Briana Yancy is a Geography and Environmental Science Major with a Psychology Minor who will graduate in May, 2019.

List any Scholars/Honors programs you are a part of: Meyerhoff Scholar 27 Cohort, URA Scholar 

Title of your research project: Nest Site Characteristics of the Bahama Oriole: Habitat Requirements of a Critically Endangered Species

What has been the most rewarding part? The most rewarding part is the outreach and effect on the community in the Bahamas this project has had. Every year we run into people who have our cards or have heard of us and want to help. They end up showing us nests or giving us valuable information about the birds and they always like to learn more about the project and how we are doing. 

The Office of Student Disability Services (SDS) would like to remind students to please submit their Semester Request as soon as possible. This is done every semester you are enrolled in order to authorize accommodation letters to be sent to your faculty members. It is done online using our secure Accommodate system.

Important: If you made changes to your course schedule after your Semester Accommodation Request was submitted, you need to submit a new semester request for the new course(s) in your schedule.

Alternate Format Text and Digital Materials: For students approved for alternate format text accommodations, please make sure you fill out the Alternative Format Text form.

Note-taking Assistance: Students that are approved for note-taking assistance and plan to use this accommodation in their fall courses are encouraged to try Sonocent audio note-taker instead of using a peer note-takers.

Research indicates higher course GPAs and an increase in active learning and content retention when using Sonocent! Contact Andrew Drummond, the SDS Assistive Technology Specialist, at adrumm@umbc.edu to get started with Sonocent.

For additional information on Sonocent, please watch the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KI6A5W0XFMM or visit the website at www.sonocent.com. 

SDS is here to assist you and we wish you a wonderful semester. Please do not hesitate to reach out.

The Office of Student Disability Services (SDS)

(web) sds.umbc.edu   (email) disAbility@umbc.edu   (phone) 410.455.2459

Please note that our hours will be modified for Welcome Week (August 25- September 7). Our summer hours will end on Tuesday, August 28, 2018.

The Mosaic lounge space will to be available to students, staff, faculty and their visitors on a "first come, first seated" basis.  Free coffee, tea, cold beverages and periodic snacks will be available during this time. We're trying to be more sustainable!  Please bring your own travel mug or cup with you. Our Interfaith Center will continue to serve as a meeting place for prayer or to socialize and our Queer Student Lounge will remain closed. Our spaces are NON-RESERVABLE over finals week and summer session hours. 

Sept. 5, Noon – 12:50 p.m.
Sherman Hall-A 113

Critical Social Justice is here!

Pre-CSJ Event Highlights:

Wednesday, 9/5

Stay Woke in the Women’s Center, 6 – 8 pm

Interested in getting involved in social justice activism while at UMBC, but not sure where to start? Come out to the Women’s Center to hang and meet other activists*, share some food, see how you can get involved at UMBC, and learn more about our programs — especially Critical Social Justice: Ignite which will take place October 22-26th.   

*Don’t be intimated by the word activist! All are welcomed so don’t discount your experiences or fret over labels. You do not need to identify as an activist to attend – in fact, we’ll talk more about that when you get here! 

Sponsored by the Women’s Center

myUMBC | flyer

Wednesday, 10/17

Art as Feeling, Art as Knowledge: Dance Recital + Talk Back, Fine Arts 118, 6:30 – 8 pm

Join us for a short dance performance and conversation about the role of art in meaning, knowledge-making, and activism with Alexia Petasis, INDS ’19 and Jen White-Johnson, Visual Arts ’08. Alexia is an Interdisciplinary Studies major with a concentration on Choreography for Social Justice. Jen White-Johnson is a UMBC Alumna, Visual Arts ’08, and is currently a graphic designer, educator, and photographer whose work is centered on her son and affirming neurodiverse identities.

Sponsored by the Women’s Center

myUMBC | flyer

Week of CSJ: Ignite

Monday, 10/22

CSJ: Ignite 101, Library 7th Floor, free hour

Are you interested in equity and empowering others? Thinking about social justice issues but not quite sure how to get involved? Do you feel like you lack the skills, strengths, or knowledge to be an “activist”? In our Critical Social Justice: Ignite kick-off workshop, come learn how YOU can become an activist. We’ll show you how your curiosity and commitment to lifelong learning can be the magic ingredients for getting active in the work to build positive social change.

Sponsored by the Women’s Center

myUMBC

Restorative Practices and Critical Social Justice, Commons 329, 4 – 5 pm

Restorative Practices is an “umbrella” term for restorative models which view building relationships, repairing harm, and rebuilding trust when harm occurs as an important way to create a peaceful and productive society. Learn how you can use the fundamental questions of Restorative Practices to change the way you work through conflict.

