ROTC Proposal

Wow, this week has been a busy one! For the past few days, the SGA has decided to be more proactive in the discussion to bring an ROTC site to UMBC. We had 2 emergency Senate meetings the past two days hoping to come to some sort of conclusion. The first meeting included both old and new Senators, but not everyone was present. After 2 hours, we decided to take an informal vote between both Senates, and the results split. Yesterday, we decided to hold another meeting mainly to record the pros and cons to present at the University Steering Committee. In addition, students outside the SGA, including members of Freedom Alliance and ROTC, attended the meeting and voiced their opinions.

Together, we compiled quite a lengthy list. The pros included $400,000 per year for ROTC cadets, the addition of the ROTC site would add a piece of diversity to campus, our future leaders in the military would be UMBC graduates, and the possibility to have some ground to change the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy. The cons included establishing an institution that goes against UMBC's non-discrimination policy, the fact that much of due process and shared governance is being skipped over, some students would not feel comfortable on campus, a general lack of information about the details of the program, and also the timing during finals.

After 2 hours of discussion and deliberation, the new Senators decided that they wanted to take a position on this issue. Since this was not a formal meeting, they could not cast a formal binding vote. However, they decided to informally vote on the question "Do you support UMBC submitting an application for ROTC site status at this time?" The votes were 3 yes, 7 no, and 1 abstained.

Formally or not, the SGA Senate was the only senate not to vote yes for the submitting of an application at this time. However, the decision has not been made yet, and it is uncertain when we will find out. At the University Steering Committee meeting, we discussed what action we need to take for both scenarios. If this does not go through, we need to continue having the discussion of bringing ROTC here in the proper fashion in order for us to make a clear decision when the opportunity arises again. If this does go through, major work would need to be done over the summer to make sure that the logistics of this program work out for the better. Either way, there will be people who are not happy at all with the decision, and as a community, we will need to come together to get through it.

Art Attack

When you walk around the UMBC campus you will notice that there is a great amount of positive energy being emitted from all the bright students on campus. I'm not being sarcastic. UMBC is a place where I have met some of the smartest, most talented young adults with aspiring hopes and dreams. However when walking around our academic oriented university my friend pointed out to me that 4 out of 5 conversations occurring revolve around one of the following: Biology, Chemistry, Math, Engineering, Physics. Not a soul to be heard about poetry or fine art. A possibility could be that I am hanging out with all science/engineering oriented majors. Another more plausible explanation is that UMBC is in dire need of an Art Attack. I mean as a science major myself, I'm not one to talk. But when was the last time you and your friends read and discussed a poem? How about literary novel that wasn't a part of your English assignment? When did you sit down and just let your mind flow with a pencil and your heart fill the paper; or computer as it is nowadays. I mean while many of us may make an effort to connect with modern art and culture, that may just be something you're not into, which is fine. All I'm saying is, with summer creeping up a lot of people are going to have free time on their hands. Instead of watching endless hours of mind-numbing television programs and youtube videos go and commit yourself to at least one book that interests you personally. Read it and think about it. Connect with your book of choice. I promise you it'll be worth it.