On March 29, former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley sat down for an interview with ABC news to talk about the upcoming 2016 presidential race. He mentioned potential candidates, such as Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush, who may run in the upcoming election. O’Malley may even be considering running for the Democratic nomination.

During the interview with George Stephanopoulos, O’Malley said, “the presidency of the United States is not some crown to be passed between 2 families. It is an awesome and sacred trust”.Some have inferred this to be a reference to the two other presidential candidates.

Stephanopoulos mentioned that O’Malley supported Clinton in her last presidential run, in 2007. To this the former Governor concedes that he did, but while he has supported her in the past, he isn’t sure if Clinton is right for America now. He goes on to say, “I believe there are new perspectives that are needed in order for us to solve the problems that we face as Americans”.

He also questioned whether or not Clinton could let go of already failed economic policies. When asked by Stephanopoulos if he thought Clinton could take on powerful special interests O’Malley remarked, “I don’t know. I don’t know where she stands.”

Instead of making attacks against other candidates O’Malley pointed out his own track record with Maryland: “what I know for my own part is in Maryland we did the things that worked”. He talked about how as governor of Maryland he was able to help create jobs, keep a high median income for the state, and pass laws of inclusion.

“It’s not about being for or against any other candidate, it is about being for the national interest,” said O’Malley. The former governor also addressed the economy during his interview, stating that national interests need to come before special interests like Wall Street in order for the economy to get back on track.

O’Malley also addressed national threats like a nuclear Iran and climate change, stating, “We have to confront manmade and natural threats.” On the nuclear Iranian issue, he expressed agreement that Obama’s move to strike a deal with Iran was the best course of action. He also mentioned how Maryland put sanctions on Iranian nuclear development earlier than many other states with the goal of getting them to negotiate.

Stephanopoulos pointed out how much O’Malley sounded like a presidential candidate, but then pointed out how a poll done back in October, by the Washington Post, did not make him look like a favorable choice. 70% of people in Maryland said he would not make a good presidential candidate. He also ranked behind Clinton, Biden, and Warren as a possible Democratic nominee.

“I believe that what people want, especially this year, is proven executive experience.”

O’Malley said in response. He pointed to his track record, mentioning how Maryland has had the highest ranked public schools in the country 5 years in a row and how they’ve reduced violent crime to record lows.

O’Malley concluded by telling Stephanopoulos that he will not make a decision about running for the Democratic nominee until sometime this spring.

Sources:

Bell, Ben. “Gov. Martin O’Malley: Presidency Not a Crown to Be Passed Between Two Families.” ABC News. ABC News Network, 29 Mar. 2015. Web. 07 Apr. 2015. <http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/gov-martin-omalley-presidency-crown-passed-families/story?id=29988770&gt;.

Berger, Daniel. “O’Malley: Presidency ‘not Some Crown’ Reserved for Clintons, Bushes.” Msnbc.com. NBC News Digital, 29 Mar. 2015. Web. 07 Apr. 2015. <http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/martin-omalley-presidency-not-some-crown-hillary-clinton-jeb-bush&gt;.

Cillizza, Chris. “Just How Negative Is Martin O’Malley Willing to Go on Hillary Clinton?” Washington Post. The Washington Post, 30 Mar. 2015. Web. 07 Apr. 2015. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/03/30/just-how-negative-is-martin-omalley-willing-to-go-on-hillary-clinton/&gt;.

Witcover, Jules. “Martin O’Malley Makes a Case for Challenging Hillary.” Baltimoresun.com. The Baltimore Sun, 3 Apr. 2015. Web. 07 Apr. 2015. <http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/bal-martin-omalley-makes-a-case-for-challenging-hillary-20150402-story.html&gt;.

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Optio Labs acquires Oculis Labs in merger of local security companies

Volunteer Victim Advocate Interns (9273851)
Office of the State's Attorney for Baltimore City - Baltimore, Maryland

This work will be under the direct supervision and training of a Licensed Certified Social Worker - Clinical (LCSW-C). The Interns will also work with Assistant State’s Attorneys, Docket Clerks and other support staff.

