1. Don’t be afraid to fail 
2. Don't misinterpret your market 
3. Don't delay your launch
4. Don't blindly create a product
5. Don't forget about branding
6. Don’t think you know it all
7. Don't get materialistic
8. Don't move too slowly
9. Don’t give yourself the wrong salary
10. Don't avoid contracts
11. Don't neglect your marketing budget
12. Don't make hires too soon
13. Don't take negativity to heart
14. Don't go it alone
15. Don't be greedy
16. Don't forget about due diligence
17. Don't get too wrapped up in your ideas

1. Don’t be afraid to fail 
2. Don't misinterpret your market 
3. Don't delay your launch
4. Don't blindly create a product
5. Don't forget about branding
6. Don’t think you know it all
7. Don't get materialistic
8. Don't move too slowly
9. Don’t give yourself the wrong salary
10. Don't avoid contracts
11. Don't neglect your marketing budget
12. Don't make hires too soon
13. Don't take negativity to heart
14. Don't go it alone
15. Don't be greedy
16. Don't forget about due diligence
17. Don't get too wrapped up in your ideas

It's time to Register for Fall Classes!

http://coeadvising.umbc.edu

What about Summer Classes?

http://www.umbc.edu/summer/

What If I'm a New Student?

New Students may not register for courses until Orientation. Please sign up for summer Orientation.

http://orientation.umbc.edu/

What If I Still Have Questions?

If you were to ever walk through the Fine Arts building floor by floor, you would find yourself travelling through a brick and tile maze decorated with outdated posters, ridiculously low-set and uncomfortable benches and classrooms that vary from floor to floor. Students who we spoke to agreed that the building is inconsistent, confusing and looks neglected compared to other buildings on campus.

Edward Smead, an adjunct associate history professor, found himself lost on the very first day of classes this semester. The Fine Arts building is actually confusing enough to get a veteran professor lost traveling between the fifth and third floors. What exactly is the deal with Fine Arts?

Fortunately, the Retriever was able to get in contact with Celso Guitian, a campus planner from UMBC Facilities Management, who was able to give us a history of the building, as well as answer a few questions about the building. According to Guitian, the Fine Arts Building was built in two phases, mostly likely due to lags in state funding.

The first floor classrooms (Floor Zero), studios, offices and other spaces of floors 1-4 were built during the first phase, which was completed in 1969. This phase also included stairs and elevators on opposite ends of the building that were in preparation of the second phase. In 1975, UMBC Facilities Management finished the second phase, which added Fine Art’s two large wings, which contain a recital hall, a large gallery space, more studies and offices, all in order to meet the needs of the growing Fine Arts departments.

Guitian explained how the Fine Arts building has a method to the madness of its floor layout. We asked Guitian why each floor in Fine Arts looked noticeably different from each other. He said, “The interior configuration of the building has changed many times in the past 45 years to accommodate changes to our programs. The building design has allowed for this. It also accommodates large spaces like the CADVC Gallery and the Recital Hall that are two stories.”

Another popular question regarding Fine Arts is why the building is home to so many different departments, including history, American studies, Asian studies, Africana studies, global studies, cinematic arts, media & communications studies and so on. “When the theater, dance and music departments were moved to PAHB in 2014, half of Fine Arts was left vacant,” said Guitian. “The university then made the decision to consolidate the Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities along with nearly a dozen humanities departments into Fine Arts from other areas on campus.”

Because so many departments exist within the Fine Arts building, there are many humanities students who use the building on a daily basis, and have thus developed strong opinions of their daily working spaces. All of the humanities students that we spoke to agreed that the building is odd and in need of better care. “I personally refer to the building as FARTS. It’s a weird little place – it’s pretty gross and dingy and nowhere near as pristine as PAHB. Room 221A in particular is extremely cold,” said Hannah Geiger, a junior cinematic arts major.

Jari Neuman, a fellow junior cinematic arts major, said that, “Structurally, I think the building could be improved. Better studios for film and photo majors would be a start. Recording spaces that were sound proofed would also be a great help.”

Leslie Gray, a junior intermedia major, added, “I think the building is dark and sad. Most of the windows are covered, impossible to see through, or completely absent, which sucks if you’re in there all day.”

Despite the need for improvement, the students agreed that they still consider FARTS their home. Geiger said, “The film department is a weird little home to me. I look forward to spending four straight hours with the same people each week in a little room watching films on the projector. They also have amazing equipment and archives stored there.”

Neuman shared a similar sentiment: “Most of my classes are in the Fine Arts and most of the friendships I’ve formed have been in those class rooms. At the end of the day, a lot can be improved, but it’s my home on campus and I love it.”

