Media literacy, the ability to analyze and evaluate media, has become a hot-button issue in the past two or three years. Social media has allowed so-called “fake news” to reach communities across the United States faster than physical newspapers ever could.

Most people who are not majoring in communications or journalism in college have never been trained in media literacy. They are encouraged to exercise judgement in reading articles online but are given no formal instructions on determining the truth of articles. This is how false articles about everything from politics to celebrities continue to spread.

The obvious solution, at the UMBC level, is to require an introductory media literacy class. The Media and Communications Studies department offers exactly this class. The lecture and lab combination course is, “designed to help students critically engage with the media of communication, information, entertainment, and surveillance that surround us,” as it is listed in the course catalog. Unfortunately, not many people outside of the English or MCS department have any reason or room in their course schedule to take it.

UMBC requires undergraduate students to take classes to fulfill the General Education Program before they can graduate. GEP classes fill one of five requirement areas (arts and humanities, social sciences, mathematics, sciences, and culture) and satisfy one of several functional competencies, one of which is information literacy.

The number of credits in each area varies depending on major and concentration, but there is one thing shared between them: many of them can be completed with an Advanced Placement passing score instead of a college level course. Social sciences GEPs may be filled with world history, American government and American history AP tests. Even the English composition GEP, which should be taken at the university level to ensure proper essay writing skills going forward in a student’s college career, can be filled with a high school AP course.

Because of this, any media literacy requirement should not replace the English composition GEP. Although many students feel that there are too many GEP courses, composition and teaching students how to write is very important. UMBC even dedicates an area of the AOK Library to the Writing Center, a free tutoring service offered every semester on campus.

Dr. Simon Stacey, Director of the Honors College, believes that the composition requirement is so important that Honors College students are required to take a composition course regardless of their academic completion record. “We believe that Honors College students also need to be good writers,” he explained. “And that’s why, even if students have AP’ed out of university requirements, we expect a substitute class.”

“There’s more to be had in a college level, 15-week course in expository writing,” Associate Director Dr. Jodi Kelber-Kaye agreed, comparing the English composition course to a high school AP equivalent.

The University of Maryland College Park, UMBC’s neighbor in higher education, requires 4-6 credits of “cultural competency.” These courses include: Essentials of Intercultural Communication; Changing Climate, Changing Cultures; and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People and Communication. While none of these classes specifically advocate for “media literacy,” they all incorporate media and communication in different areas of study.

In the current political climate, all three of these College Park classes have an important cultural impact. There is a lot of misinformation spreading about non-American cultures, climate change and LGBT people. A new generation of college students educated in analyzing articles about these and similarly contentious subjects would go a long way in stopping the spread of “fake news.”

Developing interesting, engaging and wide-reaching media literacy classes based on this model would require MCS and other departments to work together. MCS 101 currently fills the Arts and Humanities GEP, but it would have a larger enrollment and wider reach if it had its own requirement.

As new and old students returned to UMBC at the end of a humid August, the campus buzzed with eager students. Many partook in Welcome Week activities, which included events such as movie nights and Big Breakfast and Bingo. UMBC’s international community, however, starts the school year in a slightly different way.

International students who will attend the English Language Institute, or ELI, often arrive shortly before ELI orientation on Aug. 27. This year’s New Student Orientation took place from Aug. 27 to Aug. 29 and included English placement testing and registration for classes.

ELI Marketing Assistant and junior modern language, linguistics and intercultural communication major Tasneem Mansour expounded upon the content of ELI orientation.

“Basic orientation things include going down to the campus card center to get their red cards, getting their class schedules, paying their tuition, [sic] and a campus tour,” Mansour explained in an email correspondence. “We also let the students know about the programs we provide for them, such as the Conversation Partner Program, as well as the fall [sic] activities and trips that we have planned for them.”

Despite outreach programs such as the Conversation Partner Program and Conversation Cafe, activities on the second floor of the University Center remain unknown to students outside of the international community. Stop by at noon on a weekday, however, and you can see students from many spheres of the UC’s second floor eating Chick-fil-A, playing League of Legends and even studying.

