The views expressed in this article are the views of the author.

Last year, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County made a big move toward LGBTQ inclusivity by opening up several multiuser all-gender restrooms across campus. This was a big deal to a lot of students, as this made inclusive bathroom options on campus more readily available. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to hold it when the single-use bathrooms in The Commons were occupied. The first multiuser all-gender bathroom was opened on the second floor of the Sherman building, with several others opening quickly after. One of those new inclusive restrooms can be found in the Performing Arts and Humanities building in front of the entrance to the music hallway on the ground floor.

While these bathrooms are extremely important for transgender and nonbinary students’ comfort and safety, there is one problem I’ve noticed: People still treat these new bathrooms like regular gendered bathrooms. The all-gender restroom by the entrance to the music hallway of PAHB is right across from the men’s room, and the sign is pretty haphazardly tacked over the women’s sign that previously hung next to the door. I’ve noticed time and time again that men will only enter the men’s room while women will typically use the all-gender restroom, making it into what is operatively still a women’s room. Even though the sign touts inclusivity, I still, as a trans person, feel discomfort entering that bathroom.

Let’s be honest with ourselves: When you have a gendered bathroom next to a gender-neutral bathroom, people will automatically associate the gender-neutral bathroom with whatever gendered restroom would typically be placed there. Because of this, you still have what is essentially a gendered bathroom situation, regardless of what the signage might proclaim. Men will go in the men’s room, women will go into what was previously the women’s room and trans and nonbinary people will still experience discomfort over which bathroom they should enter. Situations like this can be especially uncomfortable for students who are not out or are gender non-conforming. And while the problem is lessened by the signs, it still exists in practice. But how can we, as an inclusive school community, fix this problem?

Make every bathroom gender neutral. Or at the very least, don’t place a gendered bathroom right next to a gender-neutral bathroom. At least in Sherman, they’re on opposite ends of the hallway.

Now don’t get me wrong — I’m very proud of UMBC for making strides toward inclusivity. This is a huge step in making this campus trans and nonbinary friendly, and I know I, as a trans person, feel considerably more comfortable at this school with more bathroom options. But there is more that can be done, and it’s as simple as sticking more of these new signs over the old ones. So, why not go ahead and do that to every bathroom on campus? I would love to think that we have come to the point in society, especially on a college campus like ours, where we’re no longer weird about peeing next to someone who doesn’t present their gender in the same way as us. So let’s go stick up some new signs, join hands and pee together in perfect, gender-neutral harmony.

Written by Ari Page. Page is a senior pursuing an English major with a minor in History. 

Over the course of my writing career I’ve noticed a trend. Writing is hard because it’s as frightening as a rollercoaster. There are even models, on the internet, for how to plot a story with a rollercoaster-like method. However, I like to view the process of writing as a rollercoaster, not just a story-plot rollercoaster with a climax and a resolution. I had a recent Writing Center appointment that helped me to brainstorm this idea. I gave one student my tip to view writing their papers as different stages in a rollercoaster. I mentioned how, most often, the writer doesn’t want to start off after they have hit the peak of a story because then the main idea is lost. The idea is to view their writing as different stages of moving up and down. Writing words has a certain rhythm to it, just like when one speaks to a crowd of people. The tone of a piece of writing matters. 

Here is an example of how this method of writing would work. Imagine you write the first paragraph of your paper and it reads, “The experimenters learned so much with this lab, after they learned how to connect it to their research.” Now notice how the second half of this sentence takes the reader backwards. The rollercoaster is no longer forward moving. The ideas aren’t easy to understand because the writer has written the content of their paper going downwards, rather than upwards. It’s like getting on a rollercoaster that’s already rolled to a stop. Essentially there is not take off. However, this sentence can be quickly fixed, like so, “The experimenters connected their research to their lab and gained a lot of information.” With this revised sentence, the reader is able to move forward with the topic a lot quicker. Making the subject of a work of writing come first is always helpful when trying to clarify one’s main ideas. If the reader reads too quickly they may slip over the fact that the research was important, along with the lab. Therefore, the reader will be less confused if the writer begins at the start of their writing rollercoaster. 

Another way to view this rollercoaster idea is with the organization of a paper. Every single sentence must work to make the paper better, or else it can be considered a loose track for the rollercoaster cart to slip off. To prevent from any scary instances in one’s writing, an individual must try to work on every paragraph and breakdown what they mean to say. Is this the part where the reader goes upside down and sees a new viewpoint? Or is this the part where the reader is climbing a hill to understand all the work that was done to formulate this argument or topic of this paper? Whatever part of the writing process a writer is in, they must try to keep the rollercoaster running smoothly. After all, writing is just another form of engineering.   

Contributed by: Edith Torres, Writing Center tutor

Editing and proofreading our own essays can be the most annoying process after writing a paper. This burden can often lead us to bypass that process and leave our writing with a bunch of mistakes. However, there are several useful tips you can use to ease the editing process.

• Give yourself enough time and do not rush over it

It is important to allow ourselves to take some time away from a paper after writing it.  Giving our minds the time to rest after writing a paper before editing allows to increase concentration during the editing time. This would increase the number of mistakes caught and allow you to find sentences that need to be re-formulated.

• Have a friend read it aloud to you

Getting help from someone is a good way to see how others would understand the ideas you are trying to communicate based on the way you wrote them. Having a friend or someone else read your paper aloud to you might help you catch up on sentences that do not reflect the idea you wanted to communicate. This process is an easy way to find sentences that might be removed from your paper, or sentences that could be said in a better way. 