Duties include attending morning court sessions, assisting with hand written interviews and handling walk-in interviews during office hours. The Intern also provides administrative support through placing phone calls, reproducing case files and notes, and assisting with docket preparation.

Education Associate (9273690)
Young Audiences/Arts for Learning - Baltimore , Maryland

YA offers its interns a unique and valuable chance to learn the ins and outs of a leading arts-in-education nonprofit and to contribute to the continued success of the organization. Our internship program is flexible and can be tailored to provide the most optimum experience for each student through a collaborative learning process.

UAV Intern in Panama (9273805)
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute - Gigante Peninsula, Non-U.S.

Immediate opening at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama for an intern / fellow / research assistant to collect high-resolution aerial photos with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from June 1 – August 31, 2015.

Responsibilities will include assembly of fixed-wing and multirotor UAVs, maintenance and repair of UAVs, and more!

Graphic Designer/Marketing Specialist (9273855)
KLNB LLC - Towson, Maryland

A commercial real estate firm in the Baltimore-Washington DC Metropolitan area is seeking an additional Graphic Designer/Marketing Specialist to join their team in Towson, MD. This design position is responsible for providing multiple real estate brokers with marketing materials that are dynamic, accurate and comprehensive.

AIRP internship - American College of Radiology (9273760)
American College of Radiology - Silver Spring, Maryland

The AIRP Archival Internship is designed to refine and enhance the intern’s interest in medical archives or health information fields. Part of the program will include instruction in medical administration regarding the handling of patient records in a medical setting, and the remainder of the program will work with case submission quality assessment.

Baltimore's Profectus marks key step in race for Ebola vaccine

An exhibition on the effects of warfare

The Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture (CADVC) presents an exhibition called Out of Rubble, which depicts the destruction that war can, and has, caused physically, psychologically and spiritually.

Located in the Fine Arts building, the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture held an opening reception for the Out of Rubble exhibition last Thursday evening. The works, which represent the aftermath of warfare from different places around the world, strive to give people a sense of the ruin that war leaves behind.

“This exhibition was put together to present artists responding to conflicts around the world,” said Symmes Gardner, the Executive Director of the CADVC. Out of Rubble supports works by 17 international artists and architects from over 10 countries. Each piece reflects a scene or example of warfare and how it deeply affected its surroundings.

“The [exhibition’s] setting gives the viewers the opportunity to form a one-to-one relationship with the pieces,” said Gardner. Rather than giving a tour, the goal was to provide enough space for viewers to really connect with the pieces. Instead of distracting them with a large amount of text next to each piece, a packet containing their descriptions is available.

Kelley Schmidt, a freshman biology major, said, “My art professor told me about this. It’s a lot different than I thought it would be. The whole thing is very emotional and eye-opening.” Her favorite piece was “Wasteland: Najaf, Iraq 2005” by Enrique Castrejon. Made out of adhesive tape, pencil, ink and thumb tacks, it’s an abstract depiction of a man walking through a war-torn street.

“We’re often left with these disastrous images in the media and become so focused on them that it’s hard to imagine a future of recovery,” said Gardner with regard to “Repairing Lebanon” by Lenka Clayton. By digitally altering photographs taken in 2006 of buildings left destroyed by the war in Israel, Clayton is able to repair them and present a before and after representation of reconstruction and recovery.

Out of Rubble examines the many different aspects of war, from the causes and consequences to the possibility of a better tomorrow. The curator, Susanne Slavick, is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Art at Carnegie Mellon University. Her book, which shares a title with the exhibit, displays all of the pieces as a whole and discusses the abstract theme which the pieces hope to convey.

These pieces speak to the havoc that warfare wreaks in places around the world and in the lives of individuals. The artists and architects behind these works of art were able to express their responses to this chaos.