Sophomore biochemistry major Fuerdaiweisi Naijimiding further elaborated on some of the stresses international students face while studying in the U.S. Things that domestic students can take for granted are complicated for newly-arrived international students.

“Students like me really struggled. We don’t usually use online resources in China. A lot of resources are on paper, so we are searching for online stuff and it is kinda difficult for us,” Naijimiding says. “Even little things like how to buy your phone and get your sim card…[students] have to learn all of this, and many of these things are totally different from in China.”

The initial shock of English immersion is difficult for students. “The first days they come…they might have some troubles in the airport [such as] jetlag and hearing [so much English]…realizing how much they don’t understand from American people,” said Dr. Kazumi Hasegawa, the Director of International Marketing at the ELI. English learning from a textbook does not necessarily prepare students for an environment where people speak very quickly and use varied vocabulary, Hasegawa further explained.

Many students report that the support of the ELI helps students overcome these challenges. “Our motto here at the ELI is ‘You are Welcome Here.’ No matter what background the student comes from, we try to make sure their needs are met,” said Mansour.

It is fall semester again and that can only mean one thing – men’s soccer is back. After placing fifth in the America East Conference, UMBC then took eventual champions Albany to double overtime in the playoffs before losing on penalties. Now-departed midfielder Sammy Kahsai scored late to give UMBC a chance to win that game, but Albany keeper Danny Vitiello foiled the Retrievers in the shootout. There was a sense that the team was good enough to achieve more last year, after playing ranked opponents well in the first half of the year, but they eventually fell short of their goal to win the America East championship.

UMBC men’s soccer garnered a huge following last year, breaking the attendance record twice and being named the ninth best place to watch soccer in the country by NCAA fan polls. 2,873 fans attended the Retrievers’ 3-0 win over Howard’s Bisons, a record broken a month later by the 3,766 fans that saw the Retrievers tie number one team Maryland Terrapins 1-1. UMBC also ranked fourteenth in NCAA national attendance. The Retrievers were ranked the sixteenth best team in Soccer America’s Top 25 poll in October. So, the Retrievers will be looking to build upon their sporadic success from last season.

“UMBC’s men’s soccer team is comprised of very talented team players, [who are] always providing us with high quality and action-packed soccer matches,” Shawn Kros, CEO of Arc NCR, said of UMBC’s soccer program. “UMBC’s commitment to [the Kicks for Chase] game shows their true support for their community and for people with differing abilities.”

This summer, senior-defender Tom Paul and senior-midfielders Kahsai, Gregg Hauck and Cormac Noel left the team. In exchange, players like freshman-goalie Quantrell Jones, freshman-forward Jackson Becher and sophomore-forward Cesare Marconi have been added. Jones, a Baltimore native, Becher, a Pennsylvanian, and the Italian Marconi have come into the team certainly hoping to make an impact.

The team started the season perfectly. They defeated Temple’s Owls 1-0 in the opening game of the season. They won 3-2 against Rutgers’ Scarlet Knights after an impressive comeback, in front of 2,828 fans, the third largest crowd in Retriever history. They also defeated College of Charleston’s Cougars 3-0, lost 2-0 to Air Force’s Falcons, and defeated Navy’s Midshipmen 2-0.

Of UMBC’s rivals in America East conference play, only UMass Lowell has been able to better the Retrievers’ good start. The Retrievers are currently tied for second in the standings with New Hampshire and Vermont, while Hartford’s Hawks are still winless.

“[Last year] was a big improvement from the year before,” Coach Caringi said of the Retrievers’ performance last year. “The team last year played the toughest schedule of any UMBC [except] 2014. Three top 15 opponents. By the end, we were playing well. We played well enough to win [in the Albany game] in the end, which is all you can ask for.”

