The following is a guest post from UMBC alumna Juliette Seymour, MCS and GWST ’14, who was both inspired and incensed by the recent “Me Too” campaign. Although this widespread social media initiative has shed light on the pervasiveness of sexual violence and assault in our communities, Juliette writes about follow-through and next steps. 

Content note: Sexual abuse, rape, trauma

Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too. Me too.

Me too.

It’s endless. I cannot count the number of the “Me too” Facebook status I have seen since Sunday night. If you are not on Facebook, to provide some backstory, actress Alyssa Milano tweeted (a co-opted message from activist, Tarana Burke):

Screen shot from Alyssa Milano’s twitter: “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.” Inset text reads: “Me too. Suggested by a friend: ‘If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote ‘Me too.’ as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.”

Since then, my Facebook feed (and everyone else’s) has been nothing but “Me too’s.”

I posted one, deleted it. Then sat with a rock in my stomach. I’m used to this rock. It’s been with me since I was a child. This rock varies in size and weight, sometimes it’s small and manageable. Other times it’s large, growing past my stomach into my chest and throat making it nearly impossible for me to take deep breaths or speak. It’s grown as I have; the seemingly constant sexual abuse and rape that has happened throughout my life adding weight to this rock. You know this rock if you’ve experienced any sort of abuse/trauma. It sucks.

Quilt square from The Monument Quilt.

I sat with this rock in my stomach for a while. My overactive mind weighing the pros and cons of this campaign (I don’t know if that is the proper term, but honestly, I’m not here to overanalyze that aspect). Should I repost? Why did I delete it? Why did I hesitate to post in the first place? Why did it feel wrong?

Then it clicked.

We’ve already stood up. We’ve already put a mark on our backs. We’ve already gone to the police to be dismissed. We’ve already sat through questioning from everyone, and I mean, everyone – how long was your skirt, did you drink, have you had sex before, why were you out at night, why did you let them, why didn’t you say no, have you had sex with them before, aren’t you married, why didn’t you fight back, didn’t you want it at first, why didn’t you say something sooner – to be told it was our fault. Even though it is never EVER our fault.

We’ve been through this motion before.

Think of all the people who have stood up and said “Hey, Bill Cosby/Woody Allen/Donald Trump/Harvey Weinstein/Sean Penn/Dr. Luke/My friend/My family/Your friend/Your family/etc., has raped/sexually abused me.”

What happened to the survivor? Now, what happened to the abuser in these situations? If you don’t already know the answer, take a moment, think about it. What happened to Trump? Cosby?

The answer is nothing. Nothing happened to them. Hell, one of them is sitting in the oval office.

Where are the Facebook statuses of abusers/rapist saying “I did it” so we can understand the severity of this? Where are my supposed ‘allied’ cis men standing up to their friends when they make rape jokes, or catcall? Or rape. When are we going to start holding abusers accountable? When are we going to refer to our brothers and fathers as rapists, instead of our sisters and mothers as victims? When are we going to ask why did you rape instead of why were you raped? When are we going to teach how not to rape instead of how not to get raped?

Quilt square from The Monument Quilt.

When are we going to actually listen to survivors? And then when are we going to do more than just…listen?

I don’t have all the answers. I wish I did.

But what I do have is this:

First, and most importantly –  If you posted a Me Too status, if you didn’t, if you don’t believe that your story is “real” enough, if you are not safe or comfortable enough to post; I see you. I hear you. I believe you. You are not alone. And I love you.

Second, and almost as important – Now what?

I’m not going to post a Facebook status, sit back, and pretend it did something. I’m not going to do that, and I’m asking you to do the same. And I know it hurts, it’s painful, uncomfortable, and seems impossible. Trust me. I know what it feels like to not be able to speak the things that happened to you (and very slowly getting to a point where you can kind of talk about it in therapy). I know what it feels like to be retraumatized with panic attacks and sleepless nights following. I know what it feels like to have to live with your abuser. I know what it feels like to question, “Was it rape? Was it my fault?” (and accepting that yes, it was rape, and no, it’s not my fault).

