Check out what's to come in April with i3b and our partnered events.
RSVP to any events HERE
An Open Processing Space on Anti-Asian Violence
A supportive brave space for students
Friday, April 2, 2021 | 3:00pm - 4:00 p.m. | Online via Google Meet
myUMBC Event Post: Link | Google Meet: Link
Workshop Wednesdays: Tools for Navigating Difficult Dialogues
Wednesday, April 14, 2021 | 10am - 12p.m. | myUMBC Post: Link | Webex Session: Link
DreamZone Development Lunch & Learn Session
Help us develop one of our newest initiatives!
Friday, April 16, 2021 | 12pm - 1:15 p.m. | myUMBC Post: Link | Webex Session: Link
OCA Mocha Mondays with i3b: Interfaith Dialogues
Monday, April 19, 2021 | 6pm - 7:30 p.m. | myUMBC Post: Link | Webex Session: RSVP Required
Retriever Immigrants United: Equity for all? **
Advocating for our most underserved
Friday, April 23, 2021 | 12pm - 1:15 p.m. | myUMBC Post: Link | CANCELED
SistaCare: Equity for all? **
Advocating for our most underserved
Wednesday, April 28, 2021 | 1pm - 2p.m. | myUMBC Post: Link | Webex Session: Link
LGBTQ+ Networking Event
Wednesday, April 28, 2021 | 4pm - 5:30 p.m. | myUMBC Post: Link | Webex Session: Link
Dear UMBC Community,
We are pleased to share with you that in partnership with the University System of Maryland, UMBC is recognizing Juneteenth as an administrative leave day.
For 2021, UMBC will be closed on Friday, June 18. Exempt employees who must work on June 18th can take administrative leave by August 31, 2021. Nonexempt employees who must work on the administrative leave day will be credited with the administrative leave on that day.
Juneteenth honors June 19, 1865, the day that Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas with news that the Civil War had ended and that the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, declaring the freedom of slaves in states not controlled by the Union, would be enforced for the first time. We support the work of activists in Maryland and across the country that are seeking to make Juneteenth an official holiday as it has long been observed by many in our community as a way to celebrate the accomplishments and resilience of Black Americans.
At UMBC, we know how impactful the legacy of slavery is for our community members. We also know that the work for racial equity is far from over. We are committed to continuing this work every day through our words, our actions, and our community values.
We encourage all in our community to use the day to put our UMBC values of equity and inclusion into action by participating in events honoring the holiday or through education and self-reflection on racial justice issues.
President Hrabowski and Provost Rous
The Office of Health Promotion (OHP) mourns the victims of the horrific shootings in Atlanta on March 16. These attacks are just the latest among a nationwide rise in violence, discrimination, and xenophobia directed towards members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community this past year. During a time of uncertainty, we know that these events can cause additional fear and anxiety in members of our UMBC community.
Here at UMBC, we welcome people from all backgrounds. Specifically, the OHP’s team, which includes our professional and student staff, is firmly committed to promoting the safety and well-being of all students, regardless of their cultural background, race, or ethnicity. As we continue to reflect on this past year and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, remember that the words we use and the actions we take matter. Let’s continue to strive to create an inclusive campus that not only acknowledges and condemns violence, but also the discrimination and stereotyping that have negatively impacted communities throughout the country. Everyone deserves to feel safe in their home, community, and country.
To the AAPI-identified members of our UMBC community, the OHP staff stands in solidarity with you during this time, and always. We are listening. We value you. We support you.
If you would like to process this past week’s events, or any other experiences, with a professional, please contact the Counseling Center at 410-455-2472 between 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Friday to make a virtual appointment. If you need support after hours, please call 410-455-3230.
If you are in need of additional inclusion resources, we encourage you to contact the following UMBC offices:
Initiatives for Identity, Inclusion, and Belonging (i3b)
Office of Equity and Inclusion
If you would like to take action, check out this list of action items and resources gathered by UMBC’s Asian & Asian American Faculty & Staff Council.
]]>When embarking on a job or internship search, if you are like most job seekers, you may be feeling a sense of ambiguity. You may be wondering what’s “out there” for me? What opportunities should I be targeting with my educational background and/or degree? These questions are typical and can often lead to a sense of anxiety and confusion.
Instead of approaching your search from the notion that your major should drive your direction, why not be open to new possibilities? After all, when does life unfold just as you expect? I say embrace the journey – after all, the journey is the destination! When starting out, rather than chasing a specific “path”, having a sense of adventure and openness will not only take the pressure off, you may find an opportunity where you least expect it!
Don’t be limited by your major – but rather think of it as a springboard off which to jump into your next adventure!
UMBC's Career Month begins in April. Throughout the month, we offer an opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to explore their professional options through workshops, resume reviews, alumni panels and virtual networking events with employers. Each week we are featuring a different employment industry but with repeating event types.
We encourage all students from freshman to PhD-level to "Be open to the possibilities. Opportunities may exist in unexpected places!"
View the full calendar of events at careermonth.umbc.edu.
Dear Asian and Asian American Faculty and Staff Members and Community Allies:
The AAAFSC board would like to extend our gratitude for your support at the March 22, 2021 event “An Open Dialogue on Anti-Asian Racism.” We appreciated the candid and heartfelt comments shared by community members that allowed us to process our collective grief and the allyship that so many of you expressed.
We are heartbroken over the murders of 8 people in Atlanta over the past week, 6 of whom were women of Asian and Asian American descent: Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Delaina Ashley Yaun, Paul Andre Michels, Soon Chung Park, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, and Yong Ae Yue.
