Roberto sends in a post going into more detail about UMBC’s name issues

The topic of UMBC’s name has been widely discussed lately. As most of you know, Baltimore Sun recently came out with an article in which it suggested a name change for the school. The idea quickly found a lot of support in UMBC student community. Most students seem to agree that the current name (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) makes the school sound a lot like a satellite campus of the University of Maryland, College Park. It has caused a lot of confusion and controversy lately, which was especially evident after UMBC team recently won the Final Four Chess Competition and numerous out-of-state media sources came out with headlines such as “Maryland Wins the Chess Title”, etc.

The discussion quickly spilled over to the Facebook, and some UMBC students started a facebook group called Petition to change UMBC’s name to Maryland State University or MD Tech.

It was created on Thursday night (April 15, 2010), and in just 3 days, by Sunday night (April 18, 2010), it already had 1000 members in it. It is widely expected to continue to grow.

The discussion topics on the group wall include numerous suggestions for the proposed name change, but “Maryland State University” seems to get the most support. “Maryland Tech” is also a popular choice. However, some students fear that “Maryland tech” would alienate many social sciences, humanities and arts students. There are also some less frequently mentioned but still very intriguing suggestions for a new name, such as “Maryland International University”, “Maryland Research University”, “Chesapeake State University”, and others. On the other hand, some students advocate for keeping the acronym UMBC but changing the “Baltimore County” part to “Baltimore Campus”.

What is your opinion on this topic? Is there enough momentum in UMBC student population to demand a name change from the administration or is it not realistic to expect it at this time? Please let us know!

Michael sends in an article about the MTV GYT Campus Challenge.  UMBC is currently #1 on their leaderboard!

April is STD Awareness Month. In honor of this, one of our very own Peer Health Advocates from University Health Services has entered UMBC into a nationwide campus challenge hosted by MTV: The Get Yourself Tested (GYT) Campaign.

“The campus that builds the largest amount of GYT supporters relative to the size of their student body will be featured by MTV News. Students on the winning campus will win a trip, accommodations, and tickets to see Cobra Starship, Travie McCoy, and more in Summer 2010.“

UMBC currently holds the #1 spot in the nation!!!  You don’t have to go anywhere or spend any money, just click, type, and invite!

We’re known for our academics and our chess team, let’s be known for being on MTV and supporting STD Awareness Month!

I am encouraging all of you to sign up. Please enter the contest and join our UMBC Facebook group to rally our numbers.

Go UMBC!!

UMBCtv sent in a notice that they’ve redesigned their site.  Check it out!

UMBCtv just did a massive overhaul on their website to make things look all nice a pretty. In addition, a pilot for the new UMBCtv weekly news show is up in 1080p HD. Also be sure to check out all of the old events and things we have filmed.

Check it out at www.umbctv.com

Got some constructive criticism? Want to be part of UMBCtv? Just want to know what we are working on? Send an email to info@umbctv.com and lets us know or stop by a meeting every Wed at 3:45 in Commons 328.

A group calling themselves UMBC Students 4 Fair Media Coverage sent in the following article.  I’ve inserted links to the pertinent Retriever issues mentioned in the article, but it is otherwise as we received it.

So apparently, some people were never taught ‘if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all’. It has come to our attention, we vigorous news hounds, that our beloved student-run school newspaper has been using a student organization, unceremoniously, as a punching bag. I don’t think I have to specify which one.

The increasingly nasty articles and editorials clearly express a bias that is disconcerting. The Retriever Weekly claims as unbiased reporting as possible. Why hasn’t there been an article about the positive aspects of this organization? Or even a real story about them? Instead the intelligence of the UMBC student body is continuously insulted by false reports of injuries (03-31-10 [editor's note: there was no 3-31 edition, but there was on 3-30-10]) and wild accusations of interference with the daily lives of students (04-06-10). Many of the more astute readers may realize that many of the articles referred to were featured in the “deceiver weekly” edition of the paper, but that just reiterates the point; that a sanctioned student organization should not be made into the weekly paper’s own little whipping boy.

As a staff member of the Retriever Weekly, I can tell you that this constant bad press is, unfortunately, not wholly unintentional. A fellow staff member requested to write a real account of the Club’s hosted games on our campus, and she was, unceremoniously shut down.

