I have just stumbled across a facebook event advertising Third Eye Blind as part of SEB’s Quadmania this April 16-18. Tickets are $10 with a UMBC ID and go on sale at the Commons info desk Wednesday March 10 at 12pm. The show will be in the RAC and there appears to be no ticket limit listed on the facebook event.

This seems like it has potential. Personally I feel like this is an act that could appeal to a wide variety of students. Obviously you can never please everyone, but I’m going to go ahead and give SEB some major props for securing Third Eye Blind to come play.

This is (or should be) the link to the facebook event.

So what are everyone’s thoughts on Third Eye Blind?

Hey all,

After some recent questions regarding Daedalus’ recent post on the new athletics logo, I asked around and was put in touch with Miriam Tillman, Assistant Vice President of Marketing and Creative Services for UMBC. Ms. Tillman took the time to answer a few questions I sent her via email. Here are my questions followed by her answers.

1) When did your office and Athletics decide to implement a new logo, and what led to this decision? Why change it now, as opposed to last year, or next year, or some other time?

The germ for this started back in April 08 when Jim Lord, UMBC’s Creative Services design director (and a UMBC Visual Arts alum), was watching the NCAA game and was bothered by how our mascot logo looked on the scoreboard next to Georgetown’s. He began sketching some new ideas and looking into what other schools–both in our division and in our region–were doing with their logos. He found that the style had changed a lot (see his paragraph about mascot logo design trends), and as our teams were getting more attention, he wanted the logo to look as good as it could. (He’d actually done the final design on the current mascot logo a number of years back, but since he’d inherited the design from someone else at the end of the process, he wasn’t able to give it the attention he’d wanted.) Last spring Jim approached Athletics to see if they’d be interested in a new mascot logo, and they were. With regard to your question, the only timing consideration was to start soon enough to have one ready for the bookstore’s annual order in January (see #3).

2) Students were able to vote on one of three choices listed on myumbc. Where did these choices originate? Were they finalists among a bigger sample, or were they the only choices from the beginning?

The choices came from a series that evolved over time as Jim spent the summer testing a number of variations with student athletes, coaches and Athletics staff, and adapting them as he got feedback. He also displayed some options in The Commons at Homecoming, where students, faculty, staff and alums voted on their favorites and gave him direct feedback. During the course of all these meetings and conversations, some folks were interested in a realistic dog, others in something more cartoon-like. Some wanted a fierce dog, others wanted one that evoked loyalty. So he created options that responded to the range of perspectives.

3) Where did the funding for this project come from? Strictly Athletics’ budget, or more out of general marketing for UMBC as a whole?

There’s no extra funding involved, since we’re phasing this in. We deliberately timed the process to coincide with the annual order that the bookstore places in January for the next fall. In other words, this will give the bookstore designs for their vendors but not create any new expense. As Athletics buys new uniforms or orders letterhead, they’ll roll this in, but not expend additional resources any time soon.

4) Is there an expectation of the revenue generated from sales incorporating the new mascot to negate the initial cost?

Not an issue, since there’s no additional expense.

5) What affect did/does this have on student fees or athletic fees?

Ditto.

tl;dr: Jim Lord, the UMBC Creative Services guy behind this, wanted our mascot to look good since we’ve been getting more national attention. Initial options were displayed and voted on during homecoming. No additional cost because the new design will be implemented with the bookstore’s scheduled merchandise order.

Thanks again to Miriam Tillman for providing this information.

Ever logged into your UMBC email and wanted it to be simpler? Have you received emails informing you of recent spam/hacking in the UMBC emails, or been the victim of such? I have good news! Thanks to the SGA blog, I have discovered that the folks at DoIT are hoping to sign a contract with google and transition UMBC student email to gmail, google’s email service. If all goes well, students should be able to start benefiting from this change early next semester in the February-March area. For more details, check out the SGA’s blog.

If you’ve used Google Maps recently, you’re probably familiar with the feature that lets you zoom to “street view” of certain areas. You can literally see the street as if you were there driving or walking on it. Google has now decided to add to their street view locations with areas that are off the streets. This can include trails, landmarks, or even universities. Google is taking nominations for locations to add to their street view through October 28, 2009. With a few clicks, you can nominate UMBC! Just go to http://www.google.com/trike to nominate UMBC to be added to Google Maps!

This is the link to the official Google blog: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/street-view-we-can-trike-wherever-you.html

Thanks to our good friend and founding member Treeveins for the idea and information!

