UMBC’s chapter of Zeta Sigma Chi prides itself in being a multicultural sorority. According to their official website, their ultimate purpose is “to unify a group of women from diverse cultures for one common goal; success in education. To achieve our goal, we base our beliefs on our unique backgrounds with the purpose of building a strong sisterhood that will assist us in our success.” ZSC continued to follow this mission by hosting a Deaf Culture Awareness event on March 29. In doing so, ZSC shed some light on a UMBC minority group that is most definitely underrepresented.

Psychology and gender and women’s studies double Prachi Kochar serves as PR chair and secretary of ZSC, and acted as one of the two planners for the event alongside Chay Jones, a fellow sorority sister. Being a deaf person herself, Kochar was especially passionate about the event and was able to give a presentation about her life and her experiences in deaf culture along with Ramla Almoshen, a fellow deaf student, and Jazzy Jones, who works with the National Association for the Deaf as well as the National Black Deaf Advocates and Deaf Women United.

The presenters also spoke about deaf culture as a whole and what it means to them. Kochar stated, “Deaf culture is like any other culture; it refers to the practices, beliefs and values of the culture that ties deaf people together. It is particularly important to me, because it reflects the experiences and values of deaf people. ASL is also very central to US Deaf culture and it is incredible to me how deaf people have incorporated ASL into artwork along with the ASL poems that I have seen — it is truly poetry in motion!”

After their presentations, the event opened up to the audience for a discussion about deaf culture on- and off-campus. “One of the major issues [we discussed] was the lack of awareness of what exactly deaf people need in regards to communication,” Kochar said. “We talked about how hearing people can best accommodate deaf people in general. We also talked about how UMBC has had issues with providing accommodations for deaf people, and how it currently does not provide American Sign Language classes. During the event, a few audience members and I spoke about starting an ASL club.”

Kochar finished by speaking about UMBC’s blind eye towards their own deaf community. She hopes the deaf community will be better represented in the future. “Many of the audience members at the event were not even aware that there were deaf students on campus! That is why deaf awareness events like this are so important. They bring attention to a minority group that most of UMBC students and staff are not aware of. One of the things that UMBC is most proud of is its diversity, and discussing deaf issues is necessary to bring the culture to the forefront of peoples’ minds.”

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What does We the Kings mean to you?

We the Kings is our lifeline.  I can’t call it a job because it doesn’t feel like that.  It’s a little dream that we had a long time ago as kids that we have just somehow been able to turn into a reality.  

What would you say your first big success as a band was?

We’ve never really sized up different things and I always get that question from other bands who are trying to do the same thing and make it their own way.  I never really know what to tell them because there have been so many significant things in our life.  I think one of the most sentimental moment in our career was about six years ago when our city of Bradenton presented us each with the key to the city.  We got to invite all of our family and friends and it was just a really cool moment for us to be acknowledged by the city that kind of made us who we are.

You started the band in high school, did you know that you would be so successful in the future?

No, we actually just started the band, honestly, to get girlfriends. We were all, like, dorky high school kids and we’re still the same dorky kids just a little older. We started the band to get girlfriends because we were having a difficult time and I went to see my first show – it was Blink 182, Green Day and Jimmy Eat World – and all these girls were just throwing their bras up on stage and I was like oh my gosh this is what I have to in order to get a girlfriend.  So I went home and called up friends and I was like let’s start a band and we started We the Kings the next day.  We really were just doing battle of the bands and talent shows and we never imagined that it would grow to become this. When you’re young you just kind of dream really big without knowing what it’s gonna take and that’s a beautiful thing.  It’s really powerful sometimes and we made it and were able to say that we were successful and it wasn’t until that time that we were able to realize how many obstacles and how many hoops we had to jump through to make it and get where we are today.

Can you describe the evolution of the band over time?

Musically and personally there have been a bunch of significant evolutions.  We went from starting the band and wanting girlfriends and thinking that playing in a band would be the way to do that.  Now three of us are married, one’s engaged — in our personal lives we’ve really grown from the kids we were.  I just had my first child.  My wife gave birth to a beautiful baby girl.  I get to call myself a dad and I get to look after my daughter and be mature and responsible.  That’s much different from when we first started the band.  Musically I think we’ve always had the idea that we never wanted to put out the same record twice.  Every album that we’ve put out out of the five has been not completely different – it’s still very much We the Kings, my voice singing, guitar, drums, bass, piano, acoustic – but I think there’s an element that we added to each of the albums to make it stand apart from the other ones.  Through that we have organically evolved from what we used to sound like to what we sound like today.  

