Loading

COMMUNITY MATTERS OCTOBER 2021

A newsletter of the Center for Democracy and Civic Life at UMBC

NOTE FROM THE STAFF

The first full month of the 2021-22 academic year has been a time of tempered joy on campus. Here we are, together in person, able to engage in the kinds of gatherings and interactions we had missed for much of the previous 18 months. Yet we are masked and distanced, and the signs of our incomplete reemergence from the long pandemic are all around us. We can share space and move forward together, but with constraints.

Being together in a shared physical space brings both benefits and challenges. The pandemic has interrupted our everyday habits and relationships, so now we must work together to process the grief, uncertainty and confusion of having to adapt to isolation and now reunification. We all benefit from creating space for each other to acknowledge and discuss the challenges we have had to overcome.

Participants in our programs have had opportunities to do just that, whether in the process of reflecting on their civic commitments or in remembering UMBC’s response to the 9/11 attacks and considering lessons for the present day. In the months ahead, we will be working with colleagues to host more forums at which members of the UMBC community can acknowledge our changed circumstances and support each other. Civic life is everywhere, and our relationships within the campus community truly matter.

Best,

David Hoffman, Romy Hübler, Caleb Ruck, Charis Lawson, Faith Davis, Garrett Posey, Markya Reed, and Tess McRae

Center for Democracy and Civic Life Staff

FEATURED NEWS

Garrett Posey Joins Center for Democracy and Civic Life Staff

Garrett Posey ‘22 (he/him) joined the Center for Democracy and Civic Life staff team as the Political Engagement Intern on September 28. In his role, he will support the development and implementation of political engagement strategies on campus and beyond. UMBC has been a welcoming home for Garrett since he first arrived on campus in Fall 2018. He is excited to find his place in the Center’s broader goals and mission, and to support communities at UMBC and beyond in effecting beneficial change.

Garrett is a Humanities Scholar double majoring in Political Science and History with a certificate in Mandarin. He has worked as a Tour Guide and a Grit Guide for UMBC’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions to introduce prospective students to the campus experience on daily tours. He also supported two POLI 100 classes as a Teaching Assistant, which convinced him of his passion for political science and political engagement. During the summer of 2019, Garrett served as a Democracy Summer Fellow with Congressman Jamie Raskin, learning valuable political advocacy, organizational, and teamwork skills in conveying the Fellowship’s goals to constituents and Members of Congress alike. He also interned with the Hagerstown and D.C. offices of Congressman David Trone in fall 2020 and spring 2021, supporting the Congressman’s constituents by addressing public comments and taking comprehensive notes for reports about the briefings and hearings he attended.

Outside of work and school, Garrett enjoys being active, playing tennis, playing guitar, going for walks, and reading books and the news. He also loves to spend time with two gray cats: his cat, Penelope, and his girlfriend’s cat, Klondike.

Please join the rest of the Center for Democracy and Civic Life staff team in welcoming Garrett. You can reach him by email at gposey2@umbc.edu.

Pivotal Moments: Memories of UMBC’s Response to 9/11

Members of the UMBC community gathered at Pivotal Moments: Memories of UMBC’s Response to 9/11 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on September 9. A panel of community members who were here at the time — Dr. Freeman Hrabowski (President, UMBC), Dr. Diane Lee (Director, Wisdom Institute, UMBC), Tom Moore (Director, Arts and Culture, Institutional Advancement, UMBC), Brett McKenzie ‘04 (Senior Content & Community Manager, Foresight Commercial Insurance), and Karim Said ‘04, ‘07, ‘13 (Chief Information Security Officer, NASA Headquarters) — shared their reflections about how the campus community responded to and was impacted by these events. The Center for Democracy and Civic Life hosted the program in collaboration with Initiatives for Identity, Inclusion, and Belonging (i3b), Off-Campus Student Services, and the Wisdom Institute.

