UMBC students are put under unnecessary pressure to pass the notorious "weed-out" classes of their major and tend to miss the bigger picture when it comes to learning and understanding the fundamental course material. Photo by Cristina Calderon.

Should an undergraduate student die for what they love? Do we love our majors enough to die for them? Are these really questions that 18-year-olds should be asking themselves?

Okay, maybe dying is a bit extreme, but the intensity of some of UMBC’s 100- and 200-level courses are taking a toll on underclassmen.

Most UMBC students are familiar with the difficulty of weed-out courses. For freshmen, the stress of living on their own and being away from home is already high. Moreover, the near impassibility of weed-out courses required by a major only increases the stresses piled on top of their plates.

The purpose of a weed-out course is to select students for specific majors as efficiently as possible in order to keep job outlook prestigious and salaries high. As stated by an anonymous undergraduate student here at UMBC, “We’re over here trying hard, going to office hours, SI PASS sessions, we went over all the questions! And we still end up with low grades.”

The reason weed-out courses are so strenuous may be due to the unreasonable perplexity of exam questions, rather than the difficulty of the course material. As Kwame Robertson, a computer science major says, “Bio 141 is too easy. The average on the tests should be like a 40. [Exams] test the students on how well they do on tests and not the content.”

Robertson’s view articulates an excellent point. If students are so caught up on the limited material that is going to be on the tests, then they do not end up learning the entirety of the course’s main content. They focus on simply memorizing the information thrown at them instead of understanding the material as a whole.

Exams should challenge students, but they should also reward them for trying. If weed-out course examinations were kept at the same level, or raised to a higher level, but professors gave more leeway in their grading by employing a non-competitive curve, then maybe actual learning would occur.

To foster well-rounded learning, professors cannot have impossibly difficult classes and grading systems. They either have to make the courses less grueling, as suggested by the anonymous student or make the grading system less punishing, as suggested by Robertson.

It is prudent that we have smart and educated people employed in the STEM fields. Science and technology are integral parts of the way in which we live and having members of our society that actually understand them is important for our survival.

Students should feel encouraged to take STEM courses, not disgusted by the responsibility and the looming fear of failure associated with these courses. Making introductory STEM courses more similar to other introductory college courses is essential, not only for the students required to take it, but for the good that extends throughout our society as UMBC’s students begin to enter the world on their own.

The post What do weed-out courses really do for us? appeared first on The Retriever.

UMBC needs an on-campus food pantry and a place where students can donate new and/or gently used jackets, hats, gloves and blankets to fellow students who are in need.

A large percentage of UMBC’s student body can only afford to attend school with the help of FAFSA, subsidized and unsubsidized loans or a combination of these resources. While some students do receive grants and scholarships, there are many who do not get such aid.

When students are cold or hungry, they are not thinking about their studies. It is difficult to pass tests and quizzes when that person is concerned about where and how they will get their next meal.

Many of UMBC’s students are attending school full-time and being a student is their only occupation. Making an annual salary of $65,000 after graduation is great, but UMBC must consider the current financial needs of its students.

Before UMBC’s students graduate and go on to make a difference in the world, they should be allowed to make a difference here in our own little corner of the world. UMBC should offer a program that allows students to donate canned foods and clothes throughout the year to their fellow colleagues who are going through financial struggles.

The student in need could then come to a designated place on campus where they could get up to five donated items per day simply by showing their campus ID. Out of 175 randomly surveyed students in Starbucks who were asked, “Do you think this school should have a food and clothing pantry?,” only two thought that the idea was not a good one.

One of those two students, who wished to remain anonymous, stated, “It is not our responsibility to take care of anyone because if they cannot afford to feed themselves; they should not be in school.”

Ricca Graham, a junior, social work major who is in favor of the idea stated, “I believe that UMBC should have a food pantry and/or a winter pantry for students on campus who struggle with affording food and clothing when winter conditions get severe.”

Another student who would only give her first name, Mona, said “A food pantry is a great idea, but it needs to be placed in an area where students would not be embarrassed to go.”

During an interview with Romy Hubler, the coordinator for student life and student organizations and involvement at UMBC, she stated, “In order to get this off the ground, it may be a good idea to get one of the student organizations that is already established to run with this idea.” SGA was consulted and is considering whether or not to proceed.

Social work instructor, Kevin Wade who is on staff at the University of Maryland School of Social Work in family connections stated, “This is a great idea,” in reference to the idea that UMBC should have a food pantry and a winter clothing pantry set up by students with donations by students, for students.

It all boils down to whether or not UMBC’s students are mindful of the social needs of others and if they want to make a difference. There are students who want to help each other, all they need to do now is go out an make some changes.