I’ve been hearing rumours that Weezer might be making a stop at UMBC at some point, but my sources told me it was “still in negotiations”. It seems these negotiations may have made progress, as I found what appears to be a confirmation of this on The Retriever Weekly blog, as well as their facebook.

http://www.retrieverweekly.com/blog/2009/10/21/weezer-coming-to-umbc/

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=154646758548&ref=mf

Can anyone provide more details on this?

EDIT: I was just linked to Weezer’s tour dates per their website. It’s official.

http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=1386002

December 9, 2009 at the RAC.

Tickets on sale…hopefully soon? We’ll let you know when we know.

Hey all, happy fall! I hope everyone is getting back into the routine of school and getting adjusted well. With a new year comes a return to the challenge of trying to get where you want to go and get there on time.

I definitely miss being able to wake up half an hour before class and still get to class on time, because when I was living on campus, everything was 10 mins walking distance max. I’m living off campus this year, so I’ve been introduced to the pleasantries of trying to find somewhere to park that’s relatively close to where my classes are, then get to class in a reasonable amount of time. I’ve figured out what days I’m more likely to get a decent parking spot and what times are more trafficky than others. Most days I don’t mind walking if I have to park far away, but I’ll probably start complaining more come cold weather. I know a few people who come to campus hours before their first class just to get a good parking space, but I’ll walk rather than get up 3 hours before is actually necessary to be on time for class.

While circling the parking lots attempting to find a space one day last week, I saw what appeared to be a possible solution to parking woes. I saw what looked like someone offer someone a ride to their car in exchange for their parking spot. I was intrigued, if this was indeed what was happening. It seems like a cool idea, but somewhat risky, as you have to trust that the person offering you a ride or that you are giving a ride to is really there for the parking and not ill-intentioned. I feel like this parking exchange is safer in a campus parking lot than say the mall at Christmas. I’ll have to try it one of these days, if I’m ever desperate for a parking spot.

One thing is curious to me. Why do faculty get reserved parking, and why is it always the closer/better lots? Why are they entitled to a parking space? Shouldn’t they have to fight for a space just like students? Do they have similar issues with trying to find space in the faculty lots or are there enough spots for them with some left over? There is the possibility that reserved lots for faculty is so the professors can maximize their time and get to class or their office, but students can end up being late for class due to lack of parking, even if they left at a decent time. I have a friend who arrived an hour and a half before her first class one day last week and was still late for trying to find parking. It seems unfair to me that professors and faculty should have the best parking spots and reserved spots instead of fighting for a spot like the students. That being said, faculty priveleges aside, I’m willing to listen and possibly be convinced of the need for reserved faculty parking if someone can give a good reason or two.

What are everyone else’s experienes with parking? Does it suck? Is it generally not too bad? Tips and tricks for getting a parking space?

Around 2:30 this morning (Friday into Saturday) I was hanging out at a friend’s place when I  was informed that the fire alarms were going off in Erickson and that there were sirens and police abounding. I was curious, and one of my friends visiting from Erickson was concerned, so we went over to check it out. I saw one fire engine, and two police cars, one of which pulled up right as I was getting there.

I went to talk to some of the Erickson residents who were awakened/disturbed by the late/early hour of the fire alarms, and spoke with 5 residents from the first, second, and third floors, including an R.A. Three had been asleep, one had just returned from off campus, and one was just on his way to bed when the fire alarm went off. None of them had seen or heard or smelled anything that would have indicated why the fire alarm had gone off at about 2:25 AM. One resident suggested the idea of faulty wiring in the alarms somewhere.

Most of the residents looked rather displeased and half asleep while they were waiting to be let back into the dorm. Police and other safety personnel inspected the building, and residents were let back into their rooms at 3:02AM. I managed to get a few pictures on my cell phone camera, but nothing terribly interesting or good quality.

Please comment with any more information you may have and I’ll update if something big develops.

I happened to be over in Chesapeake this evening for a few minutes, and what I thought would be a quick venture to give a friend some money I owed him turned into a lesson in Fire Safety.

I was in the lobby with two other people including the girl working the desk. As I was getting ready to leave, the other girl noticed that the trash can outside the entrance to Chesapeake was on fire. Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t just a little fire, it was a serious fire and somebody needed to do something fast.

The girl behind the desk grabs the fire extinguisher and drags it over to the doorway with a lot of effort. It was a rather large fire extinguisher and she was having some trouble carrying it, but managed to drag it to the doorway. Once she got it to the door, none of the three of us knew how to use the fire extinguisher, and the “instructions” on the canister weren’t real clear, so now what? Do we call the police? The fire department?