• Read aloud backward

When I started taking English classes and writing papers, I usually went to tutors in order to get help fixing my mistakes and get some grammar tips. One of the tutors I worked with suggested reading my paper backward, from the last sentence to the first one. When reading our papers, it easily makes sense to us because we wrote the story. Therefore, we are more likely to just skim over it and pass over some mistakes. However, reading backwards removes that automatism. It forces you to pay more attention to sentence structure and punctuation. 

• Get someone else’s opinion

Having someone else read your paper offers the opportunity to have fresh eyes with different perspective than the one you might have. Even though you might sometimes disagree with their opinion on certain aspects of your paper, it is worth a try especially when you feel like you need help with grammar and other aspects of writing style.

Finally, for many people it is difficult to accept criticism from others. However, it is important to be open-minded. In a case where you do not agree with someone’s correction, just take it into consideration and you can search it up later, or ask for a professional opinion like writing tutors or professors. Editing a paper doesn’t have to be a boring process. Get some rest,  grab a snack and choose whatever technique suits you best.

We often hear the question, "When should I start looking for internships and service-learning?"
Our answer: Now!

Tutoring at-risk middle school students, studying abroad in Portugal, interning at Google, and participating in summer research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology are all examples of experiential learning.

Through experiential learning, you will have a chance to learn the coveted "on the job" skills and training that many employers have at the top of their lists.  And, in some cases, you can even earn academic credit while learning! 

Below are some ways that you can gain hands-on, practical experience:

The Center for Democracy and Civic Life:

Interested in strategies for initiating/bringing about social change? The Center for Democracy and Civic Life develops learning forums in which participants enact civic values and build civic capacities. Two of the Center’s initiatives are immersive learning experiences for students: the STRiVE leadership and social change retreat, and Alternative Spring Break.

Undergraduate Research: 

The annual Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) will take place on Wednesday, April 22! Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) features research, scholarship, and creative work carried out by UMBC undergraduates. Student work is shared through oral presentations, posters, artistic exhibits, performances, and film. Over 300 presenters participate annually. Researchers work with faculty mentors on independent research or research that is part of the mentor’s on-going projects. 

Education Abroad:  

Studying abroad is one of the best ways to acquire global and intercultural skills.  Research has shown that students that study abroad have greater self-confidence and maturity have better grades, and graduate from college at higher rates.  Attending a Study Abroad 101 information session is the first step to study abroad at UMBC.  Sessions are offered three times per week for the entire semester in Admin 301 at the following times:

Mondays at Noon

Wednesdays at 11:00 am

Thursdays at 3:00 pm

If you act quickly, you might also be to take advantage of these special programs that have extended their deadlines!

UMBC Faculty-Led: Picturing Italian Art & Culture in Context in Rome, Italy: 6-credit program (ART 329 or ART216 (C & AH GEP approved) and ART 369 or ART 392) Learn more by visiting the program brochure linked above. Extended Deadline: February 28, 2020

UMBC Faculty-Led: Child Developmental Psychology & Applied Internship in Granada, Spain: 4-credit program (PSYC200 (SS GEP) & PSYC398(Internship) Learn more by visiting the program brochure linked above. Extended Deadline: February 21, 2020

The Shriver Center:  

The Shriver Center addresses critical social challenges by bridging campus and community through engaged scholarship and applied learning. Through the work of The Shriver Center, UMBC has become a national leader in applied learning, community engagement, and community-based service delivery.

Internships & Co-Ops:

Gaining real-world experience through internship, research, or co-op experience is one of the best ways to make yourself a competitive candidate for full-time jobs and graduate school after you graduate.

Keep an eye out for Career Month in April 2020!  There will be several opportunities to connect with prospective employers who are hiring students for internships and co-ops. You have a chance to win some goodies, as well!

Remember, it is never too early to get a head start on your career! Take the first step today!

BROS Big Volunteer Meeting for GLITTERUS: Dragon Rising

Friday, February 21st, 2020 7pm-9pm

1539 N. Calvert St, Baltimore, MD 21202

Entrance on Federal Street beneath the “Bell”

Join us to find out more about the world’s most epic rock and roll theater company and to get involved with the show.

Volunteer Positions and Stipended Design Positions available.

This program will provide you with first-hand experiences with Italian visual culture in all its forms through both classroom lecture and on-site visits. On this program, you will take two UMBC courses for a total of 6-credits.

·       ART 329/ART216: Roman Visual Culture (3 credits) This course explores the painting, sculpture, decorative arts, and architecture created during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in Rome. Through firsthand experience, the class examines art and architecture within the context in which it was originally created. In addition to visiting historical sites, students experience other aspects of Italian visual culture such as authentic cuisine and music from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Taught by Kimberly Anderson

 and

·       ART 369/ART 392: Mobile Imaging in Italy (3 credits) This course introduces students to the latest in mobile imaging technologies, techniques and applications, guiding them to create compelling still images and videos of ancient buildings, art and artifacts within the urban landscape of Rome. This class provides a unique opportunity to explore key historical sites, buildings, parks, and plazas while also learning about a variety of online image sharing platforms as a means to display and disseminate the work created. Taught by Lynn Cazabon

Both courses can be used to fulfill the following requirements:

For the BA/BFA in Visual Arts, ART216/ART329 will fulfill requirements for the Art History portion of all VA concentrations. ART216 can be used as a Culture credit.

For the BA/BFA in Visual Arts, ART369/392 will fulfill requirements for the Photography concentration or it can be used to count as an art elective in other VA concentrations

Excursions included:

• The Colosseum and Roman Forum
• Ara Pacis
• St. Agnese Catacombs
• The Sistine Chapel
• The Vatican Museum
• The Borghese Gallery
• MAXXI National Museum of Contemporary Art
• Cinecitta Film Studios
• MACRO Museum
• Roman ruins at Pompeii and Herculaneum