Ack! Drinking at 18?

Many universities across the nation, including the Maryland System, have endorsed an opening up of discussion on the US drinking age. Does restricting the purchase of alcohol to persons over 21 really help prevent alcohol-related issues?

I certainly have no objections to having this kind discussion and think that honest research will reveal some very interesting results.

Personally, I believe that a lower drinking age will allow institutions of higher education like UMBC to better educate young adults in the responsible use of alcohol, rather than "clandestine binges." People who want to drink will, regardless of the law, so instead of trying unsuccessfully to stop the behavior let's educate students instead.

I'd love to hear some discussion from the UMBC community on this issue. Do you think the current law is good one? Should schools be punished for even wanting to question the current law? Will a lower age just push the current college alcohol issues into high school?

Senate Meeting/USMSC Meeting

Tonight, we held our first official Senate meeting, where we confirmed most of the appointed executive branch, the USMSC representatives, new Supreme Court justice, and MHEC SAC Representative. I was very impressed with the maturity that my fellow Senators displayed when considering the confirmation of these highly qualified individuals. I am inspired and encouraged by all of the plans and projects that the executive branch cabinet members have planned for this year. While we are always very ambitious at the beginning of the year, I am confident that we will be able to actually follow through with many of the ideas. It is vital that all SGA members hold each other accountable for their plans and ideas that they explained before they were elected, appointed, and/or confirmed. It is very easy to have great ideas, but it is always hard actually implementing them. Let's hold each other accountable this year and encourage each other to ask for help whenever needed. The SGA is a large body, and our constituents (the students) deserve an SGA that works for them. I am also very excited about the Senate projects that we began planning for. Under the leadership of Gabe and Jen (Speaker and Assitant Speakers of the Senate), as well as the effective and efficient work ethic of the Senators, I know that we will work hard to make sure these initiatives and ideas become reality.

This past Sunday, I attended my first University System of Maryland Student Council (USMSC) meeting as a shadow representative from UMBC. I was very impressed with the USM Student Council. I knew that the USMSC had a very important role, but I didn't realize until Sunday how dedicated and conscientious all of the representatives are.
It was very refreshing as a USM student to see that representatives from all of our institutions cared so much about the system as a whole, as well as their own respective institutions. We debated real issues and were able to listen to numerous different perspectives on pertinent topics such as lowering the drinking age, tuition policy, environmental sustainability, and the slots referendum. Having guest speakers to help us facilitate these discussions helped us even more because we were able to obtain expert knowledge, research, and facts that helped us determine how to render the students' perspective to the system leadership, including the Board of Regents and Chancellor Kirwan.
All in all, I am very impressed and very excited to begin working as a UMBC representative to the USMSC. As I said in my previous post, I brought up the issue of our transcript fee and am working with the other representatives from all of the other USM institutions to get more information on how their institutions handle transcripts.

In the meantime, if any UMBC student has an issue that they would like to see brought up to the USMSC, please do not hesitate to contact myself, Tabassum Majid, or Michael Castello (who are UMBC's two voting representatives to the USMSC).

Transcript Fee

Hey Everyone,
An issue has come up that has frustrated many UMBC students. Until July 1, 2008, we did not have to pay for official transcripts from the Registrar's office. Now, we must pay $8 per transcript we obtain. This has angered many students because of the typical amount of transcripts that we need in our lifetime (for grad school, careers, etc.). A committee has been formed to address this issue and figure out exactly why this fee was initiated and how we can either reduce it or eliminate it.
I brought this issue up to the University System of Maryland Student Council (USMSC) meeting yesterday, and no other USM institution charges as much as we do for transcripts. I am figuring out the exact numbers now, but some institutions do charge a nominal fee after a certain amount of free transcripts. I am in contact with each institution and will post their transcript fees as soon as possible. With all the money UMBC students already pay for their education and living expenses, this has become an issue that the SGA wants to address as soon as possible!