Come check out Kayla Barrett's poster at URCAD!

In 2015, a TEDtalk-style documentary produced in China entitled “Under the Dome” went viral on the internet, alerting the entire world to the problem of air pollution and the lack of environmental safeguards in place in China. In a modern society, the protection of the environment is vital to the health of the people, not to mention the legitimacy of the government. This research addresses the question of how the government has managed environmental policy, the nature and scope of the health crisis facing Chinese society, and the strategies the Chinese people have taken to cope. To assess the impact of pollution on society, I analyzed government policies, popular media and scholarly reports, focused on air pollution in major cities, especially Beijing. The paper concludes that the Chinese state is continuing to put economic expansion above environmental health and leaving the people to defend themselves from the ever-growing problem.

Kayla Barrett
The Social Impact of Air Pollution in China
Mentor: Constantine Vaporis
UC Ballroom | 10:00 a.m. – Noon

• Develop and Articulate SGA’s Vision and Priorities:  The President takes the lead in establishing SGA’s vision and priorities for the year, working closely with the other elected officers of the Executive Branch and the leaders of the other branches.  The President also takes the lead in identifying ways to improve SGA’s effectiveness as an organization, inspiring and organizing other officers to consider and implement upgrades to SGA’s policies, practices and training program.  The elected officers of the Executive Branch play a central role in communicating SGA’s vision and priorities to campus leaders and the student body.  The President especially is a visible spokesperson for the organization, giving a speech at Convocation, participating in the annual University Retreat and representing SGA in many other settings.

• Run Programs and Provide Services:  Appointed staff members in the Executive Branch are specialists: charged with developing and implementing specific initiatives or managing information and communications about particular topics.  For example, an assistant to the Treasurer might be tasked with maintaining a log of student organization funding requests and Finance Board allocations.  The Director of Academic Affairs is responsible for programs and advocacy relating to students’ experiences inside the classroom, and staff members working for the Director can expect to be tasked with specific projects, or pieces of specific projects, in this area.  The value of this setup is that it is relatively easy to coordinate and ensures maximum accountability: You always know exactly who is responsible for following through.  It is especially useful in connection with ongoing programs and services, where the bulk of the creative planning work has already happened and the focus now is on implementation.

• Represent the Student Body:  The President is the principal voice of the student body to audiences such as the campus administration, the media and state officials.  The President also appoints student representatives to certain decision-making committees at UMBC and, with approval from the Senate, also chooses the student body’s representatives to the University System of Maryland Student Council and the Maryland Higher Education Commission Student Advisory Council.

• Manage SGA’s Internal Operations and Support the Senate and Finance Board:  The elected leaders of the Executive Branch take the lead in ensuring that SGA members know their responsibilities, have the guidance and support they need, and communicate effectively as they learn about developments on campus and implement their initiatives.  They identify and troubleshoot problems as they arise.  The President takes the lead in planning and preparing for the fall and spring SGA Retreats.  All members of the Executive Branch serve as resources (sources of information and helping hands) to the Senate and Finance Board as they fulfill their own responsibilities.

CelebratingOrgs Photo Contest

Every year, Student Life hosts a photo contest before CelebratingOrgs. At CelebratingOrgs, 3 winners get their photo printed, backlit, and put on display in the Student Organization Space for the next year, AND these winners will receive $100 in their Student Organization carry-over account.

You are eligible for this contest if:

•     You are a part of a registered UMBC Student Organization
•     You want to win $100 for your Student Organization
•       You can email your pictures to naqeel1@umbc.edu through a UMBC email address
•       Your picture(s) capture the essence of your Student Organization, essentially what your organization does, in action
•       Your pictures are high quality, high resolution
•     The pictures can be taken anywhere! It could be taken during a meeting, an event, a bake sale, anywhere! Just be sure to show some creative expression.

Selection Process: We’ll be looking for awesome photos that show us your Student Organization in action! A committee of students, Student Life staff, and Commonvision staff will select the top 3 photos that best depicts a Student Organization in action that aligns with the values of UMBC. Winners will be announced at CelebratingOrgs on May 4, 2016. 

