Hi everyone! Now that we're in the last stretch of the semester, it's time for elections for next years Ancient Studies Council!

We will be holding elections for the President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary positions within the club for the 2026-2027 year. Anyone interested in one of these positions is more than welcome to join the election. To run for a position, please fill out the Council Elections google form provided below before Wednesday, April 22nd. Once we close the applications, we will post the candidates and their campaign speeches, and open voting. Anyone can vote for any person interested in the positions, whether it be for themselves or for another person. 

ANCS Council Election google form: https://forms.gle/WHVJXV3EUdjdcJ9h7

We hope that you will join us in this process. If you have any questions please contact our president at e176@umbc.edu.

Thank you!

Graduate Student Appreciation Week is coming to a close, and this is your moment to take it all in. The late nights, the stress, the wins, the growth — it all led here.

Get a ticket to Grad Prom & Awards and come celebrate yourself and the people who made this journey what it was. Whether that’s your friends, classmates, or the ones who kept you going behind the scenes — this night is for all of you. 🎓

No pressure, no expectations — just good music, good food, and a space to actually enjoy the moment together.

🗓️ Friday, April 10
⏰ 5–8 PM
📍 UC Ballroom

You made it this far. Take the night to celebrate that

Please click this link to complete the interest form for USG SWSA officers 2026-2027: 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfZjQ0xO7uj2gula40b1KlTAhSAB-QWDRfrEVKwcsu2rB4l2w/viewform?usp=dialog

Hello people!

Please save the date for Wednesday, April 29th from 5pm - 7:30pm for the Pride Awards!!! This event is in partnership with The Pride Center where we will be distributing the Pride Awards to the queer folx on campus who have shown up and shown out for the community. We will be celebrating them but also the larger body of queer community we have here at UMBC. More details to come very soon, tell your friends!

Wednesday, 4/29

5pm - 7:30pm

Commons Skylight

Best,

Gavin and Lorae

Join us in conversation with author of A Room in Bombay: A Memoir, Manil Suri, and English/MCS Alumnus, Aditya Desai. The event will be held on Thursday, April 16th, starting at 4:30PM in the Library Gallery!

Food will be provided.

About the Author: Manil Suri is the author of the forthcoming memoir, A Room in Bombay, three internationally acclaimed novels, The Death of Vishnu, The Age of Shiva and The City of Devi, and a book on popular mathematics, The Big Bang of Numbers.

He has served as a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times and is a distinguished university professor of mathematics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He is a passionate promoter of both mathematics and the humanities, and has motivated audiences worldwide to embrace both, rather than just one or the other.

Aditya Desai, who will be in discussion with Manil Suri during the event, is a writer, editor, teacher, and activist living in Baltimore, Maryland. He also works with several arts & racial justice organizations in Baltimore including the CityLit Project, Baltimore Youth Arts, and the Asian Pasifika Arts Collective.

More about the book: Indian American author Manil Suri grew up in a large crumbling apartment in Bombay (now Mumbai) which his parents, who were Hindu, shared with three Muslim families. Their single room, at times a refuge from the religious and territorial tensions pervading the apartment, was also a prison that held them captive―his parents stuck in an unhappy marriage, the author unable to explore the dawning realization he might be gay. At age 20, Suri managed to break free and come to the US, where he finally found the freedom to embrace his sexuality and find a life partner. But the room, which still held his parents hostage, kept wrenching him back to Bombay.

By now real estate prices had risen so much that neighbors had begun conspiring to take over the room, causing Suri’s parents to dig in even more. Eventually it was only his mother, Prem, left, who had staked all her happiness on her son but was unable to escape the room’s hold on her. When a rash of mysterious incidents seemed to beset the room, Suri realized how little time he had left to convince Prem that a happier life might await beyond the four walls that both enthralled and imprisoned her.

This remarkable, gripping memoir explores how an abode can shape destiny, while delving into the difficult question of how much to prioritize our parents’ happiness over our own. Inspired by over 2,700 letters the author wrote home over three decades, it is ultimately a testament to the abiding, unbreakable bond tying a son to his mother.

