On Monday, August 17th, 2020, the CWIT Student Council hosted a town hall for new members of the community. We greatly appreciate the time our panelists took to share tips and advice with students.

We discussed engagement in the community and activities that CWIT is putting together to ensure that the community stays engaged amid virtual interaction.

Additionally, panelists shared tips on navigating online learning and virtual college life based on the experience they acquired during the spring semester. Some of the useful suggestions were: communicating challenges with professors as they arise, adjusting study habits accordingly, not being afraid of asking questions, and maintaining a sense of community by forming study groups and by engaging in peer mentoring activities.

Other points of the discussion included approaching professors and getting to know them, navigating online platforms (Blackboard and WebEx), and understanding the formats of online classes this fall.

Overall, the CWIT community aims to keep new members engaged and will do so by strengthening the peer mentoring program, as peer mentors will be important points of contact for incoming students. If you want to know more about the discussion held on Monday, feel free to watch the recording of the event here.

We know that you may still have questions regarding the semester and the plans in our community. Please, submit your questions through this form and join us on Wednesday, August 26th, 2020 at 12 pm for another town hall. All members of the community are invited!

Written by Sofia Encarnacion, ‘22 Mosaic Student Diversity and Inclusion Peer. 

My parents, siblings, and I do not practice any religion, but my parents still had us go to church for the first few years of my life. When I got older, my dad explained his reasoning for attending as a way to “understand American culture.” It was a Presbyterian church, and I didn’t have any friends there. Later, when we stopped going, my eight-year-old self was just relieved I didn’t have to wake up so early. All my friends at school were some denomination of Protestant and they didn’t care that I wasn’t. In sixth grade, a classmate told me I was going to Hell for not believing in God, but that was it. Overall, religion wasn’t a huge part of my socialization or upbringing. However, I was grateful that I knew the more well-known stories in the Bible, as there were plenty of references to them in pop culture and English class.

My relationship with Christianity always felt conflicting. When I was ten, I saw a man on the news imply that the 2010 Haitian earthquake was deserved because they “made a pact with the devil.” That was my first distinct interaction of people using their faith as an excuse for hatred. Despite this, I knew my Christian friends were good people. I was now an outsider of this type of faith, and my interactions with my peers were stronger influences than some random televangelist or the anti-LGBTQ+ Christians I’d see on TV. However, I noticed I was still putting up walls around myself from embracing organized religion.

As I got older, I knew there were other religions, but I guess I never thought about them until I befriended a Muslim girl on my bus. Sixth graders can be very ignorant. Our bus ride was almost an hour long so we’d spend a lot of time talking. As soon as she told us the purpose of her hijab, all the girls were very protective whenever she’d occasionally duck down in the bus seat to fix it. Some boys would try to peek at her, and the girls would shove them away. We definitely asked dumb questions, such as  “Don’t you get hot wearing it?” Thankfully, she was really patient with us.

Fast forward to high school, I attend a student-run TEDx event. My favorite talk was called “Yes, I Do Shower In It” by a hijabi girl. She talked about the meaning behind her hijab, and her experiences with anti-Muslim sentiment after 9/11. The talk stuck with me so much that I shared it with friends from my hometown. My reaction—besides admiration for this 16-year old’s wit and humor—was that I am very oblivious to how religion impacts people’s everyday lives. 

When I entered UMBC, the prominence of religious beliefs were a major culture shock to me. Involvement Fest has dozens of religious organizations, over 40 in fact, and they were all pretty active. When I joined the student staff for Mosaic one of my coworkers often expressed his dedication to God. As for the hijabi girl who gave the TEDx talk back from high school, I ended up working with her as well in The Mosaic and we ended up becoming close friends. When I lived on campus, the girl I roomed with was a Quaker and I was able to learn about Quaker values and customs. She told me their meeting house was welcoming of all faiths, even atheists. As a result of her openness, I put down my walls around organized religion and felt a lot more comfortable. The process involved a lot of listening, Googling, and conversations with my peers. I couldn’t just admit I was ignorant, I had to make a conscious effort to continue educating myself and checking my implicit biases.

I do not deny that religion and spiritual beliefs can and have sometimes been used to oppress and exclude others. However, there is an evident sense of camaraderie in each of these religious organizations. From my experiences, each group encouraged community service. And the purpose of this volunteering wasn’t for a high school graduation requirement like much of the volunteering I had seen in my youth: it was solely for helping others less fortunate. I saw how faith was also a source of solace when tragedies struck their community. Especially now, religion offers hope when almost everything feels hopeless. 