“There’s more of a chemistry in the group [this year],” Caringi said about his current team. “I want to carry over the success and experience from last year. You only get better playing better teams. There’s still an adjustment with this group as far as playing all-out attacking soccer. Jon Bell is injured, one of the best players on the team, and Dylan Poetzel [defender] also. The hard part is changing the players around while playing good teams.”

“Obviously [I am expecting big things from Cesar] Marco and Jackson Becher, who scored 100 goals in high school,” Caringi said on his expectations. “Also [from] Jon Bell, McCalla and Alejandro, but they got injured. Tre Pulliam and Colin Weyant have played here for three years. I’m hoping that their experience would pay off.”

“A lot of other programs have learnt [sic] from us,” Caringi said on UMBC’s competitors. “From 2010 – 2014, we were the best team in AE. They’ve invested in their programs and there’s been an influx of good foreign players. Soccer is [now] as high as number three RPI overall.”

Middle school students file into a classroom and spread out, sitting at desks and looking around the room with uncertainty plastered across their faces. A group of equally uncertain college students enter, and each sits across from one or two middle schoolers to whom they are assigned.

This scene has played out time and again for years at Arbutus Middle School. It is a natural part of the start to the Arbutus Achievers program, which provides UMBC students a chance to go to a local middle school in Arbutus to tutor students twice a week.

Arbutus Achievers is one of the many service sites coordinated by the Shriver Center, a vital part of UMBC’s campus that works to promote civic engagement between students and their community.

Many people might say that students who take time to actively work for their community’s benefit are being altruistic. Those people would be wrong.

Altruism is the practice of disinterested or selfless concern for the well-being of others. There is no way that altruism alone drives the UMBC students who participate in service because they are far from disinterested in the impact they can have on the world around them, and they agree that they reap enormous benefits from service.

UMBC’s volunteers have a genuine concern for the well-being of others, but they gain too much to feel that the term selfless describes them. Aniruddha Rao, a junior biology major and student coordinator for Arbutus Achievers said, “The reward is right there almost as soon as you go there. You go there, you look at the problem, you look at the confusion in their eyes and after about an hour, or a few hours or many hours you see the light of understanding in their eyes.

“They have an a-ha moment, and that’s what makes me keep coming back again and again. That’s what I keep pursuing.” Rao added that, “While school allows you to develop academically, service allows you to develop personally, spiritually. It allows you to become more human.”

That personal development and the building of skills that allow people to relate to one another is an intrinsic benefit of the service in which students participate.

Joby Taylor, director of the Shriver Peaceworker Fellows Program, connects undergraduate and graduate students with community partners. “The model that the Shriver Center works on is a sense of community, collaboration and mutuality,” he said.

He added, “As university students, service is linked to learning about the world and learning about particular curricula first hand. I think of service as really an opportunity to connect with people.”

Dr. Taylor wanted to dismantle the notion that service is a one-sided affair, where a savior rides in on a white horse to help the simple townspeople, saying, “Service can be a pathway to learning through experience, and you can often gain more than you contribute from being of assistance to others and collaborating in mutual ways.”

Students engaged in service seem to agree that the myriad of personal benefits make their contribution worth it.

There are many service sites that could use more volunteers. Those who have not experienced them should try working at one of these sites and reaping the rewards as they work to get out and make a difference in their world.

In this email you will find UMBCworks postings for jobs and internships as well as other events hosted by UMBC Career Center. These positions, events and workshops are tailored just for you! Not sure where to start! Check out this video about being a forensic accountant!

Please note you MUST have your resume approved by a Career Center staff member to apply to postions posted in UMBCworks. To schedule an appointment, click on "Schedule Appointment" from the UMBCworks homepage or call 410-455-2216. 

We are located in Math/Psychology Room 201. Appointments can be made by calling 410-455-2216. We now haveonline scheduling too!

Please visit our website to find further information: careers.umbc.edu.

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Join our myUMBC group

Having trouble with our links? Please LOG IN directly to UMBCworks before clicking the links in this email.

