Editor's Note: This article has been updated to reflect new information.

It took 47 years for the University of Maryland, Baltimore County to become the only college campus in Maryland that doesn't have an operating radio station.

WMBC, the university's student-run radio station, was founded in 1972 and has continually broadcasted from its little nook in the University Center ever since. The furniture in that nook hasn't changed since the 80s; it has a room dedicated to thousands of CDs and its doors are covered in bumper stickers. WMBC especially prides itself on its non-profit, uncensored programming, the variety of its DJs and its support of local bands through “New Music Mondays.” But for the past three semesters, that nook has since become empty.

The Retriever spoke with Hunter Newman, a junior majoring in history and WMBC's station manager, to understand why. Newman joined WMBC as a DJ while she was still a freshman, and was elected as a board member not more than a semester later.

“WMBC owned and managed its own software,” she explained, “so we didn't need to ask SGA or the school for money [to pay for software and licensing]. In this way, for all of its history, WMBC has operated like a charter organization — like you guys at The Retriever — but never officially.”

According to Newman, in December 2018, the student (now alumnus) who created and maintained WMBC's radio software shut it down and demanded salaried employment in exchange for the reinstatement and maintenance of the software. These details are refuted by the alumnus, Nova Devereaux.

Devereaux told The Retriever in an email that she created all the software WMBC used and then licensed it to the station -- WMBC never actually owned the software. She additionally wrote that she "neither shut down the software nor did I demand a salary." Devereaux noted that the software "stopped saving podcasts due to failure to perform routine maintenance over the course of several months," and in an email communication in February 2019 with Jack Greenman, chief engineer for WMBC at the time, she stated her hourly rate for technical support, which would allow her to "spend the time that I need without conflicts with other projects."

“We simply can't pay for [the replacement equipment],” Newman said. “In the Spring of 2019, we were told by the SGA that, because of the complexity of our issue, our case had to be moved to next semester.” Accordingly, WMBC had to explain its case to the Finance Board in a public meeting on Sept. 10. Meeting notes can be found here. 

All student organizations have to submit budgets, but WMBC had particular difficulties doing so. During that Sept. 10 meeting, WMBC was rejected funding due to two technicalities: A student organization cannot receive funds for an event where no one shows up — as a radio station, they do not hold events in any traditional sense, instead measuring their campus presence by how many people tune in for their shows — and secondly, Finance Board decided that the cost of WMBC's new equipment was improperly filed in their budget estimations. Newman recounted the experience: “We never had to ask the school for help, we really need backing from SGA right now … it feels like they want us to die out.”

“WMBC is so much more than a club. They make memories,” Newman explained. “This place used to be filled; people bring in their friends and just had a good time. We don't have the ability to help people make memories anymore. People came here to express themselves, and it's gone. A few semesters ago, we'd have people fighting for spots [for air-time]. WMBC is such a close-knit community, and I feel it's dissipating.”

Newman then described her unsuccessful efforts to get WMBC back on air, which included reaching out to UMBC's administration. When asked what people could do to help WMBC, she replied, “I think the school thinks that no one cares about us, so we need you to care.” 

WMBC’s Treasurer Perry Vinner, a junior information systems major and also the treasurer of AF Theater Company, Dog Collar Comedy and Retriever Musical Society, shared his thoughts concerning WMBC's future as well. “Because of our uncertainty the past few semesters, we didn't go to Involvement Fest [this semester],” Vinner explained. “There was a constant stream of DJs and you always had passionate people who could be who they wanted to be, but not anymore.”

“SGA really does want to have a vibrant school. They did fund a lot of performances after all,” Vinner said, citing successful events hosted by Dog Collar Comedy and the Retriever Musical Society, “SGA officers in the past have always been supportive of WMBC, [but] we're at a loss of what to do… we really should be a charter organization, but the gears aren't turning in that direction yet."