P.S.: The hijabi girl (her name is Tirzah Khan, she’s now one of my best friends) started a TEDx student org: TEDxUMBC. Check us out and follow our IG @tedxumbc. 

I also encourage you all to check out our Interfaith Dialogue series session on October 27, 2020 where we will discuss the relationship between religious organizations and social change. 

Dear Students,

Whether you are new to UMBC or a returning student, Student Affairs and the Off-Campus Student Services (OCSS) staff are incredibly excited to welcome you to the fall semester! We hope that you and your loved ones are safe and healthy. 

While no community can be completely free of COVID-19, our actions as a campus during the COVID-19 pandemic can protect one another’s health and limit the spread of the disease. UMBC will dramatically reduce the density of people on campus, from a population of 16,000 students, faculty, and staff during a normal semester to an anticipated daily population of 2,500 this fall. 

As announced in a message to the UMBC community on August 5, there are important health and safety requirements for all community members if they will be learning, living, and working on campus this fall. OCSS wants to be sure that students who are commuting to campus for in-person classes understand clearly the steps they must take to protect themselves, support the health and safety of our campus community, and reduce the risk of spread of COVID-19 at UMBC and beyond. Information on student requirements is available and will continue to be updated on the Retrievers Return Roadmap site. OCSS will continue to update you with information as it becomes available.

COVID-19 Testing 

Students commuting to campus this fall for in-person classes must provide confirmation of a negative COVID-19 test prior to the start of the semester on August 27. Due to demand for tests, we strongly encourage you to make an appointment as soon as possible to allow time for the return of your result and any necessary medical follow-up in the event of a positive test. Additional information on how to submit your results to UMBC will be shared as soon as possible.

• Free tests are available at the Baltimore Convention Center as well as other sites across Maryland.

• Out-of-state community members are encouraged to check the following link fortesting locations near them.

• On-campus testing will be available August 21-26 for students who are unable to access testing beforehand. Sign-up information will be announced at a later date.

Please note that, at this time, University of Maryland Medical System testing sites listed in the August 5 announcement are only serving individuals with COVID-19 symptoms.

Daily Symptom Tracking

Beginning August 13, students taking in-person classes during the fall semester will be required to complete UMBC’s online symptom trackerevery day, seven days a week, including both days that they do and do not anticipate being on campus. The form takes about 30 seconds to complete and includes a field to note your temperature and simple check boxes to indicate any symptoms or exposure. Students are encouraged to complete the daily symptom tracker first thing in the morning as a way to incorporate it into your daily “getting ready” routine.

Respondents who indicate possible COVID-19 symptoms or exposure may receive a follow-up call or other instructions based on their specific responses. Please do not travel to campusif you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, have come in contact with a person experiencing symptoms, have tested positive for COVID-19, or have come in contact with someone who has tested positive.

To help fulfill the tracking requirement, students will receive daily email reminders to complete the symptom tracker. We also encourage bookmarking the symptom tracking site.

Educational Module and Retriever Community Agreement

Students who will be taking classes on campus this fall will receive a required online COVID-19 educational module to complete. At the end of the module, students will be required to sign a Retriever Community Agreement making a personal commitment to precautions and actions required in order to minimize the potential spread of COVID-19 on campus and beyond. Additional information is available on the Retrievers Return Roadmap site.

Code of Student Conduct Addendum

An addendum to the UMBC Code of Student Conduct with COVID-19 Emergency Community Rules will be applicable to all UMBC students and will be in effect until further notice.

Campus Services

In addition to the above requirements, we want to share some initial information about campus services and ways to stay connected, and will continue to share updates with you in the weeks ahead. While most services at UMBC will not be open physically, the Division of Student Affairs and other campus departments are open and supporting students virtually. Please check this myUMBC post for each department’s respective operating hours and contact information.

Any relevant information related to COVID-19 and its impact on UMBC’s services will be emailed to you directly and updates will also be posted on the Retrievers Return Roadmap site. Please bookmark this website; it will be a helpful resource for you and your families as you prepare to start the semester.

If you have questions about the COVID-19 requirements for students, please email covid19@umbc.edu. If you have questions about OCSS and student services, please contact one of our OCSS staff, call OCSS at 410-455-2770, or email us at ocss@umbc.edu.

Thank you very much for your commitment to helping us keep our UMBC community as healthy as possible. We look forward to seeing you soon!

The Staff of UMBC Off-Campus Student Services