Jobs New Internships and Jobs in Science!: Multiple Openings (09/10/18) (9301582) United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) - United States POSITION TYPE: Full-Time - Entry-Level, Full-Time - Experienced, Part-Time POSTING DATE: Sep 11, 2018 END DATE: Oct 11, 2018 Customer Service Parts Specialist - Pumps/Compressors (9301499) Cummins-Wagner Company, Inc. - Annapolis Junction, Maryland United States POSITION TYPE: Full-Time - Entry-Level, Full-Time - Experienced POSTING DATE: Sep 07, 2018 END DATE: Jan 04, 2019 Chemical Warehouse Specialist - Job Order 868508 (9301484) Mayor's Office of Employment Development - Baltimore, Maryland United States POSITION TYPE: Full-Time - Entry-Level, Full-Time - Experienced, Part-Time POSTING DATE: Sep 06, 2018 END DATE: Nov 06, 2018 Genesis Multiple Job Openings 9/6/2018 (9301487) Mayor's Office of Employment Development POSITION TYPE: Full-Time - Entry-Level, Part-Time POSTING DATE: Sep 06, 2018 END DATE: Sep 13, 2018 Research Nurse Coordinator (9300852) Spectrum Clinical Research - Multiple Locations POSITION TYPE: Full-Time - Entry-Level POSTING DATE: Sep 06, 2018 END DATE: Oct 31, 2018 Rewarding Healthcare Position as a Clinical Allergy Technician! We offer paid training! Spanish Bilingual Required (9301470) United Allergy Services - Multiple Locations POSITION TYPE: Full-Time - Entry-Level POSTING DATE: Sep 06, 2018 END DATE: Jan 03, 2019 Math or English Tutor (9301418) EMtutors LLC - Multiple Locations POSITION TYPE: Part-Time POSTING DATE: Sep 04, 2018 END DATE: Jan 01, 2019 STEAM Before-school Instructor (9301409) Practicalati - IDEA Labs Kids - Multiple Locations POSITION TYPE: Part-Time POSTING DATE: Sep 04, 2018 END DATE: Jan 01, 2019 Current Internships - Maryland Chapter of the Sierra Club (9301341) Business Consultant (9301167) Applied Predictive Technologies - Arlington, Virginia United States POSITION TYPE: Full-Time - Entry-Level POSTING DATE: Aug 23, 2018 END DATE: Oct 05, 2018 Business Consultant Summer Intern (9301170) Applied Predictive Technologies - Arlington, Virginia United States POSITION TYPE: Internship Opportunities POSTING DATE: Aug 23, 2018 END DATE: Oct 05, 2018

Workshops Upcoming Events: Resume Rescue ISCOM Presents Health IT Week: Monday Crash Course SESSION START: Sep 17, 2018, 12:00 PM SESSION END: Sep 17, 2018, 1:00 PM LOCATION: ITE 237 Accounting Club hosts Government Accountability Office SESSION START: Sep 17, 2018, 12:00 PM SESSION END: Sep 17, 2018, 1:00 PM L.I.V.E. ORISE Department of Defense Sponsors Virtual Career Fair SESSION START: Sep 19, 2018, 11:00 AM SESSION END: Sep 19, 2018, 3:00 PM LOCATION: Online ISCOM Presents Health IT Week: Career Panel SESSION START: Sep 21, 2018, 12:00 PM SESSION END: Sep 21, 2018, 1:00 PM LOCATION: ITE 237 Keys to Success: Networking/Personal Branding SESSION START: Sep 24, 2018, 12:00 PM SESSION END: Sep 24, 2018, 1:00 PM LOCATION: Commons 331 ISCOM Presents Health IT Week: Workshop SESSION START: Sep 24, 2018, 12:00 PM SESSION END: Sep 24, 2018, 1:00 PM LOCATION: ITE 237 Fall Career & Internship Fair SESSION START: Sep 26, 2018, 11:30 AM SESSION END: Sep 26, 2018, 3:30 PM LOCATION: RAC Woman of Color STEM Conference, Detroit MI SESSION START: Oct 11, 2018, 5:30 PM SESSION END: Oct 13, 2018, 7:00 PM

[This information was originally sent as an email from the Career Center. All job/internship postings can be found on UMBCworks.]