This event has been organized by Asian Studies with support from the Global Asias Initiative.

This event is open for full participation by all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or any other protected category under applicable federal law, state law, and the University's nondiscrimination policy.

See the original post here.

🚨 LAST CALL — IT’S TONIGHT 🚨

Take a break from the midweek grind and pull up to Bingo Night 🎉

We’re not talking about small prizes either… we’re giving away BIG wins like:
☕ Espresso machine
📺 TV
🎮 PS5… yes, a PS5 WHATTTT

If you’re not there, you’re honestly missing out.

🗓️ Tonight
⏰ 5–8 PM
📍 UC Ballroom

Grab your ticket, bring your friends, and come win something worth showing off. Don’t overthink it — just show up.

Dear UMBC Community, 

Inclusive excellence is at the heart of UMBC’s identity. We are strengthening this commitment by introducing a framework that helps form a shared definition to guide our work.

The Division of Institutional Equity team has developed a draft framework for inclusive excellence, building on ideas shared by our campus community through the series UMBC Talks in 2024 and 2025. The framework is intended to articulate our shared commitments, communicate our values, guide action, inspire collaboration, and support the development and implementation of UMBC’s next strategic plan.

This spring, we are inviting the entire campus community to participate in dialogue sessions to help continue to shape the framework. These conversations are an opportunity to share your experiences, reflect on your values, and provide feedback to strengthen this work.

UMBC Talks dialogues are 90-minute, facilitated conversations led by Ciara Christian, M.A. ’18, Ph.D. ’22, director of the Center for Social Justice Dialogue, and David Hoffman, Ph.D. ’13, director of the Center for Democracy and Civic Life.

The following UMBC Talks dialogue sessions are currently scheduled:

• Friday, April 10, 2:30 – 4:30 p.m., UC 312 - Focused on faculty and staff experiences but open to all. Participants will have opportunities to connect with others who share similar UMBC affiliations. RSVP here.

• Wednesday, April 15, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., UC 312 - Open to all. Conversations will take place in mixed groups. RSVP here.

• Friday, April 24, 10 a.m. – noon, UC 312 - Focused on graduate student experiences, but open to all. Participants will have opportunities to connect with others who share similar UMBC affiliations. RSVP here.

• Friday, April 24, 2 – 4 p.m., UC 312 - Focused on undergraduate student experiences but open to all. Participants will have opportunities to connect with others who share similar UMBC affiliations. RSVP here.

• Tuesday, April 28, 3 – 5 p.m., Virtual - Open to all. Conversations will take place in mixed groups. RSVP here.

Each session will follow the same format, so you can choose the time that works best for you. We encourage you to participate and share your perspective as we shape this important work together.

Sincerely, 

Tanyka M. Barber
Vice President for Institutional Equity and Chief Diversity Officer

For CARPOOLING INFO

JOIN OUR GROUPME: https://groupme.com/join_group/92270993/0Y2WPlKd

Private room available in a townhouse for a male at Westland Gardens for a 3-month move-in, available from May to August. 

Fully furnished 2BHK townhouse: 

• Spacious Living Room with a sofa + TV. 

• Oven, Microwave, Fridge, Dishwasher.
• In-house Laundry(Washer + Dryer).
• Centralised Heater and Cooler.
• 1 min walk to the UMBC Bus stop.
• 10-minute walk to UMBC campus.
• Rent is 600$ + utilities.

DM for more information: +12029375716 or email me at IO95979@umbc.edu

11:30am-12:00pm LIVE in the RAC!

Come for the performance and stay for the keynote. Lunch will be served.

The Dana Idnay Band is an Alternative Rock band playing selections from Sparrow, their recent EP. Featuring Dana Idnay (Biology Pre-Pharmacy), Gabriel Schauf, (Music Technology) Nik Redcay (Music Technology), Logan Williams (Music Technology)

Mentor: Felipe Garibaldi, UMBC Affiliate Artist

URCAD is Wednesday, April 22 in the RAC:

URCAD.umbc.edu