It’s been years since the Catholic Church has been a relevant player in American politics. Suddenly, its views on contraception and other issues are something that people care about.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that two of the remaining four GOP primary candidates are Catholics. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) is a long-time member of the Church, while Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) is a recent convert (read: dabbles in Catholicism).

It is worth noting that Rick Santorum has lost the Catholic vote in many of the states he has contested this year. Which raises interesting questions…

How much do Catholic voters, a key constituency in the November election, listen to their religious leaders? If so… who should they vote for?

Thankfully, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops produces a great deal of literature on the matter that basically no one reads. But we did.

We have noted the social teachings of the Church can be broken down in to several main parts.  Over the next few days we will look at the Bishops’ recommendations and see how they might fit into the presidential landscape.

The first category:

Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
“In a world characterized by growing prosperity for some and pervasive poverty for others, Catholic teaching proclaims that a basic moral test is how our most vulnerable members are faring. In a society marred by deepening divisions between rich and poor, our tradition recalls the story of the Last Judgment (Mt 25:31-46) and instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first.”
Pretty straightforward: our economic policies should be arranged for the benefit of the least well off.  Sounds quite progressive.

At least one of the GOP candidates is “not concerned about the very poor”––but really, who are we kidding?

In a campaign season where discussions about the poor often ends in accusations of “Class warfare” it seems the story of the Last Judgement is last on most candidates reading list.

So how would you score this teaching from the Bishops? Republican or Democrat?

The Center for Women in Technology has been awarded a National Science Foundation S-STEM Grant that will fund the Scholars in IT and Engineering (T-SITE) program. Beginning this fall, need-based, multi-year scholarships of up to $6,700 per year, will be awarded to 10 new transfer students. These Scholars will participate in  academic and professional development support activities as part of the larger CWIT Scholar community. Applications are currently being accepted: www.cwit.umbc.edu/tsite.

The T-SITE Scholars Program is focused on attracting, retaining, and graduating more women and under-represented minorities from Maryland community colleges in engineering and computing majors at UMBC.

Applicants must be new full-time transfer students majoring in chemical or mechanical engineering, information systems, computer science, or computer engineering. While the program focus is on diversifying these fields, all eligible transfer students with financial need are encouraged to apply.  Applicants must also have a 3.0 transfer gpa , be a US citizens or permanent resident, and have financial need based on the FAFSA. Applications are being accepted until April 20, 2012 and interviews will be held in early May.

Read more about the T-SITE Scholars program on the CSEE website:  http://www.csee.umbc.edu/2012/03/new-t-site-scholarship-program-targets-tech-transfer-students/

For more information contact Dr. Susan Martin, CWIT Associate Director at (410) 455-3109 or by email at susan@umbc.edu.

Attention CWIT Affiliates:

Join us at noon on Wed. 3/14 at noon in ITE 456 for Pizza and a leadership activity that will be fun and make you think!

artweek:

Spring Break starts in a couple of days. Will you be using your free time to make your submission for the Art Week call for submissions? Don’t forget, submissions are due Thursday the 29th, free printing deadlines are due Tuesday the 27th.

Dr. Hillol Kargupta will be one of over 80 speakers at GreenBiz's VERGE conference in Washinton D.C., which takes place this Wednesay, March 14–16.

The conference foucses on sustainability by exploring technological advances that deal with energy, information, buildings, and transportation.

Speakers include the likes of AOL Co-founder, Steve Case, Robin Chase, founder of carsharing revolution, Zipcar,  textbook publishing mogul Tim O'Reilly, and other executives working at the intersection of technology and enivronmental awareness.

The VERGE website credits Dr. Kargupta as a "Guru" for Data Mining for M2M Applications. He is the president of Agnik, a data analytics company for distributed, mobile, and embedded environments that has been developing vehicle performance monitoring software.

On Thursday, March 15 at 1:30 p.m., Dr. Kargupta will discuss "Connected Cars and Beyond" with Shelby Clark Founder & Chief Community Officer of RelayRides, Tim Johnson Strategic Opportunity Manager of Sprint, Nick Pudar Vice President of Planning and Business Development at OnStar, and Marc Gunther Senior Writer at the GreenBiz Group. Register at the VERGE website to watch a live stream of Dr. Kargupta's and other presentations for free.

fueledbyramen:

Fun.: ‘We Are Young’ feat. Janelle Monáe (Alvin Risk Remix)

Earmilk.com premiered the Alvin Risk Remix of the Fun. song ‘We Are Young’ featuring Janelle Monáe. Click HERE to listen to the remix. 

The remix will be available on March 20th!