Submission Instructions: By April 28, 2016 at 11:59pm, high resolution photos should emailed to Numra Aqeel <naqeel1@umbc.edu> with typed details about the student organization, the person submitting the photo, and the student organization's main web domain or email address. 

Please be sure to avoid the following scenarios:

·       Photos of your group just standing together and smiling

·       Low quality, low res photos. The better the quality, the better it will look large scale.

·       Being vulgar or disrespectful towards any person, group, etc. (Retrievers are better than that)

·       Any kind of nudity. Remember to keep the UMBC code of manner in mind

If you still don’t have an idea or you just want to check out last year’s photos, check them out at the student org space!

Terms and permissions

UMBC hereby requests, and you hereby grant to UMBC, a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual license to publish, reproduce, distribute, publicly display, license, translate, perform, create non-dramatic recordings and/or otherwise include or use in derivative works, related ancillaries and supplements and in promotional materials, in all formats, including, but not limited to, print and/or electronic format, any and all creative works submitted by you to UMBC’s contests on Instagram and other social websites or platforms. You hereby warrant that you are authorized to grant this permission to use the creative work(s) without violating the rights of any third party. (If you do not control the right to the creative work(s), or are not the sole grantor, please advise us where else to inquire.) This permission will not restrict any use of the creative work(s) by you or those authorized by you. In consideration of your rights to the creative work(s) and the license given by you to UMBC, UMBC shall not sell to or condone the use of the creative work(s) by third parties. By signing these terms and conditions below, you certify that you are eighteen (18) years or older and have the authority to grant and so warrant as stated above.

Contact

Individuals with questions or concerns about UMBC’s Terms and Permissions or UMBC’s use of a creative work are encouraged to email Dinah Winnick, Office of Institutional Advancement, at dwinnick@umbc.edu

Program: The Data Incubator is an intensive 8 week fellowship that prepares Masters, PhDs, and postdocs in STEM + social science fields seeking industry careers as data scientists. The program is free for Fellows and supported by sponsorships from hundreds of employers across multiple industries. In response to the overwhelming interest in our earlier sessions, we will be holding another fellowship.

Locations: There will be both an in-person (in NYC, DC, SF) and online section of the fellowship. There is a common application for both the online and in-person sections.

Dates: All sections will be from 2016-06-06 to 2016-07-29

Application Link: https://www.thedataincubator.com/fellowship.html#apply

Who should apply: Anyone within one year of graduating from a masters or PhD program or who has already obtained a masters or PhD is welcome to apply. Applications from international students are welcome. Everyone else is encouraged to sign up for a future session.

You can read about our latest alumni working at the New York Times or Palantir.  For additional information, checkout our blog, Venture Beat article, or Harvard Business Review piece.

Questions, contact:

Michael Li

Postdoc, Cornell

michael.li@thedataincubator.com

• Allocating Funds to Student Organizations:  The Finance Board is responsible for managing the portion of SGA’s annual budget that is set aside to support student organizations.  Throughout the academic year, student organizations can request funds by completing an Allocation Request Form and submitting it to the Treasurer.  The total amount requested each year is far larger than the total amount of funding available.

1. The rules governing Finance Board allocations do not prohibit funding the request (i.e., it was not submitted after the deadline, the funds will not be used to purchase alcohol, the funds will not be donated to charity, etc.); and
2. The proposed use of these funds is so worthwhile that the Finance Board is willing to turn down other requests in order to devote these funds to the group’s objective.

• Communicating with Student Organizations:  The Finance Board communicates with student organizations about how to submit requests, the rules governing Finance Board allocations, what makes for a good request, and whether requests have been approved, disapproved or postponed.

• Participating in SGA Decision-Making:  The Finance Board shares responsibility with the Senate and other SGA officers in connection with decisions about the annual budget, allocations from the SGA's reserve fund, and approval of certain appointed officers.

• Participating in SGA Initiatives and Activities:  Finance Board members work with members of the other branches of SGA to contribute to positive change on campus.  It is especially helpful when Finance Board members identify and develop ways to support student organizations more effectively, such as improvements to the event planning and implementation process.