Here’s to the kids who have panic attacks between classes

     To the babies who laugh lightly unaware of the years of intentional, planned darkness crawling towards them

     To the children who muffle their cries at night so often that suffocation becomes as much a goal as silence

     To the adolescents who get hit with suicidal thoughts when they are surrounded by the warmth of their friends

     To the men and women whose survival instincts have suppressed so many memories that they,

         empty of evidence,

         don’t even believe themselves when claiming maltreatment

     To the elders who wish they could adopt Time and convince it to turn them towards infancy

         in hopes that if they changed a few actions, and learned a few lessons,

         Life would develop to be better

I am proud that you have survived,

But I am saddened that you have suffered

I am sorry.

For what you have experienced and what you will,

I am deeply, horribly

Sorry.

It is no secret that the Retriever Activity Center is considered one of the worst places to work out on campus and yet, it is the only place to do so. From the small and cramped cardio balcony, which always seems to run out of ellipticals, to the scuffed and blacked walls of the multipurpose floor that is constantly occupied by one guy having a shoot-off with himself, to the suffocating weight room, where all of the 25-pound weights are missing, the RAC leaves much to be desired from the students of UMBC.

Every corner of the RAC shows its former glory days of housing UMBC’s division one athletics. With its empty locker rooms that used to house the varsity teams and the locked merchandise window, the RAC used to be a place for not only the student-athletes but for the general students as well. Times have changed though: the posters around the indoor “track” that boast about being one-tenth of a mile and whose surface will instantly give you shin and knee pain show their age through their faded colors and unfamiliar player faces.

First built in 1972, the building was dubbed the “Field House,” and with its most recent addition in 1999, the RAC does not even compare to other universities’ student gyms. Looking at George Mason University, a school similar in size, cost and funding to UMBC, their gym includes new equipment and brightly lit floor space, highlighting UMBC’s outdated facility. GMU updated their gym in 2009, meaning that it is not even the most updated gym out of all the schools, like UMBC, yet their facility is far more superior than RAC.

Comparing the RAC to the new work out spaces for student-athletes in the Event Center only further emphasizes the RAC’s age, putting into question why the same facility renovation has not been given to the rest of the student body. Yes, the student-athletes are working out every day and need all of the nice equipment and spaces they have, but does that mean that the regular student body should have to deal with a grimy and small space provided by the RAC? While UMBC is not known for its general student body’s athletic prowess, they still deserve a nice place to work out when they choose to do so.

The new Event Center also gives reason to say that the lack of renovation on the RAC is not due to inadequate funding. UMBC invested $85 million into the Event Center with money coming from savings, a contribution from the University System of Maryland, gifts and borrowing. If we can churn up that much money for the Event Center, a building that is only useful to the average student on game days, then why not get a fraction of it to help renovate something that almost every student utilizes? The RAC would hardly need that big of a budget to transform it into the space that students deserve; construction and renovation only have around 70,000 square feet to work with compared to the 172,000 square feet of the Event Center.

While UMBC is still working to pay off the costs of the Event Center, a new academic building, the Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building, is near completion. This building, once finished, is estimated to cost $123 million, further proving that UMBC has the money, or can at least get the money, to build such great facilities like the Event Center and the Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building. So, again, why would it be so difficult to get the funds to renovate the RAC to further improve UMBC students’ experience at the university?

The RAC is one of the first buildings that students and visitors alike see when arriving on campus, so would it not be a disservice for UMBC to not put its best foot forward and update the RAC? Putting the funds and energy towards upgrading the RAC would not only enhance the experience of UMBC’s visitors but it would also prove to them, as well as the student body, that the university cares about more than just their academics. With a modern RAC, UMBC would show its students that they care and value their health and general experience at the university. After all, college is about more than just a degree; it is also about making connections and establishing habits that will last through adulthood. With such a terrible experience afforded by the RAC’s run-down facility, it is no wonder why students never work out.

Teen romcoms aren’t really designed to earn critical accolades, and this film can reassure you of that. Netflix’s newly released film, “The Perfect Date,” exhibits the same morally skewed character choices and logical gaps typical of rom-coms, and while the story’s interconnected themes unfold well, these choices and gaps ruin the cast’s natural charm, particularly that of Noah Centineo.