I know.

But, we have to be uncomfortable, we have to work through the pain, we have to support each other in our respective journeys to healing.

Quilt square from The Monument Quilt.

So here is my action plan. To hold myself accountable, and to provide a possible road map for you. I do not know what your story is, how your healing will come, or what will happen. Hell, I don’t even know if my plan will work. But for right now, it’s all that I got:

1. Go to therapy
2. Delete Facebook off my phone (at least for a few days)
3. Check-in with myself (you have to put the oxygen mask on yourself first) and then friends
4. Start volunteering with the Monument Quilt again (the studio is close to my house, and I made myself email them before finishing this post to ensure I followed through)
5. Look into support groups for survivors

IMPORTANT NOTES:

I cannot stress this enough to my fellow survivors: This is in no way to shame or put down those who have found comfort/strength/healing through this hashtag Facebook thing (I still don’t know what to call it). I hope with all of my heart that this creates a sense of community, love, healing, and will do the thing it’s supposed to do. This is not directed towards those who find healing through these means, I’m happy you have that. I am SO happy you have that.

This is me wanting more from society. Not you.

And, it goes without saying, but I’m going to say it: ABUSE/RAPE HAPPENS ACROSS ALL GENDER LINES. WOMAN, MAN, TRANS, GENDERQUEER, NO GENDER, ALL GENDER. IT HAPPENS TO EVERYONE.

And, an important note on race: I am white. This is my white perspective. Race obviously plays a role in this. I do not feel adept to write about that. I do not want to assume/overpower or write for POC because their voices should be raised.

Quilt square from The Monument Quilt.

• For more information and resources related to sexual assault and gender-based violence, visit our website or contact the Women’s Center at 410.455.2714.
• For more information about reporting at UMBC, the sexual misconduct policy, or Title IX, visit UMBC’s Human Relations website. 
• The photos above are from the Monument Quilt. For more information, visit their website.

UMBC Information Systems Department

Creating a Smart and Connected Health System

Dr. Wendy J. Nilsen
Program Director, Smart and Connected Health Division
Information and Intelligent Systems Directorate
Computer & Information Science & Engineering
National Science Foundation

10am, Tuesday, 31 October 2017, ITE 459, UMBC

Science is changing rapidly and new transdisciplinary approaches are resulting in advances across scientific domains. Due to developments in computing and engineering, nested with a changing policy environment, medicine and public health are also at the cusp of a transformation that will accelerate discovery, improve health outcomes, decrease costs, and address the complexity of challenging health problems. To realize these advances requires partnerships between the scientific and health domains. Research communities are developing breakthrough ideas in a variety of diverse areas relevant to health, such as sensor networks, informatics, machine learning and datamining, decision support systems, modeling of behavioral and cognitive processes, as well as system and process harmonization. Solutions that effectively influence health must satisfy a multitude of constraints creating challenges and opportunities that individual disciplines cannot address alone. Computer science and engineering are poised to contribute to these changes by bring sophisticated techniques to partnerships in the biomedical realm. This talk will cover some advances being made and a vision for future. This talk explores the challenges in developing a smart health research ecosystem and highlights opportunities and promising new areas of research.

Wendy Nilsen, Ph.D. is a Program Director for the Smart and Connected Health Program in the Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering at the National Science Foundation. Her work focuses on the intersection of technology and health. This includes a wide range of methods for data collection, advanced analytics and the creation of effective cyber-human systems. Her interests span the areas of sensing, analytics, cyber-physical systems, information systems, big data and robotics. More specifically, her efforts include: serving as co-chair of the Health Information Technology Research and Development working group of the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program; the lead for the NSF/NIH Smart and Connected Health announcement; convening workshops to address methodology in technology in health research; serving on numerous federal technology initiatives; and, leading training institutes. Previously, Wendy was at the National Institutes of Health.