Virtual permits have officially replaced the familiar parking tags that UMBC students and faculty have been using for years. The new system, which Parking Services rolled out in mid-August, is entirely digital. Students are able to register up to three cars and purchase permits (which are free for any student, as the cost is included in student fees) through an online portal called NuPark, which eliminates the need to wait in long lines at Parking Services to pick up a plastic hang tag.

Jason Johnson, an account clerk for Parking Services, notes that the change should save students from being wrongfully ticketed for small mistakes like forgetting to switch tags after carpooling with a parent or sibling who parks in a different lot. This new system also eliminates the need for temporary permits, which were previously provided by Parking Services on a day-to-day basis to students who had lost or forgotten their permits.

Virtual permits shorten the permit-checking process. “We have LPR out in the car out in the field — that’s License Plate Recognition,” Johnson explains. “So one person is designated just to drive the whole entire campus and as he drives, it scans the plates in a matter of seconds. It’ll save a lot of time.”

The NuPark system goes beyond regular, yearly parking for students and faculty; handicapped parking, for instance, is also handled digitally. Instead of assigning a separate handicapped permit, an “alert” is attached to the license plate number of anyone who requires accessible parking. “When our LPR guy goes around and he scans, an alert flashes on his computer screen and says, ‘hey, don’t ticket this car. It has a valid handicapped placard,’ or whatever we need the alert to say,” says Johnson.

Daily parking permits are also now fully digital. They may be purchased online in batches of five, ten or twenty. “Once the LPR scans your license plate, your permit will be active for that particular day,” according to the Virtual Permit FAQ on the Parking Services website.

Despite the benefits, not every student is excited about these changes. Senior computer science major Tanner Skura thinks there are too many issues with the system. “With the other parking pass, there’s a physical parking pass. With this it’s just online, and it kind of leaves you questioning if your car is actually registered,” she argues. Skura thinks that a better solution would have been, “a system that uses the online registration and physical tags or stickers of some sort.”

Conversely, Ini Folarin, a junior biochemistry major, prefers the new digital permits. “You don’t have to wait for the physical ones to be mailed to you, and it’s easier to sign up for it,” she says. “Everything’s just so much easier.” Senior biology major Jezica Siarez agrees; her family switches cars frequently and she appreciates not having to remember to switch her permit every day.

Some students do not feel strongly either way, but they wish there had been more transparency about what getting a virtual permit entails. Maxi Wardcantori, a junior English major, recently received a warning citation because she did not know she needed to sign up for a new permit. “They keep saying ‘your plate is your permit’ because it’s a jazzy catchphrase, but that doesn’t give you any information about the fact that you need to re-register for a new permit each year,” she explains. “They just say, ‘your plate is your permit,’ which made me think you could park on campus without a permit.”

Other students are unaware that they can register more than one car. Johnson says that this is because if you purchase your permit before you register all of your cars, there is a brief interim period while Parking Services manually applies your permit to the rest of your cars. Due to this discrepancy, Johnson recommends registering all of your cars before purchasing your permit.

The switch to virtual permits is a major change in how parking at UMBC functions — a change that will ideally result in less paper wasted, fewer undeserved tickets and time saved for students and Parking Services staff alike.

As part of our ongoing commitment to security, the Unix Infrastructure group will be conducting quarterly system patching on Saturday, September 22nd for a handful of key services.  The schedule below outlines which key services will be offline and for how long.

