The Fall 2014 Town Hall meeting for Computer Engineering majors will be held at 12 noon this Friday, November 21, in ITE 104. The agenda includes discussion about changes in the program, Spring 2015 registration, the BS/MS program, and undergraduate research opportunities. All CMPE majors are invited.

Please complete the survey before Thursday, November 20 at noon to register your attendance.

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Energized by Retriever fans, men�s soccer wins America East championship, earning NCAA bid.

The UMBC men�s soccer team clinched the America East Conference championship on Saturday, November 15, with a 2-1 victory over Hartford. The win earned the Retrievers an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, the team�s fourth NCAA tournament berth in five years.

Coach Pete Caringi�s crew is unbeaten in the past 25 games against America East foes � a conference record. The Retrievers are also just the second team in America East history to win both regular season and tournament titles in back-to-back seasons.

The excitement on campus is palpable; during the game it was electric. For those who couldn�t witness the victory first-hand at Retriever Soccer Park, The Baltimore Sun reports, �When the 90 minutes were up, UMBC fans and students stormed the field and celebrated with the players at midfield.�

This level of fan energy is a hallmark of UMBC. Fans fill Retriever Soccer Park for home games and stadiums on the road. UMBC men�s soccer consistently ranks among the top 25 NCAA Division I teams in home game attendance.

The crowd exploded during UMBC�s November 12 America East semifinal tournament game against Vermont when forward Kay Banjo, the league�s Striker of the Year, broke a 1-1 deadlock with a phenomenal back-heel goal. Banjo�s story exemplifies the impact fans have on the game � how the support our student-athletes feel from the UMBC community makes a difference for them on the field.

Faced with the elimination of Towson�s men�s soccer program in 2013, Banjo �15, media and communication studies, had to decide how to use his final year of collegiate eligibility. Considering his options, he remembered the fan support he saw at Retriever Soccer Park when he attended a contest there in 2013, and this year he is competing for the Retrievers. UMBC, he told The Baltimore Sun, �fits like a glove.�

At the core of �Retriever Fever� is Lot 17, named for the old moniker of the Stadium Lot, where fans have historically gathered before and after games. Lot 17 members make their presence known with gold t-shirts, chants, flags, a beating drum, and unbridled enthusiasm for UMBC.

Lot 17 President Zach Trout �15, business technology administration, is plugged into the country�s rapidly growing passion for soccer. He shares, �My main goal is to grow Lot 17 so future students can experience the feeling of attending a professional soccer game right here at UMBC.�

For Retriever fan Margaret Glassman �16, management of aging services, Lot 17 is about making lifelong friends and memories. She says, �It was great to find a group of people that love watching soccer as much as I do, and I think it definitely gives UMBC a home field advantage.�

Ben Alkon �16, history, agrees, saying, �UMBC has a diverse student body culturally as well as socially. If there�s something a student likes to do, I�d bet there are other students at UMBC with the same passion.� For Alkon, that group is Lot 17.

With this new championship, Lot 17�s vision of soccer glory is becoming a reality. The Retrievers will carry the energy and support of a powerful fan community wherever NCAA takes them.

For information on UMBC men�s soccer in the upcoming NCAA tournament, visit www.umbcretrievers.com.

(Updated 11/17/2014)

This week witnessed the 22nd APEC Summit unfold in Beijing. Leaders of the major Asian and Pacific powers converged to shape the region’s economic and political future.

Amid the lip service to hopes of greater prosperity and security among the APEC states, a possible breakthrough for global climate change efforts revealed itself. The U.S. and China announced a broad agreement to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions into the next few decades.

To some, the deal represents China’s emergence as a bona fide great world power. From this point of view, Beijing is showing its willingness to work with the U.S., the traditional global leader, on combating an issue of international exigence no less.

Skeptics, on the other hand, point out the agreement’s shortcomings and hurdles. China, after all, will only be expected to deliver relatively modest reductions. Obama, meanwhile, will face at least rhetorical resistance from a GOP-controlled Congress.

Still, the treaty marks a step forward in the global climate change campaign, and a possible positive shift in tone for the U.S.-China relationship. Whether it will lead to bigger things on either front remains to be seen.

So no Christmas this year? No Yom Kippur?

Looks like it according to a local district’s calendar.

Recently in Montgomery County MD, the Board of Education decided to strip the yearly calendar of all holiday names. Students will still have their breaks but the official holiday names won’t appear. 

So why the change?

Montgomery County’s Board of Education was asked by Muslim community leaders to recognize and close schools on the Muslim holy day of Eid al-Adha. 

Since the holiday only saw a small increase in the number of absentee students, the BOE stated they could not close schools for the day.

Schools are typically closed when there are reported high rates of absenteeism which usually aligns with major Jewish and Christian holidays. The Constitution prohibits public schools from using religious holidays as a reason for closing. 

Students who miss school for holidays are excused, but that still means students get behind in work.

Muslim students, though a minority of population, end up missing more class than their Christian and Jewish peers. 

Saqib Ali, former Maryland state delegate and co-chair of the Equality for Eid Coaltition stated:

“By stripping the names Christmas, Easter, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, they have alienated other communities now, and we are no closer to equality.”

What do you think readers? Is stripping the names of holidays towards equality or is it ignorance? Share your thoughts below!

When you think of the exploited, who comes to mind? A fast-food worker, maybe a person working in a clothing factory overseas?

Most people would never think of the college athlete. There are the scholarships, personal trainers and advisors, and the “perks” (like all those free snacks) that come with the deal to play. 

We touched on the pay-to-play debate last year. One of basketball’s most iconic is now voicing his experience. Check out Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s short essay on Jacobin explaining the struggles of college athletes. He also wrote a piece for Time earlier this year.

Several convincing points include the rule that athletes cannot earn extra money beyond the scholarship, the limited use of scholarship money, and the jeopardy of scholarships. 

Does Kareem know best? He did, after all, play the game. 

H3IT conference brought the thought leaders of health IT in home healthcare and hospice together in Washington, D.C. on November 15, 2014. The photos from the Home Healthcare and Hospice Information Technology conference can be found here.