The post UMBC Needs A Food Pantry appeared first on The Retriever.

Congratulations to Dr. Renetta Tull, director of Maryland’s PROMISE Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP), for being the recipient of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) 2016 Claire L. Felbinger Award for Diversity!

Dr. Renetta Tull receives the Claire L. Felbinger Award for Diversity at the ABET Awards Gala in Baltimore, MD on October 28, 2016.  Photo: Courtesy of Dr. Renetta Tull’s wordpress website

On October 28, 2016, the ABET Awards Gala was held in Baltimore, MD to award and recognize members for their outstanding achievements. One of these awards, the Claire L. Felbinger Award for Diversity, was awarded to Dr. Renetta Tull. The Claire L. Felbinger Award for Diversity is awarded to a recipient who resembles Claire L. Felbinger in advocating diversity. Claire Felbinger was a member of the Board of Delegates where she was the first person to bring up the topic and significance of diversity. Since then, she has been an active and influential advocate on diversity, including the creation of a policy on diversity. She passed away in 2008, but her advocacy in diversity continues to live on. Each year, ABET presents the Claire L. Felbinger Award for Diversity to recognize people who walk in her footsteps and carry out the same goals and visions.

Dr. Renetta Tull was awarded this prestigious award for her “visionary leadership as founding director of the PROMISE: Maryland’s Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate and her commitment to achieving greater diversity and inclusion in technical fields.” PROMISE AGEP was initially founded in 2003, which was an alliance between the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB), and the University of Maryland College Park (UMCP). As stated on our website, “PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP is a university system-wide effort for the state of Maryland to facilitate underrepresented STEM graduate student and postdoctoral professional development and pathways to careers.” In 2013, PROMISE AGEP expanded to outreach to the entire University System of Maryland (USM) and to postdoctoral fellows. The new expansion also included a new Professors in Training (PROF-IT) program, which allowed graduate students to teach at universities within USM, Anne Arundel Community College, the Community College of Baltimore County, and Ana G Mendez University Capital Area Campus.

PROMISE AGEP provides professional development seminars/workshops, conference opportunities, and networking opportunities. It is also an excellent support system for all graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Our mission is to help increase graduate student retention, provide a support system and a sense of belonging for graduate students, particularly underrepresented minorities in STEM fields, and increase the graduation rate of underrepresented minorities. Through PROMISE AGEP, Dr. Renetta Tull is helping to achieve greater diversity and inclusion in technical fields.

Congratulations, Dr. Renetta Tull, for receiving the 2016 Claire L. Felbinger’s Award!

The Administrative Assistant & Board Liaison oversees the day-to-day operations and administration of the President’s Office and provides proactive support to the President and members of Senior Staff to ensure the smooth functioning of daily activities. This critical position serves as a key liaison between the office and external constituents, including the Board of Trustees.

• A score of 3 or better on LRC's Math Placement exam
• Math 104 with a grade of C or better (this is a new pathway into this course)
• Math 106 with a grade of C or better (we had this before)
  

Students will be introduced to many topics from contemporary mathematics. These are especially of interest to students in the social and information sciences.  Topics include networks and graphs, the traveling salesman problem, scheduling linear programming, social choice, voting systems game theory, fair division, patterns, tilings form, similarity and symmetry.

Ephesians 3:16 - “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being.”

The apostle Paul had spent three years teaching and exhorting the believers in Ephesus. Yet he knew that they needed something beyond teaching, for he says in his letter to the Ephesians that he must fall on his knees in prayer, asking God to strengthen them in their inner being. Paul knew that he couldn’t instruct people to be strong in their inner person, for only God can give that strength. Although Paul knew that the Holy Spirit lived inside the believers, he wanted God to grant them more power. And he knew that you don’t get power by speaking words into the air…rather, you pray down power. The same holds true for us today.

Your pastor may have a great word, but he can’t teach you strength. Only God gives you strength, and it comes in answer to prayer - the fortitude to live a victorious Christian life, to minister to others, to overcome road blocks in life, to rebound when the enemy knocks you down, to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. This isn’t attained by jogging or lifting weights. You can be physically fit and yet be weak against temptation and discouragement. The strength the Apostle Paul was talking about is being strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. It means living a supernatural Christian life. This comes only through prayer - asking God for the power of the Holy Spirit to live a supernatural Christian life every single day; and like the Apostle Paul, asking the Lord to strengthen your brothers and sisters in Christ in their inner being.
(From Jim Cymbala’s daily devotional, Only God Gives Strength.)

Let us continue to pray for his power in ourselves and others today

-AP