Hidden in an alleyway adjacent to Ottobar in downtown Baltimore, members of The Swirlies kick around a hackeysack, rarely keeping it airborne for more than three bounces. Nonetheless, it calms their nerves before a concert, so it became a part of their pre-show ritual.

Formed in 1990, the band has gone through a carousel of members, hundreds of shows and funny stories. Lead singer Damon Tutunjian, one of the original Swirlies, will never run out of stories. His most memorable one with the band was when they flew to Europe for an international tour only to find out their manager had not booked them any shows nor had any of their music. The group was forced to book shows as they went, traveling to places they had never been before, all with hardly any money in their pockets.

The band is famous for having over twenty different members in its 28-year tenure in rock music. However, the variety was not intentional—they were typically forced to replace musicians that left for other reasons. The band operates like a revolving door, with members constantly coming in and out of the group.

Acting as the major glue that held The Swirlies together, Tutunjian noted the ever-changing artist roster as a positive, saying, “I loved working with so many artists, no matter how similar you try to keep things, new musicians always change your music in some way, shape or form.”

The band’s current tour lineup consisted of Deborah Warfield accompanying Tutunjian on vocals, Adam Pierce on drums, Eliot Malvas on guitar and Andy Berwick on the bass. The group was patched together, with the only similarity seeming to be their shared interest in music. Significantly different clothing styles, personalities and ages led to the segregation of the group, making the show seem more like a recital than a rock concert.

The band stood evenly spread out at the top of the tiny stage, maintaining their distance from each other while they prepared to play for the no more than 25 people in the audience. It is unfortunate that, after all of these years of music, they are reduced to this. It shows how much the group makes music out of passion, for if they were trying to get rich or build a brand, they would have given up on the music industry a long time ago.

The band’s long instrumentals and complex music made lyrics obsolete—the voices became simply another instrument. Fans nodded their heads to the beat, taking in the music and letting it flow through the room. Each song was unique, but the lack of understandable lyrics created a seemingly collective disinterest for the younger fans in attendance.

Keeping the band going after all these years was not for the pursuit of fame, it was out of  the undying passion that burned within them eternally. Despite the poor turnout, the band was not phased, for they know their next show is yet another chance to satisfy these passions.

On any given night in the fall, you can usually find UMBC volleyball’s senior-libero Kristen Watson under the bright lights of the UMBC Event Center, or another stadium throughout the country, diving to the ground repeatedly in an effort to keep her team in the game with her superb defensive skills. But Watson, like many other student-athletes, does not just want to be thought of in the context of her skills on the court.

Watson is also president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, which is a club on campus dedicated to taking care of student-athletes beyond the game. According to their description on the campus life website, SAAC is dedicated to “enhancing the total student-athlete experience by protecting student-athlete welfare, fostering a positive student-athlete image via community service, and providing a forum for student-athletes and institutional representatives to discuss rules governing UMBC, the America East, and the NCAA as a whole.”

Last year, Watson was the secretary for SAAC. During that year the club hosted its first annual “color games,” a day of competition which divides athletes from various teams on campus into random groups to participate in various team events. The event was held around finals week, which gave athletes the opportunity to relax amid a hectic time of year. The event was held during mental health awareness month, to “Fight the stigma of mental health and build unity throughout Retriever Nation,” according to the event’s website. This was a big leap for SAAC, as it helped unite athletes from different teams, and as president, Watson is looking to use that momentum to continue to grow the program.

Last week was a big week for SAAC not only at UMBC but for schools across the nation. From Oct. 1 to Oct. 5, each SAAC program participated in a social media campaign in honor of the NCAA’s diversity and inclusion week. Each day in the five day span had a different topic to address the aspects of diversity and inclusion.

Day one was dedicated to highlighting the multiple identities of student-athletes. UMBC’s SAAC chose to kick off day one by using a whiteboard that had “I am” written in blue marker in the middle. Student-athletes then put up Post-it notes surrounding the phrase, each note highlighting different parts of their identities. Some athletes focused on academics, things like majors and involvement in scholarship programs. Other notes addressed campus life with things such as Greek life affiliation. Some of the notes were particularly powerful. One pink note on the board read, “I am a king, lover, warrior, and magician.” Another powerful note read, “[I am] black and I’m proud!”

Day two of the campaign was dedicated to debunking athlete stereotypes. For this day, athletes took to videos which highlighted how they broke general stereotypes against them. Freshman-outside hitter Gabby Curran of volleyball defies stereotypes as a biology major, taking 19.5 credits during the season. Watson goes “beyond the label” as a volleyball coach and a role model for young girls. Gavin Prather of track & field defies stereotypes because of his love for skateboarding. There are many stereotypes that athletes have to face every day, but SAAC is committed to showing that each student-athlete is unique and goes beyond just playing sports.

Day three of the campaign was focused on highlighting the statistics that show the diversity of athletic teams on campus. UMBC is a diverse campus as a whole, with minority enrollment sitting at 45 percent according to the Diversity and Inclusion page on the campus website. Statistics included in the campaign ranged from racial/ethnic diversity to statistics regarding academics. According to the SAAC Twitter page, the Men’s Swimming and Diving team were ranked number 11 in the nation in GPA. Some individual athletes were recognized as well, such as swimmers Haythem Abelkhalek, Alex Gilese and Hania Moro, who have competed internationally in addition to their careers at UMBC. Swimmer Sotiria Neofytou perhaps had the most impressive fact, as she was the only female from Cyprus to compete in the Rio Olympics.