“I remember very fondly how we all sort of clung to life and happiness and humor and music and joy, and lived to the max, and laughed, and I think that we really found a way to seize life because of what we all went through.” — Brett McKenzie
“Students wanted to have [a candlelight vigil] to show students from other backgrounds, other religions, that we were in this with them. That they were not alone. That we cared and loved them. And it was the single most transformational moment of my 35 years at UMBC.” — Freeman Hrabowski

If you would like to view the program, the recording is available here.

Changing Maryland: Legislative Session Preview

The Center for Democracy and Civic Life, the Graduate Student Association, the Resident Student Association, and the Student Government Association hosted Changing Maryland: Legislative Session Preview on September 22. The program provided an opportunity for members of the UMBC community to learn about getting involved in the lawmaking process and contributing to the civic health of our state. More than 40 UMBC students, staff, faculty, alumni, and state leaders spent the evening discussing ways to get involved in shaping legislation in Annapolis to address pressing issues in the 2022 legislative session. The state leaders who participated were: Vanessa Atterbeary (Maryland State Delegate, District 13), Erinn Camp Mansour (Chief of Staff, Maryland State Senator Clarence Lam, District 12), Eric Ebersole (Maryland State Delegate, District 12), Jessica Feldmark (Maryland State Delegate, District 12), Dr. Terri Hill (Maryland State Delegate, District 12), Cory McCray (Maryland State Senator, District 45), Jake Weissmann (former Chief of Staff, Office of the Senate President), and Pat Young (Maryland State Delegate, District 44B).

Changing Maryland is part of a program series that connects members of the UMBC community with the state legislative process. We will host additional gatherings during the Spring 2022 semester. For more information about how to become involved in legislative advocacy, you can reach the Center for Democracy and Civic Life and representatives from GSA, RSA, and SGA at the following email addresses:

POLI 100 Civic Autobiography Workshops

Center for Democracy and Civic Life staff led two workshops for 90 students enrolled in POLI 100 American Government and Politics on September 20 and 22.

In the workshops, students learned about the idea of democracy as a way of life that includes voting and government, but also encompasses everyday actions and interactions. Students also reflected on their own civic identities, values, and hopes.

To request a Center for Democracy and Civic Life workshop for your class or organization, please email us at civiclife@umbc.edu.

UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES & PROGRAMS

Dinner with Friends (Virtual; RSVP required)

Thursday, October 7, 2021 ∙ 5 - 7 p.m. ∙ Webex

Dinner with Friends will feature engaging, facilitated small-group conversations over dinner that will connect you with other members of the UMBC community. You will spend the evening sharing stories, learning about each other's experiences with important issues affecting UMBC students, faculty, staff, and alumni, and discussing how we can move forward together.

Choose to join a facilitated small-group conversation about one of the following discussion topics:

  • Building community during and after the pandemic
  • Supporting mental health in challenging times
  • Promoting civic agency and engagement between elections
  • Fostering equity and inclusion

RSVP is required. Follow this link to RSVP.

Because we will meet online, this is a bring-your-own dinner event.

Dinner with Friends is organized by the Center for Democracy and Civic Life in collaboration with the Graduate Student Association, Resident Student Association, and the Student Government Association.

Civic Courage Journaling Project Gathering (in person)

Friday, October 29, 20213:15 - 4:45 p.m.Commons 318

The Civic Courage Journaling Project creates opportunities for individual reflection and group conversations about personal experiences that have important, often hidden civic dimensions. Civic Courage, identified by the Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (CLDE) Theory of Change as one of the capacities necessary for active and engaged citizenship, encompasses the ability to take risks, work through tension, be patient in the face of challenges, stay open and engaged, take responsibility for the foreseeable consequences of one’s actions, face changes bravely, and act in accordance with one’s core values and beliefs.

UMBC student, faculty, staff, and alumni journal bearers respond to prompts from the Center for Democracy and Civic Life by creating entries in their journals. We share the prompt via email and our myUMBC page during the week of each gathering. If you’d like to be involved with the Civic Courage Journaling Project, send us an email: civiclife@umbc.edu.

To contact the Center for Democracy and Civic Life, email civiclife@umbc.edu.

Created By
Center for Democracy and Civic Life
Appreciate