That this, and only this organization was selected to be used as the excuse for all of campus’s ills is disturbing. Does UMBC not advocate a community of tolerance? Where do these editorial writers get off? If it’s not accusations of childish behavior, for having fun, at players, it’s wildly inaccurately accusing players of attacking innocent bystanders! I’m sure players of this activity would love to remove all human error from their game, but it’s just not possible. Does Ms. Hunter, author of the latest slanderous and insulting comments wish that all UMBC students make themselves into robots? Didn’t think so. Her accusation that “too many unsuspecting victims get caught in the crossfire” is way off. I’ve never been hit by a stray dart, neither has anyone I have asked about this. And no one those people ever heard of were ever hit.

As a student at UMBC, I find this constant disregard for the standards that legitimate media outlets use to report news fairly to be disgusting. It does not matter who is being targeted on our campus, as long as someone or some group is, students cannot stand for such injustice.

We of S4FM will no longer meet quietly. This is merely the latest in a long line of extremely biased reporting and poor coverage of actual campus news. As a result of the ever-decreasing quality of writing, and coverage, and due to the outrageous amounts of anti-organization bias, We of S4FM are speaking out.

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

There has been growing concern that a professor at UMBC is doing more harm than good to academic integrity because of their fervent methods of enforcement. This professor requires all of their students to use the website Turnitin.com while schools such as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton have all denounced the practice. There have also been court cases which have ruled that the website violates intellectual property laws, but the professor will fail any student that decides not to turn their material in through the website.

Furthermore, current rumors suggest that students have been falsely accused of cheating and were failed without hesitation. From my personal experience and from the conversations I’ve had with students who have this professor, I do not doubt the possibility. How does everyone else feel about this?

Sunaina Khandelwal of the SGA Senate sent in a notice that there’s open spots in the Senate!

Due to two vacancies in the current SGA Senate for Spring 2010, we are accepting applications for students that want to fill those spots for the Spring semester. Senators are usually elected during Spring each year, but we do not want to leave the seats empty and reduce our abilities to serve the student body.

If you’re interested, contact Sunaina Khandelwal, Speaker of Senate at khasun1[AT]umbc for any questions or to get an application. Application is also published online. The deadline to submit finished applications is February 19th.

Apply to be the resource to change at UMBC. Apply to be a SGA Senator for Spring 2010.

The BookScrooge staff sent in a little end-of-semester update today…

Hey everyone! The ProveIt deadline is fast approaching, but you still have time to submit a proposal! ProveIt! is a great opportunity for you to be able to make a real impact on this campus- and if that’s not enough, you can win $5,000 doing it!

ProveIt is a contest in which students are given the challenge to create a novel and innovative project, service, or event on the UMBC campus that makes everyone proud to be a member of our community. Students with ideas for projects fitting this description can submit these ideas to a selection committee which will evaluate each idea based on a variety of factors including contribution to campus and feasibility. The student body will vote on the top finalists, and ultimately choose the winning proposal!

The entrants will be competing for up to $30,000.00 of funding to support implementation of their idea, and an additional $5,000.00 as a reward for coming up with the winning idea and making it a reality.

What kinds of project, service or event will win this competition? The door is wide open. Five years ago SGA used $30,000 to transform the Student Organizations Area on The Commons’ 2nd floor into a hub of campus life. Three years ago SGA invested $45,000 in a GPS tracking system in partnership with UMBC Transit Services, which will enable anyone to monitor the exact location of UMBC’s shuttle buses from any computer. No more waiting outside in the rain for a late bus. The winner of the first ProveIt! competition created a greenspace on campus; an area where any student can sit outside to study, socialize, or just relax. The winning entry could be something like one of these projects . . . or something completely different. The important thing is, the idea must produce an important benefit for the UMBC community and make us all proud. What would you like to see improved, added, developed, used, celebrated, created or made available for every student on our campus?

The deadline is December 22, 2009. If you have any questions, or want to learn more about the competition, check out the website at umbc.edu/proveit, or email Jennifer Kent, this year’s co-chair, at jkent1 [AT] umbc.edu.

Chris sends in an article on a subject which isn’t quite dead enough yet.

Hi, my name is Christopher Marchsteiner.  I’m writing an article about on-campus dining for a newswriting class UMBC offers and probable publishing in the Retriever.  I wanted to ask you a few questions about Chartwells.  An interview isn’t necessary, but if you could respond to a few questions I have it would be greatly appreciated.

• What are the main complaints students have?
• Does SGA or Chartwells address these issues?
• Do you see the change from Sodexho as positive? Why or why not?

Thanks, Chris Marchsteiner