After a wonderful, week-long period of relaxation, start off the second half of this spring semester with an event that will leave you inspired to make your voice heard! Also, FREE FOOD!

The UMBC community is honored to be hosting Charles Lollar, who will be speaking about revitalizing diversity, prioritizing values, and working for a new day in Maryland. The UMBC Young Americans for Freedom will be hosting him on March 26^th at 7:00 pm so come and hear his take on diversity and other important issues in Maryland. 

Charles Lollar has been an active participant in Maryland politics for many years. His most recent bid for Congressman Steny Hoyer’s seat in the 5^th District, though unsuccessful, propelled him into his current status as Executive Director of New Day Maryland. His work there focuses on promoting diversity and encouraging small businesses and families by advocating for their best interests. Mr. Lollar is an incredible speaker and deeply knowledgeable in Maryland politics. This is an even that you do not want to miss. 

The event will be held on UMBC campus in the Skylight Lounge in the Commons. More information about the event, hosted by the UMBC Young Americans for Freedom, can be found here.

andrewcook:

This is what I do when I’m bored

Becker is looking for Campus Ambassadors. They are looking for Juniors and Seniors (or any classmen who can work for a year) to fill in as marketers on campus. 

The responsibilities entail the following:
Gathering Emails for FIEC / ACCT UMBC students
Hanging Posters and Fliers
Scheduling Becker meetings on UMBC
Communicating with your supervisor (weekly / monthly) about events and status on emails

There is no wage. But, Becker will provide free Becker courses for the CPA exam. 

I recommend anyone who is planning to take the CPA exam to try to get this position. (Not to mention that the retail for the Becker courses are $3000.)

If you have any questions please reply back. 

Thank you,
Richard

Thanks to NPR!

As we await the much anticipated health care discussion at the Supreme Court on March 26th, the issue is getting a full court press in the media.

NPR revealed the drastic differences in the amounts of uninsured citizens per state (many in Texas and few in Massachusetts).

The New York Times was also quick to chime in with news that health care costs are still dictated by gender.

To add to the complexity of per state and per sex matters, there are curious variations among insurance companies:

‘In Arkansas, for example,’ Ms. Greenberger said, ‘one health plan charges 25-year-old women 81 percent more than men, while a similar plan in the same state charges women only 10 percent more.’

Maternity care is another issue that has been brought to light. An important issue as over fifty percent of women in this country are mothers.

The new federal law, the Affordable Care Act, generally requires insurance plans to cover maternity care as one of the ‘essential health benefits.’

Health Care in America can appear to be topsy-turvy in many respects. The system of care gets crazier and more complex by the year. Let’s hope that our public servants can start to sort through the mess next week.

Luke 9:37-43

³⁷ The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. ³⁸ A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. ³⁹ A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. ⁴⁰ I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.”

⁴¹ “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”

⁴² Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the impure spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. ⁴³ And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.

Reflection:

Coming down the mountain, Jesus is confronted by the desperate father begging for his son’s rescue.The son is in a horrible state and the father already asked the disciples for help but they couldn’t help him.Jesus calls everyone (the disciples, onlookers, the father and son) an unbelieving and perverse generation and Jesus is faced with the faithlessness of humanity as they are powerless to do anything for the boy.However we’re not left to dwell on the faithlessness of humans but on the power and compassion of Jesus who heals the son and gives him back to his father- restoring the child physically and relationally.It’s a glimpse to how Jesus will lead humanity “out of exodus”.

Response:

Jesus came to save us but not only to save us, but to bring us into God’s glory to restore broken relationships and broken lives.We’re called to live “out of exodus” and live for God’s glory, for His kingdom and purposes.Let’s thank God that He has rescued us and let’s pray that we will live more for His glory, more in line with His purposes to advance His Kingdom.

Thanks to The New York Times

So, besides being a groundbreaking director it turns out James Cameron has set a world record.