Saturday, 9/22/2018 between 9am and 11am(most systems will only be down for a short period during this time):

• myUMBC lite page will be up resulting in reduced myUMBC functionality
• Wiki will be unavailable
• The sites (wordpress) web hosting environment will be unreachable

It started as a seemingly innocuous day for many people. It was another damp Friday morning that began with snow flurries over UMBC’s campus. By the time the clock struck midnight on March 16, 2018, Cinderella had arrived and the greatest upset in sports history had occurred — #RetrieverNation had arrived.

If you thought there was a chance, you probably tuned in to TNT for the opportunity to hear Jim Nantz and Grant Hill highlight the Retrievers on the national stage.

If you saw a tweet on social media or got a text from a friend, you probably turned the game on at some point in the first half, and you kept watching.

If you had any relation to UMBC whatsoever, you were probably glued to your television until the clock hit 0:00.

If you were lucky, you were one of the 17,943 at the Spectrum Center to witness history live.

Though it is unlikely that another UMBC sporting event will ever amass the millions of viewers that watched the pair of March Madness basketball games, demand for UMBC Athletics is at an all-time high as the largest ever incoming class of Retrievers begins their college career. Coincidentally, UMBC is entering year three of an 11-year contract with America East Conference universities and ESPN that allows for each school to produce in-house broadcasts of all their athletic events. “The AE on ESPN3” runs through until the 2026-2027 academic year, with plans to gradually expand the quantity and variety of offerings.

Last year, UMBC broadcasted every home, in-conference men’s and women’s basketball game on ESPN3, with ESPN+ viewing eligibility. As the Retrievers look to build off the March Madness success on the court, UMBC Athletic Communications has made efforts to build off of this success as well, as the ESPN basketball offerings will be expanded to include non-conference opponents.

Alongside basketball receiving ESPN3 coverage, Steve Levy, UMBC Associate AD of Communications, added that it is “likely” that volleyball, men’s soccer, and women’s soccer will have some amount of games broadcasted on ESPN3 this fall. No comment was made as to the opportunity for spring sports on ESPN3 at this point in time.

What makes the in-house broadcasts at UMBC incredibly unique when compared to those of power five conferences, is that most of the broadcast is student-run and produced. UMBC Students working or interning with athletic communications work alongside the sports information department and the new media studio to understand what goes on “behind the scenes” in producing televised college sports broadcasts. Working live shows on professional grade equipment, UMBC students are given the opportunity to learn and work alongside experts in the broadcasting industry, expanding their professional network while developing their skills as camera operators, producers, directors, replay operators and audio engineers.

“With more and more people wanting to get into broadcasting and with the live sports broadcasting industry growing at an unprecedented rate, the initiative offers on-the-fly training that would be hard to get anywhere else,” noted Zach Seidel, UMBC Director of Multimedia Communications and the man behind the popular @UMBCAthletics Twitter account. “It would take years to get on an ESPN broadcast otherwise,” Seidel added. He also noted that many involved in the program have gone on to work broadcasts with the Ravens, Orioles and CBS among others.

One of those students involved with the program is Maher Bousaba, a senior information systems major, entering his second year as a part of the broadcast team. Bousaba said, “I never went to UMBC with any kinds of expectations related to sports, so getting to see D1 basketball through such a professional lens has been wonderful.” Often working behind the camera, Bousaba added, “ESPN has been amazing in creating that opportunity for the hardworking hands behind the broadcast who have taught me and the other students a lot.”

Whereas Bousaba has only recently become involved with UMBC Athletics, senior math major Kristin Watson has made her mark in the RAC and UMBC Event Center as a four-year member of the volleyball team. Also in her second year of the ESPN initiative, Watson became “hooked” on the fast-paced experience of working live television in the broadcast truck on ESPN3 games. “Since it is live action, I love having to make decisions on the spot and understand everyone’s role to make the production run smoothly,” she said, “I was able to direct a few games at the end of the season, which was an unbelievable experience.”

Schedules, livestreams and archives of non-ESPN3 produced games can be found on AmericaEast.Tv, free of charge. ESPN broadcast information can be found alongside the individual team’s schedules on UMBCRetrievers.com, with links to the broadcast posted as they become available.