Yes, the books are really and truly free at The Book Thing in Baltimore. With a mission statement saying that it “puts unwanted books into the hands of those who want them,” The Book Thing prides itself on the number of books it gives away per year, which is now more than a million. Russell Wattenberg, the founder of the nonprofit, often jokes that he won’t be happy unless you walk away with at least twenty.

Wattenberg started the nonprofit in the late 90s out of the back of his van to help his teacher friends who were disgruntled with the high cost of books. In 1999, he officially opened The Book Thing out of his basement and made the nonprofit his full time job. Wattenberg personally looks through each book that passes through his doors for sensitive material — mostly pornography — and for personal items, like diaries or journals, that might have been accidentally thrown away.

In March 2016, The Book Thing burned down due to an unknown cause, and just reopened again this past October. During the year it took to rebuild and remodel, the community donated 200,000 books to The Book Thing, effectively restocking it to the point it was before the fire. The warehouse rooms are now color-coded and are organized based on topic and popularity.

The structural repairs cost a total of $250,000, most of which was paid by insurance, and Wattenburg hired Matos Builders and Taggart Brown & Associates Inc. who fixed the furnaces and roof, respectively. Matos Builders also designed the warehouse’s interior, and several other local businesses donated construction equipment or hosted fundraisers to help with costs.

Today, The Book Thing is incredible. Situated in a large warehouse with a colorful mural by Iandry Randriamandroso, assistant Giulia Livi and several artist apprentices on the side, The Book Thing has a tiny parking lot for the amount of people visiting it on an early Saturday morning, and space is definitely limited. The warehouse sits in the middle of Vineyard Lane off of Greenmount Avenue and is juxtaposed next to upscale houses a block away.

Entrance into The Book Thing comes through a nondescript pale gray door, a door that seems like it couldn’t possibly house all the books it actually does, and once inside, you’re hit with the overwhelmingly intoxicating smell of books and row after row of tightly packed novels and textbooks. The Book Thing houses an impressive amount of genres, ranging from world history to poetry and classics. Their textbook section is exceptionally well-stocked with a good number of up-to-date books, and their reference section is also surprisingly wide in breadth of topic.

In the future, Wattenburg hopes to expand The Book Thing’s mission to include other book distribution stops throughout Baltimore, at courthouses and schools, broadening the reach of the free books and helping more people find the perfect novel. The Book Thing is open every Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 3001 Vineyard Lane. Donations can be made through its website, and volunteers are always welcome anytime on the weekends or from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

ADVANCE YOUR CAREER

GEM-ASEE Doctoral Engineering Research Showcase

January 22-23, 2018

Second Round deadline for Presenter and Participant applications is December 31, 2017 (EXTENDED)

*Applications/registrations are now open.*

REGISTER/APPLY NOW!

Mayflower Hotel

Washington, DC

Dear GEM PhD Fellows, PhD Fellow Alumni, University Reps and Employer Reps:

THERE IS STILL TIME TO REGISTER TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS EVENT!

Applications are now being accepted for a first-of-its-kind  Doctoral Engineering Research Showcase sponsored by the National GEM Consortium and the American Society for Engineering Education. Doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, and new faculty are invited to display their leading-edge technical research and connect with potential agency sponsors and academic employers. You will present your research—which may be interdisciplinary or a single engineering discipline—in poster format. This event will be held in conjunction with an Agency/University Fair that will feature representatives from government research agencies and universities seeking to hire faculty. The showcase also will feature interactive breakout sessions on (a) advancing a research program and managing the research enterprise; (b) innovations in teaching and the promotion of learning; (c) professional service opportunities; and (d) maintaining work-life balance.

For our GEM Universities and Employers, exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities are available.  If you are interested in recruiting diverse PhD and Post-Doc level talent, you need to be at this event!  We are seeking sponsors for student travel grants to the event.  Full space sponsored ad space is available as well.  Please contact info@gemfellowship.org with questions.

Below are just a few of our confirmed Speakers:

• Dr. James E. Hubbard, Jr., Langley Distinguished Professor, Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland
• Dr. Kimberly Jones, Professor and Chair, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Howard University
• Dr. C. Dianne Martin, Retired Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Professor of Computer Science, George Washington University
• Dr. Emily Miller, Associate Vice President for Policy, Association of American Universities
• Dr. Daryll Pines, Dean and the Nariman Farvardin Professor of Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland
• Dr. Lorena Barba, Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering, George Washington University
• And more to be announced!

Registration fees are just $50 for doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows, and $150 for new faculty members (within 14 months of their initial appointment). Student/Post-Docs are strongly encouraged to register to participate in the POSTER SESSION as well to share your current research.  This also creates the opportunity for you to have travel sponsored to the showcase by your university or lab.

