this scheme is that exposing such technology to average humanity could lead to unjust violence and unnecessary wars.
Wakanda’s disguise parallels many minorities in the world. The majority of society looks at minority groups as uneducated, unworthy, behind the modern times and unestablished when in reality, each group possesses a distinguished intelligence and unaddressed beauty.
Black Panther showcased these oppressed groups and proved their value in an engaging, entertaining way. The film had many statements that proved how valuable each individual is to the overall community, and ultimately, the world.
The women in this film are phenomenal. They are each warriors of their own craft. Okoye, for example, is Wakanda’s greatest fighter and general. Shuri, T’Challa’s teenage sister, is head of the entire country’s technology and science discoveries. Nakia chooses to use her presence to help and fight for her people. Each woman presents qualities of independence, wisdom and strength. They are not supporting characters, which is unfortunately traditional for female characters; they were heroines for their own beliefs.
Black Panther is a substantial film for the African American community, voicing many discrepancies and biases towards the group. T’Challa, a royal heir, was never exposed to a life without luxury whereas Killmonger was raised in a community in which he was disrespected, uncared for and demeaned. The audience sees the drastic contrast between the two men and how even they showed some initial discrimination towards each other.
Black Panther progressed to prove that despite the differences, despite the tragedies some are raised in, despite the privileges some are born with — we are all human, and it is our responsibility as humans to care for and protect one another.
The entire theater was sold out opening night, and the crowd was beaming. There was a line to take pictures in front of the Black Panther cardboard cutout in the lobby. The second the credits began rolling, the entire theater broke out into applause.
Overall, the movie is one of the best in the Marvel universe. Personally, I saw it twice within a two-day span. Black Panther captured culture, humor, evoked empathy and encouraged its watchers to apply Wakanda’s epiphanies to our own world.
The film encourages us to accept our differences, whether it be in culture, race, gender, etc., find pride in them, respect them and choose to protect each other despite these differences, as if we were the same. As T’Challa had said, “We must find a way to look after each other, as if we were one single tribe.”
]]>
]]>
The College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences (CNMS) is proud to host the Annual UMBC Summer Undergraduate Research Fest (SURF) to recognize summer undergraduate research at UMBC. Since 1997, summer student researchers including participants in the MARC U*STAR, Meyerhoff Scholars, HHMI, and the Summer Biomedical Training Programs have presented their summer research as oral presentations or posters during this exciting event
This year's Annual UMBC Summer Undergraduate Research Fest (SURF) will be held August 8, 2018 in the UC Ballroom.
PeopleSoft Finance 9.2 is scheduled to Go Live on March 21. The many new and exciting features include workflow for Payment Requests and Journal Entries, easy accessible Work Centers, and powerful reporting tools.
PeopleSoft 9.2 provides new online features, including approvals, which require new security forms to be completed. Employees that complete forms on behalf of the department can attend the workshops scheduled on the myUMBC Training Page.
Please come prepared with all personnel in the department that will approve or interface with any of the following functions:
· Journal entries
· Purchase requisitions
· E-travel (approver only)
· Payment Requests / Misc. Expense reimbursements
If you cannot attend a workshop, please visit the Financial Service’s 9.2 Upgrade Security Access webpage for forms, details and instructions.
]]>
Congratulations to DoIT Assistant Vice President Joe Kirby, who has been selected to receive the 2018 Presidential Distinguished Staff Award. Along with other recipients and their families, Joe will be honored at the Presidential Faculty and Staff Awards celebration on Wednesday, April 4, at noon in the UC Ballroom. The award also includes a one-time, $2,500 addition to pay.
“I am truly honored to be recognized and grateful for the opportunity to work at UMBC,” says Kirby, who was also recognized for 30 years of service to the campus in 2016.
Kirby is now the third DoIT staff member to receive the Presidential Distinguished Staff Award, following Kevin Joseph, Director of Business Intelligence in 2014, and Vice President of IT and Chief Information Officer (CIO) Jack Suess in 2004.
“Over Joe’s career, he has made many significant contributions to UMBC and DoIT,” said Suess in his nomination letter for Kirby. Among other things, Suess credited Kirby for leading DoIT’s efforts to prepare the campus for the potential ramifications of a Year 2000 (Y2K) “bug,” moving UMBC away from using Social Security Numbers (SSN) as a unique identifier in our IT systems, and evangelizing the use of Request Tracker (RT) as a way to improve campus (not just DoIT) support.
“Joe is a leader who works with many staff behind the scenes to help them use technology to provide better service and support to our UMBC community,” says Suess. “I'm thrilled the campus has recognized Joe's contributions to UMBC through this award!”
]]>