What is your favorite album that you have put out and why?

That’s hard. Before I had a daughter, my songs were my kids. You spend so much time and effort and love and passion and blood, sweat and tears, go to creating a song.  We the Kings music is very much a part of my life, lyrically sharing with the world my love stories and heartbreak stories and journey and adventure and all these different things that I’ve written about.  It’s just me showcasing a little bit of my life to the world.  I think each part of every album is a piece of my life so it would be saying what part of myself is my favorite feature.  I know that we grow fond of the ones that do really well with the fans.  Check Yes Juliet was obviously a song that debuted our name, We the Kings to the world. We’re very proud [and] we play the song last at every show as a dedication to the fans that made the song the thing it was.  It was off our first album so if you had a gun to my head and I head to pick I would say the first album is my favorite.

What was the most nervous you’ve ever been at a performance?

Yeah I actually, believe it or not, get nervous before every single show.  It’s like this anxiety that goes over me.  I kind of start thinking like, “Oh I don’t want to mess up,” and I want to do our songs justice and I want the fans that pay for tickets to really enjoy the show.  All these thoughts going through my head make me super nervous. But I think there’s something about anxiety that I use as fuel to put on a better show. So I don’t know if there’s been a time that I’ve been super nervous but there was a time that we did Good Morning America which was filmed – we did soundcheck at 3 a.m. – and was filmed at 6 a.m.  It was the earliest I’ve ever had to play and I was really nervous that my voice wouldn’t work, like I would try to sing and nothing would come out.  So I stayed up all night so that my voice could rest.  There’s a lot of vocal things that you learn with touring.  So I stayed up the entire night and it made me incredibly anxious and nervous, not only about being on TV but about whether or not I made the right decision about my lack of sleep.  But it was a show that millions of people were going to watch and we ended up playing a really good show and a couple songs that we were allotted to do.

You toured with a number of bands such as Boys Like Girls before they were big.  What was it like performing with them?  Did you know that they would be big back then?

I think that with all the bands that we have toured with and all the bands we have had the opportunity to open for, it’s awesome.  What we take out of it is this huge learning curve.  I remember we would watch.  We would be the first band of four and [Boys Like Girls] had a single on the radio so there were drawing a lot of fans.  Our first tour was in front of a lot of people.  So I think what we decided to do was to sit there and watch the bands and kind of note what worked for them and how the fans responded and that really made our show today. There’s all these elements to a show  that entice the audience to participate and listen and that stuff we probably wouldn’t have known to do if it wasn’t for those bands that we were able to open for.

Do you ever get tired of traveling around the world and not being able to stay in one place for very long?

The answer that you would always hear from every band is that touring the world is the best thing ever.  It really is.  There is a horrible part to that which is the flights.  We just got back from Australia and it was a twenty-one hour flight to Florida and that is not awesome.  The flight kind of messes you up for a couple days and it’s a long time to sit on a plane and all these different things.  And when you get [where you’re going] you’re kind of tired but it’s only 1 p.m. and then you’re up all night and it kind of just goes on until you have your first show and you’re just trying to balance your equilibrium.  But it never gets old and ironically now that we want to more and support [our families] and make a living and want them to have the things we never had as kids.  I had to work really hard for what I have and there’s a part of me that will always remember that work ethic.  Now that my baby girl is depending on me for survival I really want to do everything I can and that means touring and seeing the world.  

I know you, Danny and Charles do YouTube vlogs.  How did that start?  What is attractive to you about vlogging?

I think before when we were religiously listening to Blink 182 and Green Day and bands like that, they would put out tour DVDs and that’s kind of all you would see of the band outside of the shows.  I think that the Youtube thing has been really fun to us to show our fans, our friends and our family what we’re up to and what we’re doing and then it turned into a bigger thing that what it was.  The three of us do videos, Charles does daily, Danny does semi-daily and I do weekly.  It’s a lot of content out there.