Day four of the campaign was focused on what diversity and inclusion meant to athletes. To do this, UMBC’s SAAC took to social media with pictures of various athletes. In the pictures, each athlete was given a whiteboard, on which they wrote what diversity and inclusion meant to them. Men’s soccer freshman-midfielder Ali Nakhid had a particularly powerful sign, stating: “Diversity is sharing & loving our differences which make us individuals.” Many of the other signs spoke of being accepting of other cultures and uniting, but one simple sign may have been the best. Sitting in a blue folding chair, men’s lacrosse senior-defender Keller Falkenstein aimed a slight smirk at the camera, holding a sign that said, “Diversity is love.”

The final day of the program is called “I pledge” and is dedicated for athletes to come up with their own plans on how they can be inclusive. For the final day, SAAC pledged to follow UMBC’s diversity and inclusion vision, which reads, “Our UMBC community redefines excellence in higher education through an inclusive culture that connects teaching and learning across disciplines, and civic engagement.” The statement continues, “We will also advance knowledge, economic prosperity, and social justice by welcoming and inspiring inquisitive minds from all backgrounds.”

Watson commits to focusing on diversity and inclusion throughout the year. “There can always be improvements with diversity and inclusion,” said Watson. “I think for UMBC Athletics, we need to include more of one another. Inclusion starts by communication and being aware of each other — we are a very diverse student-athlete population, and we just need to be more aware of that.”

Watson plans to expand the group’s presence both on campus and in the surrounding communities. SAAC currently has two members from each team that serve as representatives. They also have representatives in budget hearings and in the America East Conference SAAC. The group has focused on community outreach by sending volunteers to the National Eating Disorders Association walk and is currently focusing on creating a partnership with My Brother’s Keeper. They also continue to participate in various America East Conference initiatives such as “Spread Respect,” which aims to ensure that “athletes, coaches and fans alike are guaranteed equality, respect and safety without regard to not only sexual orientation and gender identity, but also race, religion and more,” according to Watson.

Student-athletes sometimes face negative stereotypes, but it is fair to say that SAAC will continue to throw those stereotypes out the window and make a positive contribution to the both the UMBC campus and surrounding communities.

Now accepting applications for: 

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

2019 Summer Research Team Program for

Minority Serving Institutions

The purpose of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Summer Research Team (SRT) Program is to increase and enhance the scientific leadership at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) in research areas that support the mission and goals of DHS. This program provides faculty and student research teams with the opportunity to conduct research at the university-based DHS Centers of Excellence (DHS Centers). The SRT Program and DHS Centers are sponsored by the DHS Science and Technology Directorate Office of University Programs.

Faculty: receive a $1,200 weekly stipend and are encouraged to apply for up to $50,000 in follow-on funding at the end of their appointment.

Graduate students: receive a $700 weekly stipend.

Undergraduate students: receive a $600 weekly stipend.

All participants may be eligible to receive housing and travel allowances.

10-week research experiences are offered at university-based DHS Centers of Excellence (DHS Centers).

Areas of research: Engineering, computer science, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biological / life sciences, environmental science, emergency and incident management, social sciences, and more.  Additional information regarding DHS Areas of Research may be found on the program website. 

U.S. citizenship required

Previous program participants may apply.

Application deadline: December 21, 2018 11:59 pm EST.

How to Apply: Applications and supporting materials must be submitted at

 https://www.zintellect.com/Opportunity/Details/DHS-SRTMSI-2019-Faculty

Detailed information about the program can be found at:

http://www.orau.gov/dhseducation/faculty/index.html

For questions please email us at dhsed@orau.org.

DHS has partnered with the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) to manage this program.

An email was sent out on Oct. 2, informing students and faculty of a pipe that had burst in the Retriever Activities Center, a facility many UMBC students spend time in when not in class or studying. “Areas of the facility impacted by the water damage include the arena floor and track, fitness studio and cardio balcony, weight rooms and auxiliary courts,” says Michael Pound, the Director of Environmental Safety & Health at UMBC.

At approximately 9 a.m., the burst set off fire alarms in other campus buildings including Patapsco Hall, the library and the University Center. Due to the pipe burst, the RAC shut down until the issue could be resolved. The RAC was closed from Oct. 2 to Oct. 3. On Oct. 4 the building reopened at 7 a.m. with the weight room, arena court and fitness studio remaining closed.

This was not a new occurrence, considering that there was a pipe burst last winter in the Patapsco Hall basement. There was also a water main break in the Retriever Learning Center on the same date in 2016, which forced an evacuation of the library.

However, many of the university’s recreational activities are held in the RAC. Some of these include taekwondo, intramural basketball, physical education classes, yoga and aquatics. Students often use the RAC as a gym to work out in during their spare time, and student employees work at the desks of the RAC throughout the week. “I try to go to the gym a couple of times a week. It’s a good stress reliever for me,” says Kerrey O’Neill, a biology major. “I definitely feel incomplete if I don’t get a workout in.”

“I’m not particularly surprised that [the pipe burst] happened. The pipe has been an issue for a while now,” says Holly Mann, an information systems major and a director of the taekwondo club at UMBC. “The email updates and the university’s spatial accommodation have been extremely helpful to me as an individual and club sport representative.”

Currently, maintenance and UMBC administration are working to fix the pipe and get the RAC back to functioning as normal. In the meantime, students have been jogging or walking around campus as an alternative to get their daily exercise.