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IEEE Fall 2017 Arduino Workshop and Halloween Social, 5-7 Fri 10/27

The UMBC Student Branch of IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) will host a Halloween Social at 5-7:00pm Friday, 27 October 2017 in ITE 233. This is a fun event where attendees can build and take home electronic Halloween decorations. The Halloween Workshop will take place from 5pm to 7pm, and they will be giving out candies, Arduinos and various electronic equipment on a first come, first serve basis. If you would like to participate, please register here.

IEEE is the world’s largest professional association for the advancement of technology. The UMBC graduate and undergraduate student members share technical interests rooted in electrical and computer sciences, engineering and related disciplines. ​At their meetings and events, they present and promote current research trends at UMBC and elsewhere, host skills workshops, and provide our members the opportunity to expand their network of contacts.

The post IEEE Fall 2017 Arduino Workshop and Halloween Social, 5-7 Fri 10/27 appeared first on Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated, a global leader in flavor, is seeking a Lab Technician reporting to a Product Development Director. This individual will work at the Technical Innovation Center located in Hunt Valley, MD.　

With more than $4 billion in annual sales, the Company manufactures markets and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments and other flavorful products to the entire food industry – retail outlets, food manufacturers and foodservice businesses. We create differentiating flavors consumers prefer with unmatched quality, science, innovation and service. Every day, no matter where or what you eat, you can enjoy food flavored by McCormick.  McCormick makes every moment and meal better™

POSITION OVERVIEW

This Lab Tech will assist in the development of new products and line extensions as well as support our existing line of products through cost reduction and product improvement projects.  The successful candidate will provide support to the production plants with product or process issues.  Additionally, this position conducts product demos to Marketing which includes preparing food from recipes and evaluates competitive products.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

* 3 years lab experience (it can be a combination work and college)　

* Advanced Lab skills

* Ability to thoroughly investigate problems, identify potential solutions and making recommendations to supervisor.

* Ability to prioritize work with minimum supervision and work well under pressure.

* Analytical skills

* Good oral and written communication and decision making skills

* Advanced PC skills

For more information and link to apply here. 

When I was asked to take a picture for something that “I rise” for, I had to think about it for a second. What do I rise for? Who do I rise for? What does it mean to “rise?” After reflecting on my own life experiences, I wrote that I rise for reproductive rights.

Reproductive rights are the rights of an individual to reproduce and have reproductive health. My definition of reproductive rights expands to include sexual education and health. Today, not everyone has access to reproductive rights, or even comprehensive sexual education. Personally, I believe that it is extremely important for people to have access and knowledge about the different options that are available. As I was growing up, my family never taught me anything about reproductive or sexual health. When I got my first period, I told my best friend before I told my mom, because I didn’t know how she would react. Even after I told my mom, we had a brief conversation about how to use a pad, and that was it. The only sex ed that I received was the short unit in 5th grade, and a semester of Health Class in high school. When I got my IUD, I didn’t tell anyone except my closest friends and my partner. Why are we, as a society, treating these topics as taboo? Why isn’t it normalized to have discussions about your periods or your sex life or your birth control?

I am privileged enough to have health insurance, and when I decided it was time for me to be on birth control, I was able to have access to a health care provider who assisted me in the process. Not everyone has this privilege to be able to do so, even within the United States. Not everyone has the opportunities to converse with someone who can provide them knowledge. Not everyone has the access to health care providers due to lack of insurance, or insufficient insurance coverage.

I believe that every person should have the ability to make their own choices about their body. I believe that every person should be able to decide whether or not they would like to have children. I believe that every person should have access to services that can assist them in making an informed choice. If that makes me a disagreeable person, then so be it; I would much rather see people receive basic care.

This Critical Social Justice Week, I will be rising for reproductive rights. I will be rising for those who do not have access to birth control. I will be rising for those who do not know about the basics of sex. I will be rising for those who are shamed for having their period. I will be rising for access to health care. I will rise for myself, and for those who cannot.

I Rise for Reproductive Rights.