The film centers around high school senior Brooks Rattigan (Noah Centineo) during the pressing time of college applications. Brooks is confident in his academics but is worried that his lack of extracurriculars and financing will prevent him from attending his dream school, Yale. After taking a paid-gig escorting the confident Celia Lieberman (Laura Marano) to her school formal, Brooks finds the friendly escort business to be a lucrative venture. With the coding help of his best friend, Murph (Odiseas Georgiadis), Brooks advertises his services for the perfect date stand-in through his newly launched app to help pay for his dream school.

Throughout this movie, one thing is more romanticized than the romantics itself: the prospects of an Ivy League education. Brooks is dead set on attending the prestigious Yale University at any cost. Brooks’ father pushes him to a more realistic stay at the University of Connecticut, which has granted him a full-ride scholarship, even though he had yet to even apply to Yale. What’s a real slap in the face to college students is that working as an escort for one week affords Brooks nearly half of the full tuition at Yale, an institute with an estimated $55,500 yearly cost of attendance.

Brooks also finds himself willing to do anything for a seat at Yale, including sacrificing his morals and lying. In a miracle interview with Yale’s dean of admissions, Brooks is faced with the one question he couldn’t answer flawlessly: “What are some of your interests outside of school?” Brooks finds himself at a crossroads where he can’t find a compelling, truthful response. So, in his supposed best interest, he lies to the dean and proclaims beekeeping to be his one true passion, a pastime the dean enjoys that Brooks discovered through prior research.

The Stand-In App functions in the story to show Brooks’ desperation and utter lack of real meaningful personality. Not only is he willing to be a fake boyfriend character and lie constantly, but he allows the clientele to create their perfect date. Brooks’ happily sells out his time and morals to make money and further his own agenda, which prompts his friends to call him, albeit jokingly, a “self-absorbed prick.”

To service Brooks’ need for the money, the film stresses his financial situation in relation to every other character. Brooks and his dad live together. His father works as a night professor at UCONN while he works at the Sub shop, serving sandwiches alongside his best friend Murph. Brooks’ first paid gig to escort Celia to her high school in Greenwich, a wealthier part of Connecticut, lands him a lump sum paid by her wealthy father.

Brooks taps into this wealthy population where a majority of his customers come from. His profitable streak of professional escorting interferes with his own affairs when his paid dates mix with his dream girl. To hide his new hustle, Brooks is forced to lie to his crush, Shelby (Camila Mendes), which spirals into several other lies. When exposed, Brooks blames his financial status as the turnoff for Shelby, when really his dishonesty brought her judgment upon him.

Even with the condemnation of the cultural obsession with money, some viewers can relate too well to Brooks’ desperation; many college students have to miss out on friendships, experiences and life because they have to work long hours to keep themselves afloat. 

What the film does achieve is successfully drawing the parallel between dating and college admissions. It’s rather Brooks’ total lack of integrity that leads him to lie and fake it till he made it. In true rom-com fashion, Brooks realizes his mistakes and makes up for them by charming his way back into his true love Celia’s heart.

New for Fall 2019!

CMSC 291
Continued Computer Science for Non-Majors

This fall, Dr. Susan Mitchell will teach a special topics course designed for all non-computer science, non-computer engineering majors. The 3-credit course will be a continuation and extension of CMSC 201 Computer Science I and taught in the popular Python programming language. The catalog description is:

A continuation of problem solving and programming in the Python language. Emphasis is placed on the solution to more complex programming problems, expanding on the topics of modularity, abstraction, program design, testing, and debugging. The use of Python libraries relevant to non-CS major fields are presented.

Assignments and projects will emphasize topics applicable to many non-CS disciplines, such as data visualization, working with large data sets, and database usage.

The course will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:30am to 12:30pm (Course catalog number 291-01).

Prerequisites:  Completed CMSC 201 with a C or better; completed MATH 150, 151 or 152 with a C or better, OR have MATH test placement into MATH 151, OR have completed MATH 155 with a C or better

This course is restricted to non-computer science, non-computer engineering majors. It does not satisfy any requirement for computer science or computer engineering majors and may not be substituted for CMSC 202 Computer Science II.

For questions, please email Dr. Susan Mitchell at *protected email*

The post CMSC 291: Continued Computer Science for Non-Majors appeared first on Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.

