Asian Studies Students,

I'm happy to inform you that applications for the Japan-America Student Conference are now open. The conference will take place next summer in Japan! Scholarships are available. UMBC has not sent a student in a number of years, so the time is ripe. See Dr. Vaporis, Founding and Interim Director of Asian Studies, (vaporis@umbc.edu) for more details. Here below is the official announcement from the organization.

Greetings from the Executive Committee of the 77th Japan-America Student Conference!

We are contacting you about a unique conference opportunity in the summer of 2025: The 77th Japan-America Student Conference!  We are excited to announce that JASC 77 applications are now open!  We would greatly appreciate it if you could share the enclosed information with your students at University of Maryland Baltimore Country!

What is JASC?:  The Japan-America Student Conference (JASC) is a student-led exchange program, initiated in 1934 by university students concerned by the breakdown of bilateral relations prior to the Second World War. Today, an equal number of students from the U.S. and Japan are competitively selected each year to spend three weeks together, studying and analyzing Japan-U.S. relations while visiting three to four diverse regions in the host country. JASC alternates its host country every year, emphasizing the personal connections between two distinct cultures gathered together in one place.

Where Will JASC77 Take Place?: This year is JASC’s Japan year. We will be visiting the following sites: Osaka, Kyoto, Kumamoto, and Tokyo.

When: July 31 to August 21, 2025

Who can Apply?: 36 American and 36 Japanese undergraduate and graduate university students enrolled at any accredited university who are 18 years old or older at the start of the conference. All majors of study are accepted. Japanese language is not required.

JASC 77 Application:https://iscdc.org/jasc/77th-jasc-applications/

Hello Pre-Pharmers!

We have an exciting opportunity coming up! The Homecoming Retriever Dawg Race is scheduled for Saturday, October 26th, from 7:30 AM to 10:00 AM, and we're looking for volunteers from the Pre-Pharmacy Society to help out.

If you're interested in volunteering, please sign up using the link below. Volunteers who stay for the entire event will receive a Homecoming Carnival wristband and 10 carnival game tickets as a thank you!

Volunteer Sign-Up Form

Be sure to sign up before Wednesday, October 23rd at 11:59 PM. Additional details will be sent out soon, but most information is already available in the sign-up form.

Wishing you all a great October!

UMBC Pre-Pharmacy Society

UMBC has launched two exciting new Election 2024 resources that affirm the university’s commitment to civic engagement and benefit both our campus community and the greater Maryland region.

UMBC Poll

As a public university, UMBC takes pride in providing high quality research and analysis that serves the greater good. In August, UMBC launched the Institute of Politics (IoP) to bring more political research and insights into Maryland elections. The inaugural UMBC Poll, released in two parts on October 8 and 9, surveyed residents and voters in the Baltimore metro region and   statewide, and gauged the attitudes of Maryland adults and voters on topics critical to the coming election such as candidate preferences for U.S. Senate and Presidential matchups, job approval ratings for Governor Wes Moore, key economic indicators, and issues and reasons driving voter choices.

Featuring the expertise of IoP Director Mileah Kromer, the inaugural UMBC Poll was covered widely in state and national news outlets, including the New York Times,  Baltimore Sun, the Washington Post, and Fox News.

Election Central

Also in October, UMBC launched Election Central, a website that provides visitors with relevant information to participate in the coming election. The site includes links to voter registration, guidelines about exercising free speech on campus, and a civic engagement toolkit where students and others can find voting information, mail-in ballot drop-off locations on campus, and more.

The civic participation information on Election Central is largely the work of UMBC’s Center for Democracy and Civic Life, a student-facing campus organization that helps individuals and groups develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to contribute to a thriving democracy.

Election Central also contains resources for the news media, with information on UMBC faculty, staff, and students who are ready to speak to reporters about election-related issues.

Students like Vunnathi Ankem, a psychology major, Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar, and vice president of the Honors College Council, says projects like Election Central help students take their rightful seat at the public affairs table.

“College students have access to a wealth of knowledge,” says Ankem, “It is both our right and responsibility to serve our communities when we can.”