After the completion of this article, SGA contacted The Retriever with an official statement regarding WMBC’s funding. The statement, which was signed by Finance Board Chair Liam Kim and Finance Board Vice Chair Justin Connor, is reprinted in full below:

"WMBC is a unique organization because they require the use of equipment and services that are vastly different than almost every other organization. WMBC has a reserved space on campus, such as The Retriever and the SGA where equipment is stored and kept track of for auditing purposes. However, The Retriever and SGA work closely with their advisors and receive funding through either the Student Activities Fee directly, or have strong departmental support.

The electronic equipment requested by WMBC would need to be kept track of, and therefore the Equipment Committee denies the request for these items.

WMBC also requested funding for a radio.co license, but provided insufficient reasoning and justification for the cost of the service, regardless of whether the request was in decorations or contracts. When WMBC came in to explain their reasoning, the Finance Board listened and provided feedback in terms of preparing a request for the Spring 2020 budget cycle.

As these items cannot be funded, the Finance Board may not be the best place to request funding of this nature. The answer for WMBC may be in establishing better relations with the departments that support them to fund the items that the Finance Board cannot.

WMBC is a club that can offer students a unique experience during their time here at UMBC. The club’s continued commitment to stay an active organization on campus is very encouraging, and we would love to continue working with WMBC to find other avenues to acquire funding for equipment. We have been in conversation with them regarding funding for their Radio.co broadcasting license in the Spring.

The Finance Board believes that there is a suitable process that will allow WMBC to attain the necessary funds to keep broadcasting equipment on campus, but unfortunately it cannot come from SGA. Whatever support they need in finding that process, SGA is happy to provide it."

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the year WMBC was created. 

As a member of “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band, Hiram Diaz has made quite a name for himself. Receiving many honors for his beautiful performances, Diaz has played with the Baltimore Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony and National Symphony Orchestras. This past Sunday, he graced us with his presence at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, playing as a featured performer alongside the UMBC Brass Ensemble.

Diaz is a master of music; he is a euphoniumist, trombonist, vocalist and music educator. He studied at Miami’s New World School of the Arts, the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music and the University of North Texas. He has also won the International Tuba and Euphonium Conference Artist Euphonium Competition.

The performance started off with the “Fanfare for the Common Band” by Aaron Copland, presented by UMBC Wind Ensemble Brass which introduced Diaz’s initial performance alongside his piano accompanist, Daniel Pesca. As UMBC’s Assistant Piano Professor, Pesca says, “I never heard a musician with such fluency in the high registers.” In Diaz’s solo piece, “Carmen Fantasy” by George Bizet, he had a huge number of notes in the higher register that he executed not only with accuracy but with feeling and emotion. As most euphonium players can attest, this is extremely hard to do without squeaking or hitting a wrong note. In the particularly frantic parts of the song, he made sure to keep his notes clean and express his own interpretation of Bizet. 

The next portion was a quintet featuring Diaz, Patrick Crossland on the trombone, David Lomotey on tuba, and Brian Kaufman on tuba. Brian Kaufman is the conductor and educator of the UMBC Wind Ensemble. He says that “It was so much fun to play with him, he is an incredible, high-caliber musician, and it was inspiring to get to sit next to him, and my impression was my students felt the same was as well.” Their piece was “Fugue in G minor” by Johann Sebastian Bach, an impressive piece harmonizing the euphonium and the trombone while keeping the delicate bass parts alive with two tubas.

The night ends with performances of the UMBC Wind Ensemble, and then together with Hiram. The Wind Ensemble Brass’ “Baltazar — A King’s Journey” by Anthony DiLorenzo was regal and mysterious: the song told a story about a king and his adventures. The swells and the tones, along with the repeating melody near the ending of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” gave such a somber yet kingly tone to this song. The finale consisted of Diaz being accompanied by the Wind Ensemble Brass, with the beautiful song “Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms” by Somone Mantia, a beautiful song that clearly displayed Diaz’s ability to solo, along with the band’s ability to play around a soloist whilst keeping the harmonies and ongoing melodies at bay.