Fall 2019
CMSC 201 Computer Science I
Section for Non-Majors

This fall, Dr. Susan Mitchell will teach a special section of CMSC 201 Computer Science I designed for all non-computer science, non-computer engineering majors. The course will cover the same content and have the same rigor as all other CMSC 201 sections and prepare students to continue on to CMSC 202 if they wish.  As with other sections, it fulfills any major’s requirement for CMSC 201. The key difference will be that the assignments and projects will emphasize topics applicable to many non-CS disciplines, such as statistical analysis, working with large data sets, and data visualization. The course will be taught in the popular Python programming language. The catalog description is:

An introduction to computer science through problem solving and computer programming. Programming techniques covered by this course include modularity, abstraction, top-down design, specifications documentation, debugging and testing. The core material for this course includes control structures, functions, lists, strings, abstract data types, file I/O, and recursion.

The 4-credit course will include a lecture from 2:30pm to 3:45pm on Mondays and Wednesdays (Section 60-LEC) and a one-hour lab on either Monday (Section 61-DIS) or Wednesday (Section 62-DIS) from 11:00-11:50am.

No prior programming experience is required. The only prerequisite is that students must have completed MATH 150, 151 or 152 with a C or better; OR have MATH test placement into MATH 151; OR have completed MATH 155 with a C or better.

This course is restricted to non-computer science, non-computer engineering majors.

For questions, please email Dr. Susan Mitchell at *protected email*

The post CMSC 201: Computer Science I for Non-Majors — Fall 2019 appeared first on Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.

The Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology, a joint research center of the University System of Maryland, attracted over 500 visitors at its open house on May 4, bringing in visitors from Baltimore and beyond.

The open house started in 2017 for scientists within the research institute to better communicate the science conducted in the Columbus Center, a facility administrated by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and located in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The scientists within the building work for different campuses of the University System of Maryland, including UMBC, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

Executive Director of IMET Dr. Russell Hill explained that the open house aims to be an education-focused event. “It’s very important to let people know what we’re doing. A lot of our work is supported by taxpayer dollars one way or another. The state of Maryland is fantastic in supporting higher education and research and we really decided we wanted to do this in a more systematic way. This has become a big thing for us,” he said.

Although the event began at 1 p.m. on Saturday, presenters began their preparation earlier in the week and set up their tables Friday, with microscopes, Petri plates, posters, fish, bioluminescent algae and more. The Aquaculture Research Center, or ARC, which is a facility designed to raise fish like zebrafish, was also open to the public.

“We have lots of displays, including extremophile research where they’re studying these extreme microbes that live in really unusual places like in rock salt or floating right on the edges of space. We also have a new display with microscopic organisms that glow in the dark, and that’s a collaboration between one of our scientists and an artist from UMBC, IMET’s artist in residence, Lisa Moren. Another real highlight [new this year] was the UMCES state-of-the-art research vessel called the ‘Rachel Carson,’ designed specifically for work on the Chesapeake Bay, docked right next to our building,” said Hill.

One of the younger guests, 10-year-old Vikram Kohli came with his father, mother and sister. “The booths downstairs were interesting, with the fish and with all the microscopes, but to me, all of it is interesting. I want to do science when I grow up, [specifically] aeronautics,” he said.

Many of the tables, like Dr. Sook Chung’s, had activities aimed towards the little ones. Her laboratory studies crab life cycles and had a table set up with a microscope that allowed people to view microscopic “crab babies,” as well as make headbands with crab eyes on them. Dr. Colleen Burge, who is an Assistant Professor at IMET with dual appointments at UMBC, also had a table, displaying oysters and their impact on filtering water in the Inner Harbor, and allowed kids to look at an oyster under a microscope.

Hill’s favorite part of the open house is seeing children get excited about science. “The best part of the open house for me is when I get a chance to talk to some of these kids who are coming in. We always have a few microscopes set up with some really exciting things going on underneath the microscope and that excites so many kids,” said Hill. “Occasionally you’ll get some young girl or boy who becomes absolutely fixated and spends an hour or two at one table looking at interesting things under the microscope.”

One of the guests, Shawn, who lives in Baltimore, came to the open house with family members Cassandra and five-year-old Deja from D.C. “Honestly, it has exceeded our expectations,” said Shawn. “To make science this engaging and this fun for little people, it’s amazing. I’m a big kid at heart, I’m walking around with crab babies like ‘I’m a mom!’ It’s been really fun.”

