Start your morning the UMBC commuter way.

Join us for breakfast with fellow commuters and connect with helpful on-campus resources. There's no better way to kick off your day!

Good Morning Commuters (GMC) takes place every Tuesday from 8:30–11:00 AM *except one a month when Good afternoon Commuters (GAC) is held* and is complimentary with your Commuter Gold Card.

Gold Cards are a one-time purchase per academic year and can be bought at any GMC event (cash only):

• $5 for Commuter Students

• $10 for Residential & Graduate Students

We can't wait to see you there!

https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/ocss/events/149341

Free copies of the 2026 edition of the UMBC Review will be available at the table on the RAC track, 1st floor during URCAD: April 22 in the RAC!

The UMBC Review is a peer-reviewed publication, completely directed by UMBC undergraduate students. All of the articles published in the UMBC Review go through a rigorous peer review process. The Review is indebted to the anonymous off-campus faculty reviewers who volunteer their time to assure the high quality of our publication. We are proud to produce the publication in print format. The Review offers a rewarding opportunity to get your undergraduate research published in a peer-reviewed academic journal. Submit your paper by August 17, 2026: umbcreview@umbc.edu

2026 Editors:
Parvata Kirthivasan
Senior CAHSS Editor

Phoenix Bryant
Senior STEM editor

Diane Esteban
Junior CAHSS editor

Yonu Akanji
Junior STEM Editor

Sonia Pivovarov
Student Designer

Ian Anson
Faculty Advisor

Laura Schraven
Staff Advisor

Table of Contents

01 Veronica Goonan
In Democracy We Trust? How Strong Leadership, Partisan Distrust, and Confidence in Elections Influence Political Satisfaction Among Rural Americans

02 Corey Bryce
Maryland State Bill 83, Public Health – Overdose and Infectious Disease Prevention Services Program: Critical Analysis and Advocacy Efforts

03 Lilli Malone
The Salem Witch Trials: How the Hunt for Witches Led to Disaster

04 Siskind Oshry
Edogawa, Nakahara, and Dazai:  The Influence of Western Literature on Japanese Authors in the Early 20th Century 

05 Rishika Bandi
Breathable Shake Flasks for Improved Cancer Cell Culture

06 Beryl Fuamazeh
Evaluating the Relationship Between Frequency of Family Visits and Happiness Levels Among Older Adult Residents in Retirement Homes

07 Amal S. Aulakh
Human-Centered Design for Science Education: UX Insights from Synthetic Biology Wiki Interfaces

08 Ramsha Chaudhary
Assessing the Effect of Language Barriers on the Perception of Care Received by Spanish-speaking Patients in Baltimore, MD

09 Maia Turman Cooke
Resilient Hearts: Theoretical Portrayals of Lauryn Hill’s Self Love & Resistance Against Intimate Consequences

Apply to be a student editor for the next edition by emailing: umbcreview@umbc.edu

URCAD is Wednesday, April 22 in the RAC
URCAD.umbc.edu

Join the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships, Monday, April 13 – Friday, April 17, for a week full of resources, events, and opportunities to help you build your financial future! From budgeting tips to scholarship support, this week is all about helping you get money smart. 💰

🎉 Kick off the week with in Lower Flat Tuesday, today Monday, April 13 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM for their official MSW Kickoff, featuring an interactive money machine and information on scholarship opportunities through Scholarship Retriever all week! 

Presentations include discussions on research, internships, study abroad, conferences, and more!

*A Prize Raffle will be held in ITE 104!!!*

We're looking forward to seeing you there!

Hadestown Theoretical Costume Design

Presenter: Timothy Clark
Mentor: Becca Janney, Theatre

Come see the costumes in person!

Special Exhibit, 9 a.m. – Noon, RAC Upper Track, First Floor

A common challenge presented to theatre designers is reimagining a show with iconic design choices that appear inseparable from the text. I explored originality and bold choices with a theoretical costume design of Hadestown, a musical by Anais Mitchell. Hadestown is a retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice which focuses on class inequity. My interpretation of the show takes place in 1950s America; a time where 20 to 30 percent of the population was living in poverty despite the economic boom for upper class citizens and the Third Industrial Revolution. I have gone through the design process as if it were a real production and created a packet that could be handed over to a costume shop to be realized. This includes preliminary research, an action plot, a piece list, sketches, finalized renderings with fabric swatches, and a costume for Eurydice. Mediums used include research collages, spreadsheets, graphite, watercolor, and fabric. My work represents the importance of originality in theatre design and production. It is imperative for a designer to think outside of the box when working on a show, such as Hadestown, that already has artistic choices that loom in the audience’s expectations for the show.

URCAD is Wednesday, April 22 in the RAC:

URCAD.umbc.edu

Hey everyone this is your final chance to apply! We’re still looking for applicants across multiple positions, so don’t miss the opportunity to get involved and make an impact.

⏳ Deadline: Wednesday, April 15th

Get your application in before it closes!