Sponsored by Residential Life

myUMBC

Tuesday, 10/23

CSJ: Ignite’s Community Art Project, Academic Row (rain location: Commons Main Street), 11:30 am to 2:30 pm

What does a social justice future look like to you? We want to know, and we want you to add it to our Community Art Project! We will have plenty of art supplies available for you to imagine out loud what the future you want is.

Sponsored by the Women’s Center

myUMBC

Disability as Diversity on the Job, Engineering 023, noon to 1 pm

Learn more about what disability, the interactive process, and accommodation are about, as well as challenges that affect the connection with campus resources in this dynamic session.  This training provides faculty and staff with information to understand disability and inclusion, along with basic and intermediate skills for navigating the accommodation request and referral process. The training will also identify campus processes and services that support faculty, staff, students and visitors with disabilities.

For more information, or to request a disability-based accommodation, please contact Stephanie Lazarus via 410-455-5745 or slazar@umbc.edu with your request. 

Space is limited and registration through myUMBC is required.  Registration deadline is Friday, October 19th. 

Sponsored by Student Disability Services. Offered through a partnership between the Office of Accessibility and Disability Services and the Department of Human Resources in support of Disability Awareness Month.

myUMBC

Keynote Lecturer: Deanna Zandt, Fine Arts 118, 6:30 – 9 pm

This year’s Critical Social Justice: Ignite keynote speaker will be Deanna Zandt, a media and technology expert who collaborates with leaders in social change work to create clear and persuasive strategies. In bringing Deanna, we’re excited to learn more about how technology can move social justice forward, and what our roles may be in that effort. In addition to Deanna, there will be an introductory plenary with alumnae Yoo-Jin Kang, INDS ‘15 and Susie Hinz, GWST ‘14 on the topic of survivor activism and critical social justice. Facebook Event

myUMBC  |Facebook Event

Wednesday, 10/24

Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon, Library 259 (near the media center), 3 – 5:30 pm

Help build public history on Baltimore icons and events AND learn the tools for continuing to expand Wikipedia’s knowledge store! In this Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon, we will show participants how to research, write, and edit Wikipedia entries so that they can continue to expand the store of public history.

Sponsored by the Women’s Center, Dresher Center for the Humanities, UMBC’s AOK Library, and the Department of History

myUMBC

Igniting Consciousness Into the Undocumented Experience, Skylight Room, 5:30 – 7 pm

A panel presentation on the issues faced by undocumented students and the community. More to come.

Sponsored by Campus Life’s Mosaic: Center for Diversity and Inclusion

Thursday, 10/25

UMBC Staff Panel: How Do You Ignite Activism in the Workplace?, ITE 456, 1 – 2 pm

The panel will focus on how UMBC staff members bring their role as activists into their workplace.

Panelists include Dr. Jodi Kelber-Kaye, Honors College. Moderated by Lisa Gray.

myUMBC

UMBC Graduate Student Panel: Igniting Change as a Grad Activist, ITE 456, 2:30 – 3:30 pm

This panel will focus on how graduate students connect their activist interests to the research they’re pursuing in their degree program.

Panelists include Aliya Webberman (Psychology) and Ruken Isik (LLC).

myUMBC

Knowledge Exchange: Liking, Following, Voting, Women’s Center, 4 – 5 pm

This knowledge exchange explores the impact of social media and advances in technology on elections in the U.S. We will be joined by State Senator-elect Mary Washington who recently won a contentious race against an incumbent in the 43rd District of Maryland.

myUMBC | flyer

Friday, 10/26

CSJ Walking Tour with Dr. Kate, meet in the Women’s Center at noon

Join us for our annual walking tour of Baltimore with UMBC’s own Dr. Kate Drabinski of the Gender and Women’s Studies Department! We will use the UMBC shuttle to travel into the city. Please RSVP by Wednesday, October 24th via myUMBC.

myUMBC

CSJ: Women in Engineering and Igniting Change (A CWIT Impact Series event) ITE 456, 12 -1pm

Why Stay? What’s even the point? You at one point may doubt continuing in your STEM degree. So, here’s the dirty little secret, you’re normal. Congratulations! That’s right. So, now what? In this session, Professor Gurganus will spend time engaging you on the reason you’re pursuing your degree in STEM and the power of belief. Trusting in yourself and the bigger purpose will let you conquer any obstacle and move any mountain.