Five-year-old Holden, sporting a shark mask and a crab headband, enjoyed the ice cream prize he won for getting all his stamps for the “Passport Activity,” which entailed getting a stamp at each table after answering a question or completing an activity. Once the children received all the stamps they needed, they could choose a reward: a set of reusable bamboo cutlery and ice cream or a crab IMET backpack. When asked if he wanted to do science when he grows up, Holden said, “I want to do science right now.”

For adults, the open house provided an opportunity to engage with passionate scientists, said teacher Natalia, who came for the second year with her two daughters, Alyssa and Emma. “We came last year because our friends said this was an amazing event. We came this year and we put it on the family calendar. It’s a great experience, seeing how people are interested in their field and for the future time, how people can be devoted to what they’re doing and come out and really share their scientific discoveries,” said Natalia. “It’s interesting how people choose their path and really go deeply into the processes and are willing to share and talk to their audiences, and it’s local so they’re taking samples from right here in the backyard.”

The open house also gave some of the attendees, including freshman UMBC student Tim McDonough, an opportunity to explore a career path. “I’ve considered marine biology. It’s definitely something that’s interesting to me, mainly because it’s so important to overall survival of the planet,” said McDonough. “The Open House definitely does a really good job of introducing a lot of younger people to this. There are a lot of kid activities, but it’s also really good for people like me considering [career options] who are older.”

Hill noted the human impact of the research, which covers issues like food, energy, human health and environmental sustainability. “We’re doing such exciting research and these are things that really affect people especially with some of the environmental challenges we have. These are issues that are important for everyone, and you can find out a lot more about that research by just coming to the open house,” he said.

Jennifer Egan can always be expected to impress her readers with her dazzling prose. Renowned for her creative experimentation with genre and form, Egan won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for “A Visit From the Goon Squad,” a book which is almost a novel, almost a short-story collection.

“Manhattan Beach” is Egan’s first novel since her success with “A Visit From the Goon Squad.” Readers and critics eagerly awaited the novel’s release in 2017, expecting another unique tour de force from the acclaimed author. “Manhattan Beach,” however, is not quite as experimental as Egan’s other works, at least not in form and structure. It follows a familiar plot structure, without any extreme genre play, but weaves together a vast array of subjects.

“Manhattan Beach” has something for everyone: World War II, gangsters, New York’s first female diver, a charming younger sister with tragic disabilities, father-daughter relationships, romance and more. The novel begins a few years before the war, with young Anna Kerrigan accompanying her father to a mysterious man’s house. He tells her to be good, that he is relying on her, but gives her little else to go off of. This cryptic scene goes on to ground the rest of the novel and everything ties back to this moment.

Egan takes us ahead to the height of the war. Anna’s father has disappeared, and she works for the Navy Yard to support her mother and disabled sister. Anna develops a dream of becoming a diver and ambitiously does so. Meanwhile, she finds her life becoming intertwined with that of Dexter Styles, a nightclub owner and the gangster who may be responsible for her father’s disappearance.

Throughout the novel, we are shown viewpoints from Anna’s father, including flashbacks giving clues about his disappearance. We are given glimpses into Styles’ life as well, and his own interdependent relationship with his daughter. Family dynamics, especially between father and daughter, are at the core of this novel.

There is a lot going on in this novel, and few authors would be able to tie all these elements together as neatly as Egan does. Her skillful language invokes a magical quality, keeping her readers engaged. At times, though, the novel seems too busy and forced. Certain plot elements seem unnecessary and boring. The structure is as choppy as the time period the novel situates itself in.

For instance, there is the romantic relationship that, frankly, no one wanted. It seems to have been included simply for the story to have an ending. Rather than focusing on Anna’s attraction to a married man nearly thirty years her senior, the story could have expanded on Anna’s diving experiences or her run-ins with gangsters. Even better, the story could have spent more time building up the personalities and ambitions of the secondary female characters. Anna is really the only developed female character, and the other women appear quite shallow in comparison.

Egan’s skill for writing redeems her though. Every sentence stands beautifully and paragraphs come together with a harmony that is not found easily. She pulls a confusing and discordant plot into something beautiful and enthralling, offering a fresh perspective on life during World War II and struggles of patriotism. Just prepare for the book to meander through some strange side plots, which may or may not have an influence on the book’s overarching narrative, and which, ultimately, isn’t that clear to begin with.