A blog reflection written by Women’s Center staff member Kayla Smith. 

Society tells us that women are too sensitive. We’re crazy emotional creatures who are fragile and people need to tiptoe around us and our sensitive flower petal feelings. Because of this stereotype, I spend a lot of time unpacking my issues with certain comments, blog posts, statements and phrases. Is something truly offensive or am I just being a baby? Is something harmful or am I overreacting?

Recently, I attended the first soccer game of the season here at UMBC. I’m not typically a big sports person but I really like sporting events because of the sense of community, which is especially important at UMBC since we’re often seen as lacking in the school spirit department.

I tend to forget how often sports fans rely on sexism and homophobia in their heckling. While I’m framing my experience in the context of UMBC, no sports game is absent of these things. Unfortunately, it seems to be a part of the culture as a whole because every time without fail every time I go to any type of game I end up having this conversation with a stranger:

Expressive gentleman sitting behind me: “HEY [insert number of player here] YOU SUCK AND YOUR MOTHER IS A WHORE.”

Me (startled): “That’s so mean geez why would you say that?”

Man (with feeling): “It’s a sporting event. Get used to it”

So it goes. 

For some reason I thought maybe it would be different this time, but I was disappointed — though perhaps not surprised — when I was proven wrong less than twenty minutes into the game.  From a few bleachers over I hear:

“HEY! You run like a fairy!” (Fairy?! Are we still using that? What year is this? I didn’t even know that was still a slur of choice.)

And it continued like that for the rest of the game even after joining Lot 17, the unofficial supporters group for the UMBC Men’s Varsity Soccer team. Here are a few more comments:

“Steven shaves his legs!” (Wouldn’t this make him more aerodynamic or something? This could be a good thing.)

“YOU HAVE A VAGINA!” (Do you have any idea how strong vaginas are?)

“Black lives matter! Get more black people on the field!“ (Shouted mockingly even though there were a significant amount of black players on the field…? ಠ_ಠ)

Sigh.

From sexism, to homophobia, to toxic masculinity to racism. All within the span of just a few minutes! Not exactly the safest space for a queer black woman, like me, to be in.

The first couple times I heard these comments I turned to those sitting near me and tried to express my concerns with the problematic nature of the heckles coming from other sports fans. But no one around me really seemed to care, or at least I was the only one to speak up. The overwhelming response was the typical “That’s just sports.” 

“You play ball like a girl!” A quintessential sports jeer rooted in sexism and toxic masculinity.

I’m not shy, and I’m more than willing to speak up when I hear something offensive or upsetting. But when no one else supports me or even acknowledges that there’s a problem it makes me start to wonder if I’m the only one noticing that there’s rampant sexism, homophobia, and racism. I feel silenced and alienated from my peers. It makes me feel like that sense of community that I came to the game for is gone.

As much fun as I was having, it was hard to truly enjoy the game and the atmosphere because almost every comment seemed to follow the same line of thinking. “If I feminize you, liken you to a woman, or attack your manhood, you are bad at sports.” Comparing male athletes to women in a derogatory way reinforces negative stereotypes and equates masculinity with strength and athleticism.

Instead of alienating women, LGBTQIA students, and students of color, we should be building a better more inclusive fan base. There are a lot of things some students did right! The “Where my dogs at?” chants and the spirit fingers whenever there was a penalty kick were definitely highlights of my Lot 17 experience. The crowd demonstrated that there are ways to have fun and effective chants, cheers (and jeers) that don’t rely on denigrating marginalized groups. So I know we can do better.

I want to keep attending the soccer games with my friends and I want to continue supporting our teams. But it’s hard to feel included and part of the community if your peers are very loudly letting you know that your kind isn’t wanted. With inclusivity becoming more of a prominent priority for UMBC, it would be in everyone’s best interest to do what we can do to make this campus a better environment for all of its students.

To combat homophobia in sports there’s the You Can Play campaign, which UMBC currently participates in. (awesome!)

Rebuilding Manhood (a Women’s Center curriculum-based program)  brings together self-identified men as they discuss toxic masculinity, gender norms, and how the patriarchy plays into their daily lives. (applications are closed now but consider applying in the spring!)

This GEM GRAD Lab is free, but please register ASAP! 

See the highlighted link above. 

University Health Services is providing flu shots to the students, staff and faculty of UMBC on Thursday, September 24, and Friday, September 25. The cost of the flu shot is $20.00. Payment can be made by cash, check, UMBC campus card, or billed to your insurance. UHS will provide the vaccines until supplies run out. Please bring your UMBC red ID campus card.

Thursday Sept. 24, 12 noon - 6 pm - The Commons Main Street

Friday Sept. 25, 10 am - 2 pm - The Commons Main Street

If you cannot make it to the clinic days, you are welcome to come to University Health Services to receive your flu shot.  University Health Services is openMonday - Friday from 8:30 am - 5:00 pm and located on the ground floor of Erickson Hall.  UHS also accepts credit/debit cards as a form of payment at the Health Center.

To make an appointment, for questions or concerns about individuals in high risk categories, and/or specific questions about health insurance, please contact University Health Services at (410) 455-2542.  

Sue Plitt, Career Center

It is not every day that job seekers have employers coming to them, but for UMBC students, that day is quickly approaching.  October 14^th is this year’s Fall Career Fair—the largest of UMBC’s annual recruiting events.  Over 120 employers, representing corporate America, non-profits, and government agencies are expected including the National Security Agency, Lockheed Martin, T. Rowe Price, Nielsen, Kennedy Krieger Institute, PayPal, Whiting-Turner, FBI, the Drug Enforcement Agency and many more.