“[Susanne Slavick] is offering a lecture in the Performing Arts building on April 30 at 7 p.m.,” said Gardner. The CADVC is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For anyone who’s interested in viewing these powerful works of art, the Out of Rubble exhibition will be open until May 16.

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Active Minds attempt to raise money for mental health

Active Minds of UMBC, an organization that promotes awareness and research for mental health, is always raising money for their cause. Mental Health Awareness Week was a perfect opportunity to hold another fundraiser.

Tuesday, March 31 was a fairly gloomy and rainy afternoon. On that day, UMBC students were encouraged to come to Sweet Frog of Catonsville from 3 to 9 p.m. to partake in some delicious frozen yogurt and support Active Minds. However, the atmosphere of the fundraiser matched the weather. Aside from one or two people who weren’t even UMBC students, Sweet Frog was completely empty.

“I don’t know how much we are going to make today. A little over 30 people should be going, but I don’t know if the rain will be a factor,” said senior psychology major Sharde Hoff. Hoff is one of the main members of Active Minds and contributes to the fundraisers.

Fortunately, more students began to arrive as the evening went on. By the time it hit 5 p.m., groups of two or three filed through the doors and a small line quickly formed. After a long afternoon of classes, students came in to relax, chat and partake in some delicious frozen yogurt.

After deciding which flavor they wanted, students hovered over the counter where numerous toppings were offered to choose from. No one was shy about filling their cup to the brim, or even getting back in line for seconds. Afterall, it was for a good cause.

All donations, even the smallest amounts, were greatly appreciated. Throughout the year, Active Minds holds many fundraisers and events to earn money for their chapter. Most of the time, the turnout is relatively small. But, by holding two to three events per semester, the money eventually does add up.

Of the $134 that was made that day, Active Minds received $26 back.  “That’s better than our last off campus fundraiser, but eh,” said Hoff.

The money will be donated to Active Minds’ national chapter in D.C. to help fund research and provide information about mental health resources.

To encourage attendance to such events, coordinators such as Hoff try to choose popular local chains such as Sweet Frog. “We’ve held past fundraisers at pizza places and other restaurants, but the turnout can be quite minimal,” said Hoff. “We chose Sweet Frog because everyone loves frozen yogurt.”

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SGA Election Board issues official warning 

On Wednesday, April 8, the SGA Election Board announced in a post on myUMBC that the SGA campaign for Michelle Seu and Lizz Chen had been found in violation of one of the SGA’s election rules. The candidates received an official warning for the violation.

The campaign was found guilty by the Board, in a vote of 6-0 with 1 member absent, of violating Election Rule 15, which states: “The use of resources owned by SGA or any other UMBC office for campaign purposes is prohibited, except when the resources are available for public use.” The resource in question is the myUMBC page of the SGA Department of Academic Affairs.

According to the released statement, the Board received a complaint that “Seu and Chen had posted their campaign platform through a myUMBC group owned by SGA’s Department of Academic Affairs. The post in question has since been removed.”

Seu said of the incident, “We didn’t think we were breaking any rules, but within an hour of posting the link, two different friends were wondering if it could be considered a rule violation. We contacted [Election Board Chair Evan Leiter-Mason] ASAP and shut down the page as soon as we were told that it technically did violate a rule.”

“We want to emphasize that we were not trying to imply that SGA DAA was endorsing our campaign and we did not think that we were at any particular advantage posting it via the DAA page. We just didn’t have an AMA ready and thought it’d be cool to still have the platform available as a link to myUMBC,” said Seu.

The Board issued an official warning to the campaign, but no other action has been taken.

This announcement by the Board comes as part of their initiative to lessen foul play in this year’s SGA elections. In their statement, the Election Board said, “In the interest of transparency and accountability, this year the Election Board will make public every time it finds a candidate has violated Election Rules and issues a sanction in response.”

The Board also said that students should report potential rule violations to Leiter-Mason at leiter1@umbc.edu.

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