Do you love loud music?

Do you find robots particularly intriguing?

Do we have a deal for you!

We are looking for volunteers for the Maryland State FIRST LEGO League tournament to be held on Saturday, February 25th in the RAC. Over seventy teams of kids descend on the RAC to test their bots in a thrilling competition!

We need people to help the setup on the night before both Feb 24th and Feb 25th.

Benefits to you: FREE FOOD! FREE T-SHIRT! A great feeling for volunteering

your time! Did I mention FREE FOOD?

Please go to the following site to register and read what is available:

 ●      FLL: Sat. Feb. 25 - UMBC, Catonsville, MD  FIRST LEGO League MD State Championship Sign Up

 Looking forward to seeing you there!

For questions, please email Ms. Beth Goodman at bethgood_2000@yahoo.com 

Kognito, a virtual simulation designed to help students in distress, is available free of charge in Maryland institutions of higher education until 2019. The subscription is made available through the support of the Maryland Institute of Health and Mental Hygiene.

This program is designed for students, faculty and others who wish to help those in emotional or psychological distress, training them to identify potential signs of problems in others while connecting them to appropriate resources. With the use of a virtual coach, students practice managing conversations with those they believe could benefit from more support than they are currently receiving. Often these conversations are difficult to initiate, and may take a lot of courage. Knowing how to bring up a sensitive topic appropriately and handle it in the correct manner is vital for ensuring that the situation is properly dealt with.

The program’s website will prompt the user to create an account, in which the user will choose a “Training POV” that fits their situation (higher education student, teacher, high schooler, etc.). After the user completes the profile, he or she can choose a course from a list of relevant courses. The courses designed for college students are “At-Risk for College Students,” “Veterans on Campus” and “LGBTQ on Campus for Students.”

“At Risk for College Students” allows the user to look at different situations and identify the student displaying the most at risk behaviors. The user is then guided through the process of bringing up these behaviors in a productive manner and introducing the student to resources on campus that may provide help and support. At the end of the simulation, a link is given which takes the students to resources available within their own campus. The entire course takes an estimated time of 34 minutes.

“LGBTQ on Campus for Students” educates the user about the LGBTQ experience, and teaches the user how to be respectful and openminded about those with an identity other than heterosexual or cisgender. It goes over basic information, such as the meaning of the acronym LGBTQ, and more in-depth information such as common stereotypes that students experience on a regular basis. The program highlights the experience of those who are transgender or gender nonconforming, and the challenges of finding gender neutral restrooms and feeling safe on campus. According to the site, “LGBQ students are twice as likely to be the target of offensive comments” and “over a third of trans students face harassment.”

The ”Veterans on Campus: Peer to Peer” program allows people to assist their fellow veterans in adjusting to college and civilian life. Having been in military service, seen or been involved in combat is a challenging experience and one that is often difficult to talk about. In addition, many students have never engaged in combat situations and may not be able to relate. Relating to fellow veterans and helping them transition back into civilian life is an important skill in adjusting from military service to college.

These programs have been proven to be effective. Kognito is listed in the National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP), and is used throughout institutions across the country.

The post Program identifying at-risk behaviors free to Maryland schools appeared first on The Retriever.

Beginning in the fall of 2016, LLC students have the opportunity to work alongside an affiliate faculty member of the LLC Program on that professor's research. This opportunity is designed for part-time LLC students and those who do not have a graduate assistantship.

The Program is about Research, not Red Tape:

• Largely informal and voluntary
• Two to three hours per week
• One semester commitment, but renewable
• Mutually beneficial (limited clerical tasks)
• Small LLC stipend for students

LLC students and affiliate faculty members can seek each other out through the People tab of the LLC website.

Once a faculty member and a student are ready to initiate an apprenticeship, please complete this form and return it to the LLC Program office or email it to llc@umbc.edu.

For students to be eligible for a stipend, the form should be completed within the first three weeks of the start of a semester. We also invite LLC students to update their research interests on this Google spreadsheet.

The Women’s Center is no ordinary office space.Visitors are not greeted by white boards, desks and hard-backed chairs, but by overflowing bookshelves, wall paintings and memory foam bean bags.

On the last evening of January, almost two dozen students, faculty and staff gathered inside to discuss online harassment during an event entitled ‘Weathering the Trollstorm.’

Brittany Oliver, a community activist and employee of the American Civil Liberties Union in Maryland, led the workshop. She discussed issues such as bystander intervention, free speech and online security.

Throughout the evening, Oliver emphasized that trolls exist simply to take up space. She said that the internet is a shared space and that if someone feels upset or unnerved by an online interaction, those feelings are valid.

“The internet itself is not the problem,” she said.

Because many people in attendance had experienced or witnessed online harassment, Oliver encouraged participants to follow up with friends that they witness being harassed. She also suggested taking heated conversations offline if one is comfortable doing so.

Attendees of the talk extended beyond the UMBC community. Ka-Lyn Coghill, an organizational communications student at Bowie State University, attended at the recommendation of her thesis advisor. Her project, ‘A Seat at the Table: A Repetitive Narrative of Abuse’ was inspired in part by her experiences of harassment online.

Coghill is an active Twitter user and podcaster who speaks out about community issues. “The more outspoken you are, the more they try to shut you up,” she said. “Being a black woman online is a weird experience.”

In addition to its regular programs (such as Between Women and Spectrum), the Women’s Center schedules additional events based on the needs of the community. “We try to be flexible with whatever’s happening in the world,” said Women’s Center director Jess Myers.

Myers described recent offerings as a “What now?” series in response to the tumultuous political climate and recent presidential election. Last December, representatives from Planned Parenthood came to discuss reproductive rights. Guest presenters are from within the university as well: UMBC Police will be presenting on Feb. 15 for a program entitled ‘Free Speech, Hate Speech and Knowing Your Rights.’

The Women’s Center strives to educate students on relevant issues and connect them to organizations that align with their mission, such as the ACLU.

Oliver, a seasoned activist, structured the cyber harassment event more as a discussion than a lecture. She addressed many of the issues attendees raised as they introduced themselves at the beginning of the program.

The issues discussed had a personal impact for several participants and allowed them to express their feelings in a safe space. Environmental studies major and adult learner Katrina Kelly shared a personal narrative and pondered the long-lasting impacts of online harassment, “When does the online go offline and begin to affect your life?”

The post The art of ‘trollbusting’ appeared first on The Retriever.

Auditions​
Stories from the Fringe: Women Rabbis, Revealed!

Strand Theater Company, in partnership with the Gordon Center for the Arts, is producing a staged reading of Stories from the Fringe, written by Rabbi Lynne A. Kern and Ronda Spinak
Developed and originally performed at Los Angeles Jewish Women’s Theatre

JOB SUMMARY