It’s a given that the fair is a not-to-miss event for every soon-to-be graduate, but with the variety and caliber of recruiters descending on UMBC’s campus this  month, it’s in reality an event relevant for everyone in the UMBC community.  Freshmen exploring careers can attend to see which jobs are in demand and learn what employers look for in college hires (great information to have on-hand when plotting how to best spend the next four years).  Sophomores and juniors should attend to search for employers offering internship and co-op opportunities.  UMBC alumni can benefit as a number of attending employers will be looking for both entry-level and experienced candidates.  And since the fair is a community event, job searching parents are invited to attend the fall Career Fair, too.

Whether for yourself or your student, you’ll want to sneak a peek at the list of attending employers and learn all you can about how to prepare for and make the most of the upcoming fair.  The Career Center’s website, http://careers.umbc.edu/ has all this and more! 

Opportunity is about to knock on UMBC’s door (October 14^th, the RAC, 11:30 am – 3:30 pm, to be exact); everyone is invited to open it!

Name: Michael Wolfe

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Position Title: Attitude Control Systems Engineer

Major(s)/Minor(s): Physics, Math  

Expected Graduation Year: 2017

Briefly describe your internship, co-op,  or research opportunity, including your day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and assignments.

I worked on the mission called NICER (Nuetron Star Interior Composition ExploreR). NICER is an x-ray timing and spectroscopy instrument that will launch to the International Space Station in 2016. NICER will resolve the nature of ultra-dense matter as well as demonstrate pulsar navigation by studying the dynamics of neutron stars. I'm on a team of attitude control engineers that develop and characterize the pointing system. Pointing the instrument within arcsecond accuracy is a challenge due to the vibrations of the ISS, stepper motor reaction torque, and thermal fluctuations in space. We run tests on the instrument that simulate a space like environment so we can tune its mechanical properties and software so it can perform properly despite the noisy environment. 

Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.

I applied at NASA because of it’s groundbreaking developments in science and engineering. My faculty adviser told me that UMBC has a good reputation with the local Greenbelt campus. I also talked with people I knew in the field and they suggested this as one of the internships I should apply for. 

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization/company?

I enjoyed the opportunity to grow outside of my academic comfort zone. As a physics/math major, much of my time is spent on theory and calculating with ideal conditions. When working in an engineering field such as attitude control systems, you really have to learn how to work around the electro-mechanical limitations and imperfections of your spacecraft in order to optimize its performance. 

How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?

Calibrating and optimizing the optics and pointing system of the NICER instrument will allow it to properly collect x-rays emitted from neutron stars. This scientific data will help us understand and resolve ultra dense gravitation and lead to future pulsar navigation. 

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience? 

Challenge yourself. Be determined. Get outside your comfort zone.

Like this story on Facebook or FAV/RT on Twitter!

Like the Career Center on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram 

#UMBCintern

Want to be the next Intern of the Week? Make sure to fill out this form and stay tuned. New interns are announced every Friday!

University of Maryland School of Medicine is currently seeking an entry-level undergraduate research volunteer to assist with various laboratory operations and in doing so gain invaluable research experience for graduate/medical school application or work in the field of biological research. The Cheer Lab at the UM School of Medicine is a behavioral neuroscience laboratory specializing in the study of dopamine and endocannabinoids in motivated behaviors, please see our website for more details:http://www.cheerlab.org.

UMBCworks ID# 9277257

 A reflection written by Jess Myers, Women’s Center Director

The last time I passed by this wall was in February 2015. Before the murder of Freddie Gray. Before the Baltimore Uprisings. Before… I don’t remember what was on this wall, if anything. But walking down Greenmount Avenue yesterday afternoon on my way to visit the Monument Quilt‘s studio, I came to a full stop as the mural came to view.

It’s beautiful. And sad. And deeply powerful. It is activism. Baltimore Is Rising.

As we’ve been planning Critical Social Justice and immersing ourselves in its theme of Baltimore 365, I often come into the Women’s Center or to Critical Social Justice planning team meetings with more questions than I have answers. Will we do this right? Will we honor Baltimore in the way it needs to be? Will we respect its people in the way that they — we deserve? Knowing we can never cover all the issues, whose voice, whose experience, whose story will go untold?

I love Baltimore. Baltimore is my home. It is my heart. This city is my roots and the roots of my family.

But since the uprisings, I wonder if Baltimore is mine to claim? Who is Baltimore? Am I Baltimore?

While I only live 2.6 miles away from this location at the cross streets of Greenmount and Oliver, my home in Baltimore feels miles and miles away. My reality from the white gentrified neighborhood of Canton isn’t the reality of the Oliver neighborhood or Sandtown or Cherry Hill. I am only a guest in these neighborhoods. The issues and experiences of Baltimore are vast and segregated. Racial and socioeconomic injustice is real – I see it but it is not my lived experience.

I am Baltimore and I am not Baltimore. I’m seeking how to navigate this complicated reality. How do I use my voice? How do I use my privileged identities in a positive way? How will I demonstrate my love for Baltimore in a way that builds bridges with others in our community and is fundamentally invested in our mutual liberation?

I am eager to engage with the UMBC community as we delve into what Baltimore 365 means for us. I doubt all my questions will be answered but I am ready for the difficult dialogues, the chance to create brave spaces, and be in community together with others.

How will we speak out?

Get Your Work Published in the 2016 Review!