We see this violence as the latest in a surge in similar acts towards Asian and Asian American communities over the past year, and also part of a longer history of violence and discrimination against Asian and Asian American communities. Furthermore, we recognize these acts are the result of systemic white supremacy, and we stand in solidarity with other minoritized communities in our campus and beyond to condemn white supremacy, hateful violence, and discrimination in all of its forms.
Taking a cue from our discussion on March 22 and the Association of Asian American Studies statement in response to the Atlanta murders, we have collated some resources below to gather the “collective knowledge and feeling” of the many Asian American scholars, activists, journalists, mental health professionals, writers, and individuals who have released statements and written opinion pieces to provide historical, political and emotional context for the effects of these murders.
In addition to the list of resources that we sent out last week and a list of resources compiled by the Women’s Center, below we have gathered additional readings and responses that address some of what came up in our discussion yesterday: themes of building cross-racial solidarity, Asian American invisibility/hypervisibility, the model minority paradigm, intersections of racism and misogyny, increased education on Asian American history, and intergenerational trauma and relationships.
We hope that these sources will help you process the events of this past week and year.
In solidarity and support,
The AAAFSC board: Tamara Bhalla (chair), Aditya Desai (member at large), Soonhee Lee (member at large), Shuyan Sun, (member at large), Fan Yang (secretary)
READ:
Pawan Dhingra, The Most Effective Way to Fight Back Against Anti-Asian Hate, CNN, 3.21.2021
“In order to effect lasting and meaningful change, we need an educational campaign starting in K-12 schools that reveals the strength and complexity of Asian Americans.”
Jennifer Ho, To Be an Asian Woman in America, CNN, 3.17.2021
“To be an Asian woman in America means you can't just be what you are: a fully enfranchised human being. It means you are a blank screen on which others project their stories, especially, too often, their sexualized fantasies -- because US culture has long presented Asian women as sexualized objects for White male enjoyment.”
Milliann Kang, Why Are Perpetrators’ Motives Given More Importance Than the Lives They Take?, Ms.Magazine, 3.22.2021
“This racialized sexualization of Asian women has deep roots in U.S. society and culture, making them vulnerable targets for harassment and violence, motivated simultaneously by misogyny, xenophobia and anti-Asian racism. But these points seem to be lost on those who refuse to recognize this as a hate crime, simply because the perpetrator said it wasn’t.”
Viet Thanh Nguyen and Janelle Wong, Bipartisan political rhetoric about Asia leads to anti-Asian violence here, The Washington Post, 3.19,2021
“The experience of racial discrimination does not happen for any group in isolation; white supremacy depends on pitting people of color against one another so they do not see their shared cause. Racial profiling does not stem from the same stereotypes for Asian Americans, Black people, Muslims and other groups, but it serves a common purpose — to define who is essential and who belongs to the nation.”
Jerusalem Demsas and Rachel Ramirez, The history of tensions — and solidarity — between Black and Asian American communities, explained.Vox, 3.16.2021
“Ultimately, there is a failure to remember what got America to this place of racial hierarchies and lingering Black-Asian tensions: white supremacy....And for Black and Asian American communities to move forward, it is important to remember the root cause and fight together against it.”
A List of Asian American Books and Memoirs compiled by the LA Times
WATCH:
PBS’s Asian Americans (2020)
Slaying the Dragon: Reloaded (2011, Deborah Gee)
Who Killed Vincent Chin? (1987, Renee Tajima-Peña, Christine Choy, Nancy Tong)
ACT:
Support community efforts in Atlanta, Georgia: AAPI Community Resources Offerings Form (mutual aid intake form), sign on to a community-centered response against anti-Asian violence, & donate to support families of the victims, Atlanta Action Card
Call your elected officials to support community centered policies for addressing hate violence
Protect AAPI workers at your workplace or union with these APALA Guidelines.
Join a vigil, read statements by Atlanta-based AAPI organizations & sign-on letters
DONATE:
The Women’s Center Advisory Board is a collective of faculty, staff, and affiliate students with an interest in supporting and cultivating the work of the Women’s Center at UMBC and advancing gender equity and social justice on UMBC’s campus.
Board members participate in monthly board meetings, scheduled for the first Friday of each month during the academic year. This forum allows Women’s Center staff to share information about the Center and similarly allows the board members to share their knowledge, wisdom and unique perspectives to advance the mission of the Women’s Center.
In addition to advising the professional staff of the Women’s Center, Board members and affiliates help and give support in the planning, programming, and advocacy of the Women’s Center. Board members and affiliates are encouraged to attend Women’s Center events when possible and volunteer at larger events such as Critical Social Justice, Take Back the Night, or the Returning Women Students networking event. These responsibilities may occasionally entail additional hours of commitment outside of the monthly board meetings.
Board members are appointed for two-year terms, with the possibility of renewal. Student Affiliates serve a one-year term, with possibility of renewal.
Students are invited to join the Board via an affiliate position and can do so by completing the same application process as faculty and staff.
The Women’s Center seeks
to serve a diverse community of people interested in women’s, gender, and
social justice issues. We seek a diverse
board to assure that varying needs and interests are represented.
For more on the Women’s Center mission, guiding principles, and priorities,
visit womenscenter.umbc.edu
DEADLINE: Friday, April 30, 2021.
Complete your application through this google form.
For additional information, please call the Women’s Center at x52714 or email womenscenter@umbc.edu.
All Are Welcome So Long As They Respect Women’s Experiences, Stories & Potential
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