The post Fine Arts building may be confusing, but it’s home for many students appeared first on The Retriever.

The theatre department at UMBC is quite impressive; producing a high quality show every semester, along with smaller events throughout the year. Most recently the department performed “Almost, Maine.”

Usually the plays are held in the old theater by the tennis courts, but this show was hosted in the Dance Tech Studio of the Performing Arts and Humanities building, making it even better. “Almost, Maine” is a compilation of Romantic Comedies all taking place in the same night; or as the flyer described “Almost, Maine – a play about love in a small community.”

This play was adorable and hilarious all at the same time. The performance was a compilation of short romantic comedies between characters of all backgrounds and stories. The play was originally created by John Cariani; however the students at UMBC put their own spin to it.

What made the performance even better was that it was a musical and songs would pop up at the most unexpected times! The performers were extremely talented and stayed true to their roles, making the show even more engaging.

Because the play was broken into smaller skits, it was reminiscent of the 2004 Christmas movie, Love Actually; which follows the love stories of multiple couples across London during Christmas time.

Out of the nine skits, the highlight had to be the “Sad and Glad” segment. With such an unexpected ending, it stood out among the others. The skit opens with a heartbroken Jimmy, drinking alone in a bar when he sees his ex, who he’s still not over.

They start talking and Sandrine, (his ex), asks him about his tattoo. All this is happening as this waitress is going back and forth with drinks. Jimmy explains that the tattoo was meant to say “villain,” to warn future girls about him. However the parlor misspelled it as “villian.” After Sandrine leaves, Jimmy finds out that the waitress’s name was Villian … and the scene ends there.

Certain parts of the play were very cute and whimsical, making the whole thing more enjoyable. The first skit started off with a women carrying around a bag. When asked what it was, she replied that she was carrying around the broken pieces of her heart.

In another skit, a girl storms into her ex’s house and demands for all the love she gave him back. She brings him small bags that are supposed to be filled with all the “love” he gave her. Those scenes are what made the play. The whole studio was filled with gasps, laughter and “oohs and aahs” throughout her entire performance.

The play was around two hours long, but it certainly didn’t feel that way. It is clear that much time and effort went into creating the cast, the props, practice and finally putting on the show for the two hours of entertainment we had witnessed. It is easy to say that this was one of the best performances put on by the department to date.

The post UMBC Theater presents ‘Almost, Maine’ appeared first on The Retriever.

Serving as a senator in the Iowa Senate, republican Mark Chelgren introduced a bill which would look into college hiring practices. The bill would enforce a policy in all Iowa state universities that would take the political party of potential candidates into consideration when hiring new faculty.

If passed this legislation is passed in the Iowa Senate, then there is a dangerous chance for it to be proposed in other states. The very idea of forcing colleges to consider political persuasion constitutes unfair and discriminatory hiring practices.

If students are aware that each professor was partially hired in order to maintain a political balance, they will feel inclined to censor themselves in fear of offending a teacher or hurting their grade.

Riya Parikh, a sophomore undecided major, stated, “Students would censor their own speeches, articles, writing and colleges would not be a place to truly explore and experience but rather a place where just like everywhere else, everyone is indirectly forced to be politically correct.”

When students feel the need to censor themselves, especially in the social sciences where there are always a lot of discussions and debates in class, then fear of political judgment will hinder the students’ intellectual experiences.

Although professors today still have their own personal beliefs, they do not necessarily speak of them in class. But if this law passes, then there is the implication that political biases towards students are acceptable.

This is also a gross violation of privacy for the professors themselves. The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 prohibits employers from asking about political party preferences of federal employees. However, this only applies to federal employees, and, unfortunately, allows each state to make its own requirements for non-federal employment opportunities.

The intention of the law is to even out the disproportionately large amount of liberal persuasion within college campuses since many instructors are liberal. Nonetheless, there currently are not any hiring committees in schools which take one’s political party into account during a candidate’s evaluation. The seemingly disproportionate amount of liberal to conservative professors is simply something that just naturally happened as colleges tend to lean more towards open explorative thoughts.

However, there is a problem if teachers, liberal or conservative, introduce their own ideas to students. This is something that should not occur regardless of the professor’s political or personal beliefs. Nonetheless, forcing colleges to have an equal percentage of left- and right-minded staff when hiring a new instructor, is not the solution to their perceived notion that liberal professors are a problem in today’s college environment.

The proposed bill would do more harm than good, especially concerning professors looking to work at a state school. Such a course of action could lead to the possibility of discrimination in regards to both the professor’s and student’s political views, and that is simply unacceptable at any educational institution.

The post Political freedom of professors at risk in Iowa appeared first on The Retriever.