What do you have to offer at shows that will convince students to come see you play?
To be honest everybody’s looking for like what are you gonna do that is going to make me enjoy the show but I kind of always say this but it’s true – if you’re wondering what you’ll take out of a We the Kings show, just ask somebody who’s been to a We the Kings show.  We continue to get more elaborate and more competitive as a band when it comes to trying to outdo our tours.  So if you go online and just see people’s videos and their reactions to the tour it’s really awesome.

The post Talking to We The Kings appeared first on The Retriever.

A room is available for rent in a Fully furnished townhouse at: 
993 Circle Drive, MD 21227.

The basement is completely furnished with a separate bathroom and entry and exit. You will have your own refrigerator as well. House has its own washer and dryer.

Less than a mile away from UMBC, 2 mins walk to UMBC shuttle stop and or 2 mins walk to UMBC UHS, free parking, less than a minute drive to Mars supermarket, Rite Aid, restaurants, laundromat.

If your vagina could speak, what would it say? Members of the Women Involved in Learning and Leadership program asked this question Wednesday night when they performed excerpts from the popular “The Vagina Monologues.” The performance was a part of a global V-Day movement which seeks to end violence against women.

The yearly production took place in the University Center Ballroom and was free to students. The ballroom was partitioned in half to fit a smaller audience. About 50 people attended, and seemed to receive the play well.

“The Vagina Monologues” is a unique play that came out in the mid-’90s which features varying monologues about women’s issues, most of them focusing on the vagina as a source of empowerment. Working with a small cast, WILL chose a limited amount of monologues, including “My Angry Vagina,” about the frustrations of feminine hygiene and “Reclaiming Cunt,” that discusses the beauty of the word cunt in spite of social stigma. Difficult subjects such as rape, violence and genital mutilation were also covered.

Nathan Epstein, a senior majoring in computer science, and Amanda Barcelon, who attends Johns Hopkins school of Radiography, came out to support their friend who was in the performance. Neither had seen “The Vagina Monologues” and enjoyed it but Epstein had an issue with a few of the stories.

Epstein said, “there were some that were good, some were informative and important and some I didn’t like as much.”

Epstein didn’t get the point of “My Angry Vagina,” where the woman complained that tampons were an invasive necessity. He didn’t understand the vitriol toward the simple hygiene product.

“I was like, can you just do whatever you want? Is there someone following you around telling you what to do?,” Epstein elaborated.

Barcelon had a more positive perspective “The Vagina Monologues.”

“I could relate to it a lot,” she said. “It was conceptual. It was a different experience. I wish people talked about vaginas more often.”

Ayanna Holcomb, who graduated from Bowie College as a psychology major, also came to support a friend who performed. After seeing the performance, Holcomb wished she had seen “The Vagina Monologues” sooner.  

“I feel like a latecomer in so many different things and this was one of those things,” she said. “But I think it’s on time because, in this period of my life, I can really appreciate and resonate with a lot of the monologues.”

“It’s really inspirational to see people when they’re passionate, to see that translate.”

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Emily Grace experimented with poetry compositions for her project. It details methods of writing poetry- by instinct and after some time. The presentation and performance will focus on a discussion of her methods used, incorporating interviews from professional writers and elements of poetry. Come to URCAD 2016 to see her project!

Not even the gloomy weather could keep people away from a very special performance at the Black Box Theatre this past weekend. Guests were both entertained and surprised by the very first season of Studio 3, a night of one-act plays directed and designed by UMBC students.

Of the two plays performed, first up was “Gidion’s Knot,” directed by Serafina Donahue. This play follows an intense exchange between fifth grade teacher Heather Clark and single mother Corryn Fell following her son Gidion’s suspension and tragic suicide. This entire play took place in Heather Clark’s classroom, the set for which had and impressive level of detail. Everything from colorful posters to a stack of textbooks in each desk were included. Shadowed by sound effects of rain and thunder, this play felt tense and ominous even before the actors said a single word.

What was equally as impressive were the performances by the two main actors. Keri Eastridge’s portrayal of Heather Clark made the audience sympathize with her character. There was a tangible struggle between the character’s calm demeanor and the height of her emotions, which is something that Keri executed quite well.