Click the LINK to apply!

Do Muslim Women Need Saving? A Case Study of Iran’s Veiling Policies

Presenter: Tanzila Malik
Mentor: Nehal Elmeligy, Gender, Women’s, + Sexuality Studies

Location:  12:15-12:30pm | RAC 230

Using Iran as a case study, this project shows how Western narratives about “saving” Muslim women often obscure struggles over power, identity, and state control rather than reflect women’s lived realities. Focusing on the period between the unveiling policies of Reza Shah Pahlavi’s modernization campaign and the mandatory veiling as a symbol of resistance to Westernization following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, this study investigates how both secular modernization efforts and Islamist movements used women’s dress as a political tool to promote competing political and ideological agendas. Using historical and content analysis of state policies, political rhetoric, and protest movements, this project explores how the hijab in Iran shifted from being prohibited to mandated. Early findings suggest that across these changes, the hijab was less of a purely religious practice and more of a flexible political symbol used to legitimize authority and regulate women’s roles in society. This historical case study is shockingly relevant as public debates about Muslim women’s freedom continue to influence global policy and media narratives, making it important to understand how these narratives are historically constructed.

URCAD is Wednesday, April 22 in the RAC:

URCAD.umbc.edu

GridHack 2026 is an exciting, hands-on competition in which student teams compete to deliver the most accurate AI-augmented building energy audit. During this 3-hour live competition, teams will work with real-world building energy data and leverage cutting-edge AI tools to develop a BEPS compliance analysis, a retrofit roadmap, and a compelling grant narrative. The challenge culminates in a thrilling finale, where a DHCD-qualified auditor’s sealed findings are revealed live—allowing teams to compare their results against professional insights.

The winning team can earn up to $40,000 in fellowship funding, with paid fellowship positions worth up to $10,000 per person through the Responsible AI Lighthouse Fellowship. Every discipline is welcome - CS, environmental science, policy, design, engineering. No energy experience needed. Bring your laptop. Whether you're passionate about AI, sustainability, or engineering, GridHack provides a unique platform to gain real-world experience, collaborate with peers, and showcase your skills in a high-impact environment.

Get more information and register here

Visualizing Natural Disaster Inequality in America

Presenter: Taylor Watson

Mentor: Dena Aufseeser, Geography and Environmental Systems

Location: URCAD Film Festival: 9:45-10:00am, RAC 130- Fitness Studio B

*Popcorn will be served during the film festival.

In America, weather-related disasters have increased in frequency in the last decade, with forty seven percent of billion-dollar disasters (since 1980) taking place from 2015- 2025 (NCEI.NAAO.GOV). The frequency of disasters has led to a sense of inevitability and indifference, placing certain vulnerable communities at even more risk. In an effort to challenge indifference, this presentation visualizes the social inequalities of disaster. Utilizing animation, this project highlights the disastrous nature of weather phenomena on vulnerable populations, expressing the instances of increased poverty, displacement, and the uprooting of entire communities. This project’s research highlights disaster inequality in America, while simultaneously bringing awareness to the subject. Using the individual experiences of vulnerable adults who’ve experienced these inequalities, this project connects true stories, numerical data, and artistic expression to evaluate the concepts of vulnerability, equity, and how they relate to the current social outlook on “natural” disasters.

This work was funded, in part, through an Undergraduate Research Assistantship Support (URAS) Award from the UMBC Office of the Vice President for Research.

URCAD is Wednesday, April 22 in the RAC:

URCAD.umbc.edu

Historical and Anatomical Analysis of Bitmap Fonts on the Compact Disc Package

Presenter: Perry Gotis
Mentor: Katherine Heater, Visual Arts

RAC 230 | Noon – 12:15 p.m.

Bitmap fonts were digitally developed from 1984 for the Macintosh, to brand design for music artists in the 1990’s to 2000’s following afterwards. How have bitmap fonts applied to album packaging design, and what can the typographic anatomy of bitmap fonts prepare for font creation? The creative project incorporates research from Typography III that repurposes Mariposa Display, a customized font made in FontStruct that was workshopped and designed after the markings of a monarch butterfly. This project assembles a compact disc jewel case album mockup that dissect the anatomy of Zuzana Licko’s bitmap fonts (Totally Gothic, Lo-Res, Modula Sans and Modula Serif), applied to four different album covers as main and secondary formats, as well as adapts their anatomical font features to Mariposa Display’s typeface anatomy. The narrative analyzes the transition of bitmap fonts from computer to album design, and explores the importance of accessibility and visual structure within bitmap fonts as main and secondary typography. Additionally, the compact disc packaging’s brand guidelines explain the creative process with typeface approaches, color swatches, and visual identity within the packaging layout. The illustrations and typography are constructed using Mariposa Display with Licko’s fonts, which highlight the font’s visual flexibility for referential purposes.

URCAD is Wednesday, April 22 in the RAC:

URCAD.umbc.edu