A reader, The_Truth, sent in the following media smackdown about the distinction between UMBC and the other schools in the state system.  Read it and then let us know your opinion!

As most of you probably know, UMBC chess team won the Final Four tournament, making all of us proud once again for our school. UMBC has been working really hard both in sports and academic fields, and this win will definitely help us to highlight our name throughout the nation once again. Or will it?

This week, several serious and reputable sources came out with headlines claiming that, in fact, it was Maryland that won the title!  Obviously, they do not really understand that Maryland is a nickname which historically refers to University of Maryland, College Park and is never really used in reference to UMBC!

For example, here is NPR’s article (Maryland Emerges as Champion Of Final Four Chess Tournament):

Or the story on the front page of the United States Chess Federation (Final Four: Maryland beats Brownsville to retain title):

Even though they specify in the body of the article that they are, in fact, talking about University of Maryland Baltimore County, the damage is effectively done and many readers who do not bother to read the entire article are left to believe that UMD (a.k.a.-Maryland) won the chess title.

What’s your opinion on this subject? Is it UMBC’s destiny to forever get mixed up with UMCP? Should we fight it or embrace it?

P.S.: The subject is further examined in a recent Baltimore Sun article

Is it possible to create new "letters" in the genetic alphabet? Should we? Why would we want to? Goldwater Scholar Nathaniel Kim can explain all this. Attend his URCAD talk on Wednesday, April 28 at 1:30 p.m. in UC 310. If you need to report on an URCAD presentation for a course assignment, this is a great choice. Nate will bring to life the complexities and possibilities of this research.

Do you have an avatar in Second Life or Virtual World? Have you visited the art gallery Life as Dance in Virtual World? Life as Dance was built by Franki L. Trout, Danielle Viens-Payne, Kelly-Lynne Russell for a UMBC honors seminar. To tour their museum, come to URCAD's newest venue, UC 115, on Wednesday April 28 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. You can also visit the virtual UMBC classroom where Virtual World construction is taught and try your hand at construction. Never heard of any of this? Get your first experience with virtual reality at URCAD.

Starbux

Starbucks would love to hear your thoughts. That’s what the customer comment card says. And Christine Ferrera ’10, M.F.A. imaging and digital arts, took them up on their offer.

“I asked myself: ‘what would I naturally say to a friend?’ and began writing,” she said.

Fast forward five years, and you’ll find nearly 2,000 letters from Ferrera to Starbucks – one for every day of every year, ranging from fun and quirky to highly sensitive. In one, she asks, “Has anyone ever fallen in love at Starbucks?” In another, she discusses her pride in buying a new couch. In many she writes about the daily struggles of being an artist.

The project spurred when Ferrera was living in Richmond and taking classes at Virginia Commonwealth University. She was enrolled in an endurance art class and had to undertake a project for one year. The class was asked to do something out of their element, and since Ferrera was a painter, she chose writing.

 “I never placed rules for what I’d write. The only loose rule I had was that this wasn’t going to be some kind of political statement,” she said. “After the year was over, I just started doing it out of habit.”

Within a month, Ferrera started receiving generic replies from Starbucks. Some enclosed coupons. But after six, they stopped sending them. Time went on, Ferrera kept writing and would hear from Starbucks sporadically. They would respond to many of her questions related to the business (saying yes – that some people had fallen in love at the coffee shop). But mostly, the replies were short.

After two years of writing, Ferrera moved to Korea. It was the only time she had to pay for postage. She didn’t hear from them that year, assuming they had lost her address. But when she returned to the states, a surprise was waiting her: a personal letter from a customer service representative at Starbucks, addressing her by name.

“The letter was so direct, so confrontational,” she said. “But it was nice and obvious that she had something to say to me. She had been reading my letters for years and had been touched by them.”

Although Ferrera was appreciative of the reply, part of the cycle was broken.

“Before, the project served as a diary for me, and it was almost like no one was reading,” she said. “This letter assured me that someone had been reading, that my words were out there.”

But that didn’t stop Ferrera. Her daily routine persisted, and she found herself continuing to write – despite knowing that someone was actually reading. Although she doesn’t want to be only recognized for her letters to Starbucks, she notes how important the project is in terms of today’s art.

“Starbucks – and other corporations – are part of our every day landscape. Artists need to react to the times in which they live,” she said. “There may be some kind of shift eventually, and maybe I’ll know when to stop writing the letters. But for now, it is part of my routine, and I’ll keep doing it until there’s a reason to stop.”

Ferrera has considered publishing her letters on a Web site or in a book and is currently weighing her options. 

The Starbux diary project will be featured at the Imaging and Digital Arts M.F.A. Thesis Show, held April 8-24, at the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture. Ferrera’s letters will be on display, and she will perform a reading of her letters on April 21, 10:30 a.m., and April 22, 3 p.m, both at CADVC. Work by six upcoming graduates will also be featured including videos, installations and live performances.

For more information about the show, click here.

Ferrera also did a reading of her letters at Baltimore’s Stoop Storytelling Series, an event that gathers seven storytellers who tell stories for seven minutes. Click here to listen.

Click on the thumbnails below to read a selection of Christine’s letters:

(4/2/10)

Hey fellow foodies of UMBC!!  My name is Amy and I am the newest member of the UMBC Eats team!  I can’t wait to share my easy recipes, food experiences, and other great foodie moments with you.  Here’s my first blog on an easy, simple, fast college recipe =).

Tired of the same old PB&J?  Want to dress up a picnic sandwich but don’t know how?  Here is an easy, simple, and inexpensive recipe for the tastiest sandwiches I know I’m hooked on! As college students, we’re always thinking of ways to save money and time and to keep things SIMPLE!!  Worry no more, here is a GREAT sandwich that can easily become one of your new favorites!

My Aunt’s sandwiches: Prep and cook time = 20 minutes; Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

6 sub rolls (available at any grocery store)
24 slices of Canadian bacon (2 per sandwich)
1 cucumber sliced thin (4 slices per sandwich)
6 hard boiled eggs sliced thin (available at Outtakes convenience stores right on campus!)
1-2 Roma tomatoes sliced thin about the same size as a cucumber
1 tablespoon dijon or honey dijon mustard
1/2 tablespoon mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1) Split open your sub rolls.  In a small storable container, mix the dijon mustard and mayonnaise together with salt and pepper and spread evenly on both sides of all the rolls.

2) Arrange 4 slices of cucumber on one side of the sub roll and 4 slices of egg on the other side.  Repeat this with the tomatoes and Canadian bacon.

Makes a great sandwich and is great for picnics and any college midnight
snack.  Enjoy! =)

- Amy

Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem. Experiments with E. coli may lead to ways to reduce this resistance. Asmara Qamar will explain the science at URCAD on Wednesday, April 28. Come to the poster areas in the University Center Ballrooom. Asmara will be there from 12:30 to 3:00 p.m. Learn something new!