The 2nd round application deadline is Dec. 31, 2018 (EXTENDED).

Apply online at: https://www.asee.org/public/events

Please view out short promotional video is available.

Exhibitor table and Sponsorship opportunities are also available at: https://www.asee.org/public/events

This event is partially underwritten by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

For more information please visit us at https://drs.asee.org or contact us at drs@asee.org or info@gemfellowship.org.

ADVANCE YOUR CAREER

GEM-ASEE Doctoral Engineering Research Showcase

January 22-23, 2018

Second Round deadline for Presenter and Participant applications is December 31, 2017 (EXTENDED)

*Applications/registrations are now open.*

REGISTER/APPLY NOW!

Mayflower Hotel

Washington, DC

Dear GEM PhD Fellows, PhD Fellow Alumni, University Reps and Employer Reps:

THERE IS STILL TIME TO REGISTER TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS EVENT!

Applications are now being accepted for a first-of-its-kind  Doctoral Engineering Research Showcase sponsored by the National GEM Consortium and the American Society for Engineering Education. Doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, and new faculty are invited to display their leading-edge technical research and connect with potential agency sponsors and academic employers. You will present your research—which may be interdisciplinary or a single engineering discipline—in poster format. This event will be held in conjunction with an Agency/University Fair that will feature representatives from government research agencies and universities seeking to hire faculty. The showcase also will feature interactive breakout sessions on (a) advancing a research program and managing the research enterprise; (b) innovations in teaching and the promotion of learning; (c) professional service opportunities; and (d) maintaining work-life balance.

For our GEM Universities and Employers, exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities are available.  If you are interested in recruiting diverse PhD and Post-Doc level talent, you need to be at this event!  We are seeking sponsors for student travel grants to the event.  Full space sponsored ad space is available as well.  Please contact info@gemfellowship.org with questions.

Below are just a few of our confirmed Speakers:

• Dr. James E. Hubbard, Jr., Langley Distinguished Professor, Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland
• Dr. Kimberly Jones, Professor and Chair, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Howard University
• Dr. C. Dianne Martin, Retired Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Professor of Computer Science, George Washington University
• Dr. Emily Miller, Associate Vice President for Policy, Association of American Universities
• Dr. Daryll Pines, Dean and the Nariman Farvardin Professor of Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland
• Dr. Lorena Barba, Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering, George Washington University
• And more to be announced!

Registration fees are just $50 for doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows, and $150 for new faculty members (within 14 months of their initial appointment). Student/Post-Docs are strongly encouraged to register to participate in the POSTER SESSION as well to share your current research.  This also creates the opportunity for you to have travel sponsored to the showcase by your university or lab.

The 2nd round application deadline is Dec. 31, 2018 (EXTENDED).

Apply online at: https://www.asee.org/public/events

Please view out short promotional video is available.

Exhibitor table and Sponsorship opportunities are also available at: https://www.asee.org/public/events

This event is partially underwritten by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

For more information please visit us at https://drs.asee.org or contact us at drs@asee.org or info@gemfellowship.org.

A recent survey on sexual health was sent out during the month of November to all students attending the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The results that came back were shocking: all 11,142 responses indicated that they had no previous or current experience with sexual intercourse or partners. Over 6,000 even admitted they lied to friends and family about being sexually intimate.

Theroux*, a junior and biochem major at UMBC, was willing to give us some insight on his situation. “Last year, I managed to invite a girl over to my dorm, but I got so nervous that I took out my phone and decided to post unnecessarily personal information on the UMBC Memes for Smoke-Free Teens facebook page instead. Eventually, the girl left after reading my post. I haven’t had another encounter since.”

Blaighyne*, another UMBC student, gave us her story as well: “I had been crushing on this guy for a while, and he finally got the hint and invited me over to “watch him play.” I thought damn, he must be kinky, but no, he literally meant watch him play League for seven hours. I tried to seduce him but his eyes were glued to the computer screen. I finally left, but this is the sixth time this has happened to me here.”

UMBC is known for being a STEM school and having no party life, but researchers were still shocked to find such an overwhelming statistic. “The truth is that simply no one on this campus likes each other,” said campus researcher David Blowie. “My worry is that students will continue to believe the lies told by other students and continue to feel bad about themselves, even though the truth is that everyone is on the same boat. Next time, think to yourself: do you have any actual proof that your friend from CHEM101 slept with that guy on the wrestling team? Are those actual sex noises coming from your suitemate and his girlfriend, or are you just misconstruing the situation? Is that student in the comment section of this article subtly trying to prove he's slept with people really telling the truth? It’s amazing what a person will do to seem cool.”

Blowie hopes this statistic will change within the next few years, but for now, the nation’s #1 up-and-coming university remains unable to up and come.

* Names changed to protect these poor, unfortunate souls.