That funky looking submersible shown above broke Japan’s global record for deepest manned decent  four miles). Cameron dove five miles, on his practice run. He and his team are gearing up to journey down 6.8 miles to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

For those of you who don’t feel like clicking the link; the Mariana Trench is the deepest part section of ocean. Challenger Deep, where Cameron is hoping to touch down, is the deepest part of the trench. To give you non-ocean lovers a perspective; 20 people have walked on the moon, no man has ever been to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

A description of the submersible and its history can be found here.

AASHE is very excited to announce the debut of its redesigned AASHE Bulletin! We are celebrating the e-newsletter’s sixth year anniversary with a new look and restructured content. The redesign was implemented with the following goals in mind:

1. Thought leadership

While 90 percent of subscribers who participated in the 2011 Bulletin reader survey said the newsletter does a good job in general, many suggested a more curated approach to the content, meaning highlighting some stories over others.

Traditionally a clearinghouse of higher education sustainability news, the weekly e-newsletter is now taking a more curated approach with a new Connecting the Dots column. Appearing above the table of contents (TOC), this feature will examine several stories in each Bulletin issue, contextualizing and linking the themes to foster an integrated perspective on higher education sustainability.

To aid the Bulletin’s transformation toward a vehicle for thought leadership, this column will feature a rotating list of higher education sustainability specialists. This inaugural AASHE Bulletin Editorial board is made up of 17 sustainability leaders with diverse areas of expertise including sustainability education, climate action planning, student engagement, biomimicry, risk analysis, change management, measuring sustainability, diversity, social justice and much more. Visit the AASHE Bulletin web page for a complete list of board members.

2. Advancing sustainability (and providing an invaluable resource)

In an effort to better advance higher education sustainability, the redesigned Bulletin also features expanded coverage designed to push the boundaries of traditional ways of thinking about sustainability. Recently, a new “Access & Affordability” category was added to capture key national conversations including the Occupy protests and Pell Grant debates. Expect other new categories as the concept evolves over time.

3. Engaging a diverse and inspired community

The Bulletin will also work to deepen the inclusion of global perspectives on what higher education sustainability means with a new monthly Global Edition. Expanding on the current biennial coverage, the Global Edition will be issued monthly starting with the March 27 issue. Instead of only containing global news, the monthly edition will integrate international stories with the stories from the U.S. and Canada scheduled to run that week.

Redesign Features

Designed by Aten Design Group and implemented by the AASHE IT team, the Bulletin has a fresh new look with colors and fonts that match the AASHE website (also designed by Aten).

The Bulletin reader survey showed that 67 percent of respondents like the Bulletin format with the TOC on top, organized by primary topic, and the story summaries below. The chief complaint was that the length of the Bulletin was too long each week. We also heard that there was too much emphasis on green building in the Bulletin, a result of the alphabetical TOC with the “Buildings” category at the top of most issues. With this feedack in mind, we made these minor tweaks to the organization of the content:

Presentation of Bulletin Categories
The Bulletin TOC is now organized by three major headers that mirror AASHE’s Sustainabilty Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) credit categories:

• Education & Research
• Operations
• Planning, Administration & Engagement

Content Introduced by “Connecting the Dots” Feature
This new AASHE editorial feature headlines the newsletter to give it more of a magazine feel with a picture and the author’s byline. This is a change aimed at being both aesthetically pleasing and better curating the content for our readers.

Shorter Bulletin Blurbs
We have worked to shorten the length of Bulletin story and job posting summaries, while still providing a summary of the stand-out information.

Sponsorships

Bulletin sponsorships were moved from underneath the table of contents to “above the fold” at the top right of the newsletter. This change is to give businesses a better opportunity to connect with Bulletin readers, and the space provided is better designed for readers to understand how that sponsor’s products may relate to their higher education sustainability efforts.

AASHE is offering a limited-time discount on Bulletin sponsorships through September 18.

We hope you enjoy the new Bulletin and share it with others! Contact AASHE Bulletin Editor Margo Wagner at margo@aashe.org with any questions or feedback.