On the other side, Alex Reeves’ portrayal of Corryn Fell truly brought her character to life. The battle between her grief and anger were evident from the first line and Alex’s combination of those elements delivered a complex and multi-faceted portrayal. Putting these two characters together resulted in a performance that felt much like an emotional punch to the chest.

Balancing out this emotional performance was “Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You,” directed by Ally Kocerhan. This hilarious play follows Sister Mary Ignatius as she haughtily explains the ins and outs of the Catholic faith, but is interrupted by a group of her disgruntled past students. Like with the first play, this set had incredible detail. From the four illuminated crosses along the back to the wooden podium at the front, everything felt authentic and church-like.

This play was unique in that it included the audience. Before the play began, theatre attendants came around handing out blank index cards to anyone who wanted to write down a question for Sister Ignatius. Throughout the play, the actors talked directly to the audience, interacting with them and asking them questions. It gave the room a fun, lighthearted atmosphere.

Abigail Funk gave a hilarious performance as Sister Mary Ignatius. She opened by silently walking out and splashing the front row of the audience with holy water. Her antics and delivery of silly lines in such a serious manner had the audience in stitches. She constantly called for her student Thomas (played by Steven Gondre-Lewis), who excitedly answered her odd questions and was rewarded with cookies. The arrival of four of her past students (played by Jessie Gilson, Piper Ockershausen-Hall, Chaz Atkinson and Tobin Frevert) brought her teaching methods into question as they each revealed disappointing elements of their lives. Hijinks ensue and by the end there is only one student remaining, Thomas holding him at gunpoint and Sister Ignatius napping in her chair. The combination of these talented actors and their portrayals of the characters make this hilarious and quirky play come to life.

Each one of these plays was beautifully thought out and executed. From the design to the sound effects to the acting, each element brought these productions to stunning life.

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From March 28 to April 3, Light City Baltimore lit up the city streets as the very first international light festival to take place in the United States. Baltimore “was the first in the United States to suggest illuminating its streets with hydrogen gas lanterns,” and after 200 years, the city celebrated and brought to light the still-present, revolutionary ideas and dedication that it has always had, according to Visit Baltimore.

Thousands of people walked around The Inner Harbor, Fells Point and Hampden on Saturday night to appreciate the wide variety of attractions, exhibits and performances created by local, national and international artists.

In addition to the six other nights of the festival, it is impossible to imagine the sheer magnitude of its reach.

This festival, according to the Light City official website, “is a stage to showcase Baltimore as an international city, highlighting its people, its music, its creativity, its innovation and its BRILLIANCE.”

Throughout each crafted display, original performance and each meticulously planned out LED light, nothing lacks that creativity, innovation or brilliance. More than just a large-scale collection of glowing, artful constructions, Light City Baltimore was a creative statement.

With over 50 attractions as a part of the 1.5 mile BGE Light Walk, festival-goers had an opportunity to be a part of the displays and help to bring them to life. From the stepping stones in the attraction titled “The Pool” that changed colors with movement, to the interactive “Water Wall” using projected images on a water screen in the harbor, festival-goers determined their view and the outcome of the pieces.

The festival was free of charge and open to all ages with attractions accessible for all festival-goers. Musical performances by DJ’s were held at the Club Light City stage while instrumental performances took place in Harbor East and circus acts were made possible through Circus of Wonders. Vendors welcomed the age range by selling a variety of creations from LED cotton candy to vodka ice cream.

In comparison to the 20×40 foot illuminated attraction titled “Peacock,” some pieces that weren’t as elaborate held an even greater and deeper meaning than seen at first glance. The “Diamonds Light Baltimore” display — 15 differently-sized diamond structures spread around the sidewalks — were not only bright and popular to take pictures with, but they also changed their colors from blue to white at 10 p.m. each night to remember the citywide curfew from last April.

Everything worked together seamlessly to essentially do one thing: “cause attendees to see situations in new ways, rethink their deeply held beliefs and reflect on key societal issues of justice and equality.”

