The 90^th Academy Awards Ceremony was a night of dreams, messages and hopes for Hollywood to do better.

The 2018 Oscars marked the end of an awards seasons made tense by the #MeToo movement addressing sexual assault in the workplace. The Academy made its nods to the movement by ousting the infamous offender Harvey Weinstein and ensuring that most of the award presenters were women in the industry. Notably, when previous Academy Award winner and actress, Emma Stone, presented for Best Director, she said, “These four men, and Greta Gerwig, created their own masterpieces this year,” singling nominee Greta Gerwig for her achievement among the male nominees. While some applauded this shout-out, others felt that Stone’s line erased the accomplishments of the directors of color in the category, Jordan Peele and Guillermo del Toro.

In an award speech for her role in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” actress Frances McDormand praised her fellow female nominees for their achievements and urged others to enlist them in projects for new stories. She had them all stand with her and feel honored for their work.

In many ways, the 90th Academy Awards was also a course-correct for last year’s Best Picture mix-up. In 2017, the Best Picture Award was mistakenly awarded to “La La Land,” due to the negligence of a PricewaterhouseCoopers employee. The 2017 host, Jimmy Kimmel, personally felt embarrassed by the fiasco. So, this year’s Ceremony brought in the same players, excluding the employee, for a second chance to rectify their mistakes. Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel was invited to host for a second time, and even the Best Picture Award was presented again by actors Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, who correctly announced “The Shape of Water” as the winner of the event’s grand award.

There were many references to last year’s faux-pas in the ceremony. Notably, “Star Wars” actor Mark Hamill made light of it by saying “Don’t say La La Land. Don’t Say La La Land,” before announcing the winner for best short animated film.

The Best Picture winner itself aligned well with the theme of inclusion with its focus on the love between two outsiders, a mute female janitor and an aquatic river god. The Oscars ceremony played a video of actors discussing the importance of diversity in various Hollywood projects. People of color and women were praised for their contributions to the industry throughout the evening. Kimmel also praised the recently released movie “Black Panther” for its record-breaking box office success, giving the message that representation is a fruitful way for the industry to thrive. Many people say that the Oscars talk more about change than actually enacting it, but only time will tell what or who will be lauded next year in Hollywood.

As he received one of higher education’s highest honors on Monday, March 12, UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski used the moment to underscore the essential role that colleges and universities play in society as centers of discourse where history is revered and where ideals are matched by service.

Hrabowski accepted the American Council on Education (ACE) Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of the “wonderful colleagues and students” at UMBC. He is among the most highly regarded and longest-serving university leaders in the nation, having served as president of UMBC since 1992.  He is widely celebrated for supporting student success across all fields and populations, and particularly for his work with fellow educators, research agencies, philanthropists, and other partners to make UMBC a national model for increasing diversity in STEM.

“Freeman is a fierce champion of the traditionally unseen and underserved, and he is a vigorous and powerful mentor,” said ACE president Ted Mitchell. “He has been called one of America’s best leaders, one of the 100 most influential people in the world, one of America’s best 10 college presidents…At ACE, we just call him our future.”

Hrabowski’s experiences in the Civil Rights Movement drove him to push boundaries and reach further in his own education, and to create new opportunities for students of the future. UMBC opened in 1966 as the first public university in Maryland to welcome students of all backgrounds. Since becoming the university’s leader 26 years ago, Hrabowski has worked with the campus community to create an environment that both challenges and nurtures the next generation of thinkers and leaders.

In the current moment of heightened political and social divisions, he noted, he is particularly proud of the willingness of students with varying backgrounds and perspectives to come together to discuss difficult issues. “The idea being that we will agree to disagree agreeably…to have civility, and before we answer, to breathe and reflect,” he said.

In 2008, Hrabowski was named one of America’s Best Leaders by U.S. News and World Report. In Hrabowski’s time as president of UMBC, the university has grown to prominence as one of the most innovative colleges nationwide, balancing commitments to teaching and research, and producing remarkable alumni, from artists and policy makers to teachers, scientists, and social workers, as well as the current surgeon general and, fittingly, university presidents.

Photo credit: Tim Trumble/ACE

The Baltimore County Arts Guild's partner, the  Benjamin Banneker Foundation, is seeking photographers and videographers to donate time to take photographs and create a two minute video of their Colonial Market event (https://www.colonialmarketfair.com/ ) for promotional materials for next years ten year anniversary celebration.  

Student volunteers are most welcome and credits will be given.

They are also seeking quick sketch artists to draw pictures of visitors for a fee.  

These artists can charge what they like and will keep all the proceeds. 

Contact Judy Miller at (301) 421-1876  or jc19miller@gmail.com if you are interested. Tell them the Baltimore County Arts Guild sent you!