The desk girl called a friend of hers (who might be an RA? I wasn’t entirely sure) and he came to the rescue. He took the fire extinguisher outside on the porch and demonstrated for us how to use it properly. With a few quick sprays, the fire was extinguished safely. As it turns out, the fire was a result of somebody’s cigarette not being all the way put out combined with the wind and some flammable stuff in the trash. The incident was reported to the CD on duty, and I don’t know what happened from there as I left to return to my own dorm.

This little “experience” if you will got me thinking. How much do we take for granted what we really know about how to handle an emergency or crisis situation? Having a fire extinguisher is useless if nobody can figure out how to use it. Are there other types of situations that could arise where someone is unfamiliar with how to manage the crisis or tools commonly used to resolve it? Sure we all know how to grumble and moan when the fire alarm goes off for a drill. We’ve all sat through the numerous lectures on what to do if you can’t get out, but in the event of a real emergency, how many people would actually know what to do?

Whose fault is it that three girls couldn’t handle one fire extinguisher? Is it our fault for not understanding the directions? Is it the fault of the emergency education programs for not teaching us? What would’ve happened if we had been alone somewhere and not able to call for help or figure out the fire extinguisher in time? Hypothetical I know, but still something to think about.

I guess my main point is, whose job is it to make sure we can resolve crisis situations? How much is the responsibility of the fire extinguisher company and how much is the responsibility of the emergency education programs and how much should be common sense?

I sat in on the SGA senate meeting on Monday evening. I was able to watch and listen as Steve Gilmore resigned from office as SGA President and Gabe Rettaliata was sworn in.

The meeting started at 5:34 pm and Steve graciously stepped down from his position. He told us he had intended to challenge the removal, but in the interest of keeping peace in the SGA he decided against it. Steve also apologized for what appeared to be intentional deception on his part. He explained that his delay in informing people of his ineligibility was due to taking time to talk to his professors, confirm his grades from last semester, and see if there was anything he could do to raise his grades. He said “I do not want anyone, especially SGA, thinking I tried to pull a fast one or go behind people’s backs” by not immediately taking action regarding his ineligibility. He apologized for hurting anyone’s feelings with his actions and expressed his gratitude at being able to be part of the SGA since his freshman year. He finished by saying he intends to do everything in his power to make sure ongoing SGA plans are followed through.

I spoke with Steve via email after the meeting and he wanted to communicate to you all…well, I’ll let him speak for himself.

I want to thank all of you for the honor of serving as your SGA President this year.  As much as I want to keep doing what I’ve been doing, I have decided to step down for the good of the SGA.  I will be working closely with Gabe and the other SGA members to make a smooth transition and to help complete our on going projects.

After Steve excused himself from the rest of the meeting, Gabe asked for any comments on the situation from the rest of those present. Fouad Kanaan asked David Hoffman (and/or any others who had been around that long) what transpired the last time there was an administration change mid-semester. David briefly described the hostility, backlash, and feelings of betrayal that occurred when the new administration took office. In response to this, Paula McCusker encouraged everyone to be civil and grown up, and to not repeat the bitterness/drama. She encouraged everyone to refrain from bitter talk, and support Gabe in his new role as well as letting Steve continue to support SGA.

Gabe then shared his feelings on the matter. He seemed to be a bit shell shocked still, and said that he had never expected this when he took the position as speaker of the senate. He vowed to still hold the Senate and Executives of SGA to a high standard, and continue moving forward with the SGA’s plans and goals for the semester. “We’re not going to just coast through and have nothing to show for ourselves in the end”. Yasmin Karimian and Amber Spry then offered some well put advice about not getting caught up in the drama. Yasmin encouraged everyone to take care of themselves, think positive, and keep communication open versus drawing away if issues come up. Amber reminded us that the SGA transitions leadership every year, and this one should be viewed similarly. David Hoffman also spoke to the issue of staying positive, saying it’s easy to trash people, but that we should be supportive of the new leadership. He predicted that this change will be good for SGA, not because of the lost leadership, but because of the new opportunities it provides.

By 5:50, Toks Elegbe had not arrived, and discussion arose as to whether we should wait for him to arrive and formally resign, or go ahead as if he had been removed. No real consensus was reached, but Fou asked what happened to legislation signed by Steve in the past few weeks, if Gabe had technically been president by the constitution. Gabe offered to simply re-sign things, saying that votes shouldn’t change. David Hoffman encouraged people to not view the constitution so strictly, pointing out that Steve had signed the legislation acting in good faith that he was president. Aditi Srivastav encouraged us not to get hung up on logistics, but to move forward and let Gabe take over without worrying about what happened before. Paula agreed with the sentiment, but made the point that the constitution does need to be clarified so in the future it’s clear when someone is actually out of office.