Like any other piece of art or large-scale festival, creators and artists have a primary purpose to make people think. Whether it makes them question something or understand something a little more, artwork should leave a lasting impression on its audience. For Baltimore, the true purpose of the Light City Baltimore festival is sure to be that it will leave a lasting impression of the city on Baltimoreans and the rest of the world — one of hope, light and opportunity.

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Middlebury University, stationed in Vermont, has recently banned energy drinks from being sold on campus. This is due to the conclusions of erratic studies that neither prove nor disprove negative side-effects, such as bad study habits from energy drink consumption.

Energy drinks are the bread-and-butter for some university students, particularly during heightened stress periods over the course of a semester. Since the caffeine-ridden drinks are not explicitly prohibited on campus grounds, students may buy them elsewhere.

However, this issue does not simply affect caffeine consumption on college campuses. It speaks to the rights of adult students, who all presumably pay for an education and college experience, not to be coddled.

A university’s responsibility is to successfully educate its students, who are essentially their clients. However, Middlebury is attempting to govern its student population and regulate their health habits.

Dietitian Andy Bellatti stated that, “the food industry thrives on confusion, and it loves to propagate the notion that ‘Gee whiz, one day you’re told coffee is good for you, the next day you’re told it’s unhealthy!’”

These methods efficiently manipulate the public through fear tactics and sensationalism. Therefore, anyone with an agenda can pick and choose from the plethora of studies – some unsanctioned by the medical community – that support their particular cause as correct.

It seems like a daily occurrence that studies come out revealing one product may cause heart failure and another decreases the risk. More often than not, there will be conflicting reports regarding the same food.

For instance, there are some who would claim that any sort of animal product is unhealthy, while the other camp would argue the exact opposite. How do we determine who is right or wrong? Regarding this issue, it almost doesn’t matter.

Lets examine the colorful history of the health industry’s opinion of eggs. There has been a distinct nutritionist crusade led to vilify eggs as a major cause of heart disease, although the majority of studies actually refute the claim.

As science can also be objective, and scientists are only human, therefore not infallible, those studies may be incorrect. Either way, which side should we believe? Which faction should colleges concur with?

I’d argue neither.

When a person is eating a bag of processed chips, full of sodium, preservatives and salt, there is no confusion in their mind that what they’re consuming is necessarily healthy, however as an adult human, that should be left as the individual’s choice.

As an institution garnered towards adults, the small step of banning energy drinks could then lead to much larger and more daunting embargoes. That is an unacceptable evolution of boundaries that higher education establishments should not be allowed to cross.

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Last week, North Carolina passed a new law that openly discriminates against the LGBT community. Titled “The Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act,” people using schools and government buildings must use the bathroom that corresponds with the gender on their birth certificate, or their “biological sex.” Along with the public outcry and derision from local and national businesses, this law will not be beneficial for the greater North Carolina community as it is illegal.

First, under Supreme Court precedent, forcing someone to reluctantly reveal a personal or private attribute is illegal. According to Planned Parenthood v. Casey, “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life. Beliefs about these matters could not define the attributes of personhood were they formed under compulsion of the State.”

Many supporters of the law have argued that it would benefit the greater public from being attacked by the transgender community in the bathroom. However, this is simply not the case. The Human Rights Campaign, ACLU and Transgender Law Center have all confirmed that there is no evidence supporting this argument.

Vincent Villano, spokesman for the National Center for Transgender Equality, said that “NCTE has not heard of a single instance of a transgender person harassing a non-transgender person in a public restroom. Those who claim otherwise have no evidence this is true, and use this notion to prey on the public’s stereotypes and fears about transgender people.”

In fact, forcing transgender people to only go to the bathroom of their “biological sex” hurts them even more. In 2013, the Williams Institute conducted a survey for transgender people in “gendered restrooms” in D.C. The survey found 54 percent of all respondents “reported having some sort of physical problem from trying to avoid public restrooms, such as dehydration, kidney infections, and urinary tract infections.” 10 percent of survey respondents “who attended school in DC reported a negative impact on their education, including having excessive absences and dropping out of school due to issues related to restroom access.”

It is clear that laws such as North Carolina’s will do more harm than good. Not only are they unconstitutional, they also exile a part of society that just wants to feel comfortable when they go to the bathroom.

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