Diaz’s fingers work like clockwork with his embouchure, clicking only four simple keys to create wonderful music that will sway your very soul. The control that is shown with his ability to move across registers effortlessly shows real effort and practice put into his instrument. The Brass Bash performance displayed the true musical passion and energy that every musician shared with the audience. “I want to share my music; that’s all what music is for. Music is for sharing,” he says.

Photo Credit: Photo by Yeeun Kim.

I spoke with the sky today

He warned me of what he’s seen,

prepared me for what exists

He told me the Sun houses evils 

in her wake

She slaves to hide the darkness from Day,

And lets it loose to hunt Night

He wondered how we could adore ill intention

I told him,

we value those to whom we relate 

Photo Credit: Photo taken at Shenandoah National Park. Photo by Ceyda Baysal.

CWIT T-Shirt Design Competition

Put your design skills to the test in our annual CWIT T-Shirt design competition! Every year we receive great designs for CWIT T-Shirts that will be available to the CWIT community. The designer of the winning T-Shirt will receive their shirt for free!

Submit your design(s) byOctober 31st to enter into the competition.

What to include in your submission: Design for the front and the back of the shirt. Your design should include the word CWIT and we recommend any designs/phrases related to women in technology, the CWIT community, and/or the CWIT mission.

How to Submit: Email an image of your design or a link to your design on CustomInk to carly6@umbc.edu by October 31st.

Check out the attached PDF for past designs

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Nva6XzTXEA7Oa8d4uSIGrKch_u-CI8Hd/view

Hello heroes, after the great tournament that we had last week. We have our winners!!!! But I can't tell you who won because we will be announcing our winners at our GMB (*cough* not because I lost the paper with the brackets *cough*)

Meeting Info

• When: Friday (10/11) 12-2pm
• Where: PUP208
• What: Potg's and distributing tournament prizes!!!
• Got a clip that you want to show the club? Submit a video of your gameplay in the “coaching” discord chat so that we can play them at the GBM. (All clips welcome)

Quick Note: Some of the tournament prizes have yet to come in, but we hope that they will come in before the meeting this Friday.

When auditioning, picking the audition material is only half of the battle. A professional performer should always have a few items ready at all times. In a standard portfolio, an actively auditioning actor should have at least two monologues: one comedic and one dramatic. The performer should also have a few different song choices on hand, with specific sections of 16 and 32 bars bookmarked within the sheet music. Having this material prepared in advance means the aforementioned actor will be ready to go if an audition opportunity were to come out of the blue.

It has been previously established that when walking into an audition, the actor should be professional and friendly. However, there is much more to consider. With the knowledge in mind that the director has seen it all before, there are certain situations to avoid. For example, the “Can I start over?” line should be avoided at all possible costs. Not only does it make the director think the actor has not prepared properly, but it also gives the actor much more work to do in order to prove their requested second chance is even deserved.

The truth of the matter is, mistakes happen. What is more impressive than asking for a second chance is just continuing despite any missteps. In fact, it is more telling to a director if an actor is able to recover or learn from a mistake instead of asking to start over. It proves that a performer can keep going in a scene or song, despite having been dealt a blow to their confidence with a minor slip.

Another common mistake is trying to prepare for what an actor believes a director wants from them. This is not genuine. There is an evident difference in the style and dedication put into their performance. The last thing a director wants to do is cast a person who cannot or will not connect with the character. To avoid this, an actor should get to know the character they are auditioning for and find something in their own life that could help them connect with the emotions their character is feeling.

Auditioning can be a stressful process for aspiring actors. Mistakes will inevitably happen, but it is important to remember that each audition, good or bad, enriches an actor’s experience in the field and strengthens their potential. The tips an actor learns along the way leads them in the direction of the role they could one day get.

Photo Credit: Robyn Levy auditioning for Musical Theatre Club. Photo by Elizabeth Baummer.