Mary Aronne ’18, Environmental Science and Geography and member of the Honors College, is the Intern of the Week for her work at the Goddard Space Flight Center. Mary analyzes space weather by looking at satellite data and monitoring solar activity. In addition to her day-to-day space weather analysis, Mary has an ongoing research project she works on with the help of her mentor at Goddard.

Join us in congratulating Mary! To read more, follow the link below.

Superfoods are nutrient powerhouses that pack large doses of antioxidants, polyphenols, vitamins, and minerals that are good for your heart and your overall health.  

Check out our featured superfood recipe each week!

Luke 18:12 (NIV) - “I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.”

As first look, these acts by the Pharisee seem commendable. Yet, we see he is setting forth his own qualifications for righteousness. The acts of fasting and giving gave him a sense of being spiritual, being obedient, being faithful all the while having a heart full of himself and judgmental towards those who did not do as he did.

Isaiah 58:3-9 - “‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ ‘Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.’”

When we fast, when we give, when we pray, when we engage in all acts meant for the worship of God, know that it is as much about the heart as it is about the action. The outer forms do not excuse or cover up for what is lacking in the inner person. When we fast, there is power to be experienced for ourselves and others that leads to freedom and transformation. When we give, there is to be thankfulness, mercy and greater joy. When we pray, healing and the answers of God come into our lives.

Let’s not do righteous acts to prove anything to ourselves or others. Let’s engage in righteous acts because we’re simply coming before God to say, here am I. We do the essentials because God promises us when we come humbly and sincerely, he will meet us there and say, “Here am I.”

-AK

Over the past few months, the Retriever Event Center has begun to take shape. Located next to the stadium, the 172,000-square-foot building will host sports games, concerts and commencement. The only problem? It’s a massive waste of money.

This editorial board is not against the Event Center itself. Having a designated space on campus to host graduation ceremonies is a huge benefit and this space could also be contracted out for other events, earning UMBC some extra revenue.

Timing is the main issue in regards to the construction of the Event Center. When students cannot find parking, when there is a wait list for on-campus housing, when furniture in classrooms is broken, maybe the $85 million Event Center construction budget could have been better spent elsewhere.

The Event Center appears to be a well-designed space. A state-of-the-art athletic and event venue will add value to campus. That being said, this sort of space should not have been a spending priority yet. If the administration is hoping to expand UMBC, there are other needs that must be met before concert space. If UMBC expects to accommodate a larger student body, housing and parking should have taken precedence.

An equally frustrating factor is that housing projects are already a part of the UMBC Master Plan. Efforts for future growth include “a new residential community along Walker Avenue that would add an additional 342 beds” and “a new addition to Chesapeake Hall will provide 120 additional beds.” These are excellent plans that would markedly improve the residential side of campus. But, the conversation must have gone, ‘athletic space is more important than housing.’

Athletic space is evidently also more important than parking. We have all heard commuters talk about parking and it’s not just empty complaining. Parking is a real problem at UMBC. As we run out of space on campus, parking garages will need to take the place of current parking lots. At a rate of $25,000 per space to build a parking garage, the Event Center’s budget could have purchased an absurd 3,400 new parking spots. Why not build just a fraction of these and meet a huge student need?

Thus, our frustration arises because responsible expansion plans are already in place, and yet, administration made the irresponsible decision to break ground on an Event Center. This project should have taken place five or ten years down the line, after building more housing, more parking and more academic space. According to UMBC’s own projections, by 2019 there will be significant space deficits for laboratories, offices, study spaces and housing. These are needs that should have been met before a massive event venue.

The Event Center would seem to be the brick-and-mortar embodiment of UMBC’s expansion priority: optics. Construction projects seem to have been driven by an impetus to spruce up UMBC’s image. A shiny new Event Center right next to the entrance of campus is a sexy project. Parking garages and apartments are not sexy projects.

The Facilities Management website confirms this misguided emphasis on aesthetics. The Event Center, it reads, will provide “an interesting and exciting sense of arrival for students.” That’s an excellent goal, but it should be one that is ancillary rather than central. “Interesting and exciting” is not what students need. Every time we drive past the construction site, we’re reminded – we need building projects that are useful, not sexy.

The post Event Center should not have been a spending priority appeared first on The Retriever.

Luke 18:10-11 (NIV) - “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people-robbers, evildoers, adulterers-or even like this tax collector.”

As the Pharisee is standing by himself, setting himself apart, he is making a statement that the temple or house of God was for people like himself and not for the likes of other people - you know, sinners. And one in particular, a tax collector, caught his attention and disdain. In the following chapter in Luke from where we find this parable, another tax collector catches someone’s attention.

Luke 19:1-10 (NIV) - “Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’ So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, ‘He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.’ But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.’”

When I read the parable in Luke 18, I picture the likes of Zacchaeus who in the mind of the Pharisee was too far off to ever reach God. Zacchaeus tried, even climbing a tree, to see this Jesus, but little did he know Jesus was coming to reach him. There’s another tax collector, Matthew, that Jesus comes for and we all know how that ends - salvation for them and for those in their households. What is it about these sinners - robbers, evildoers, adulterers, tax collectors - that draws Jesus’ attention?

What kind of attention do sinners get from us? “Thank goodness we’re not like that”, “hope that doesn’t rub off on me”, but these thoughts and sentiments keep the very ones who are called to fill God’s temple and fill His house far off. Jesus says about Zacchaeus, “this man, too”, meaning he is also meant to be included.

Today let’s pray for those close in our lives who have not yet turned to Christ for saving faith. Pray for family members, co-workers, neighbors, students, those we are actively reaching out to. As you pray for them, declare the words from this passage saying their name and “come down (respond) immediately, Jesus must stay at your house today” and asking that salvation would come to their house today.

-AK