It was now 6:15, and Toks still hadn’t arrived. Nobody had any idea if or when he was coming, so we recessed until 7:00 in an attempt to find out when Toks got out of class, and to call Harsh Bambawale so he could administer the presidential oath to Gabe.

When we returned at 7:00, we were informed that Toks declined to give any official statement of resignation until he finished his classes for the day at 10:00pm. In the interest of simplicity, the decision was made to proceed as though Toks had been removed from office and continue down the line of succession. We moved into formal session, and with all in agreement that Gabe was acting president, Harsh swore him in at 7:07pm. Nominations were then taken for a new speaker of the senate.

As current assistant speaker, Jen Kent was the first in line to take the position, but she declined saying she did not feel she could commit the time and balance her other responsibilities. Rahilla Tarfa and Brian Frazee were nominated, and after much discussion and a secret ballot vote, Rahilla is the new Speaker of the Senate. The next order of business was to swear in the new vice presidents. Gabe chose David Indek for Executive Vice President, and James McCauley as Vice President for Student Organizations. After David and James were sworn in, the three vacant senator positions had to be filled. As there were three First Year Ambassadors, there was little discussion needed as to who would fill the position. Everyone was very excited when the Ambassadors Simmi Singh, Toby Le, and Matthew McNey became the new senators by unanimous vote.

In other news, the University System of Maryland Student Council agrees with our SGA’s question of the $8 transcript fee. They’re willing to support our fight out of fear that their schools might be next. When Yvette Moize-Ross, the woman in charge of this fee, met with other higher ups from USM schools, they were surprised at the fee and apparently questioned the need, much like our very own SGA. Furthermore, at the last transcript fee meeting this past Friday (Feb 6), someone brought up the policy that all fees that would be burdensome to the students must be approved by the Chancellor of the USM Student Council. From what they could tell, this fee was never approved by the Chancellor, so that is something to be resolved in the future. I will be finishing the article reviewing that original transcript fee meeting last Monday (Feb 3) shortly, as previously promised. For more information on the USM Student Council’s reaction, contact Brian Frazee at bfrazee1@umbc.edu.

Congratulations and best of luck to all the new leaders! Also, to those who left office, I wish you success in your future endeavours. Thank you for all your hard work and commitment.

I have just received information that current SGA president Steve Gilmore and his Vice President Toks Elegbe may be removed from office due to academic ineligibility.

According to Article 5.2 of the UMBC SGA Constitution,

In order to be eligible to seek and hold SGA offices, an individual must be a UMBC undergraduate, have at least a cumulative 2.25 GPA, maintain at least a 2.25 semester GPA while in office, and not be on academic or disciplinary probation. For the offices of President and Vice President, an individual must have at least a cumulative 2.5 GPA, 24 total credits, and 12 credits at UMBC to seek or hold office, and maintain at least a 2.5 semester GPA while in office.

Gilmore has apparently failed to meet these requirements in his fall 2008 semester. The same is true for Executive Vice President Toks Elegbe. Vice President of Student Organizations, Christine Paul, has resigned her position, whether for Academic or other reasons I do not currently know.

Article 5.4.1 of the SGA Constitution states the following:

5.4.1. –Ineligibility
Any officer who ceases to meet the eligibility requirement set forth above shall be automatically and immediately removed from office.

By this, Gilmore and Elegbe are technically no longer serving in their positions. As Christine Paul has also resigned, the office falls to current Speaker of the Senate, Gabe Rettaliata.

5.5. Presidential Succession
In the event of the President’s removal by any method outlined in this Constitution, the holder of the lowest-numbered non-vacant office on the following list shall become President: 1. Vice President; 2. Speaker of the Senate; 3. Speaker of the House of Organizations. In the event that all of the listed offices are vacant, an interim President shall be elected by a majority vote of the House of Organizations, and a special election shall be held within 30 days (excluding summer and winter semesters) to elect a new President. Any officer who becomes President pursuant to this section shall be considered to have resigned from the office he or she held before becoming President.

While some have contested that it would take an official complaint to investigate Gilmore’s eligibility for office, the above quoted section of the constitution makes it clear that at this time, Gilmore and Elegbe are barred from holding office, and Rettaliata is the current acting President of the SGA.

To those who have left office, I wish you good luck in your Spring semester.

Updates to come as I know more.