SUCH GREAT HEIGHTS: Maryland women’s basketball wins share of Big Ten title for fifth time in six years, p.12
THE MERCH PRIMARY: Who we’re picking for president — of our wardrobe, p. 9
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Italy abroad programs canceled The country has seen more than 1,600 coronavirus cases The University of Maryland suspended study abroad programs in Italy late Friday night as the coronavirus outbreak worsens in the country, provost Mary Ann Rankin announced in a campuswide email. Earlier that evening, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had shifted Italy from “Alert Level 2” to “Warning Level 3” — meaning people should avoid all nonessential travel to the country. As of Friday, the country had reported 888 cases of the illness, the Associated Press reported. Worldwide, over 83,000 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in more than 50 countries, CBS News reported. As of Thursday, at least 63 people were being treated for the illness in the U.S., according to CBS News. No cases had been confirmed in Maryland or at this university as of Sunday night. Students studying in Italy will receive guidance from this university’s Education Abroad office regarding return to the country and potential online study options, according to the email. The university requests that returning students follow CDC guidelines and self-quarantine at home, away from campus, for 14 days and seek medical support and advice if needed. Friday’s announcement follows the university’s decision to suspend study abroad programs in South Korea on Wednesday and programs in China in January. The CDC also currently ranks these two countries on Warning Level 3. Students studying abroad in Japan — currently rated by the CDC as Alert Level 2 — should look for notices from the Education Abroad office and be prepared to return to America should warning category rises to Level 3, according to the email. by
Rina Torchinsky @rinatorchi Senior staff writer
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campus
Policy students calling for more black faculty
crime
Student arrested on hate charge Police say the man sent anti-Semitic texts to another student in December
and a race/religion crime. The incident occurred on December 10, 2019 at about 8:18 p.m, and was reported to by A University La Plata, Maryland, repeatedly police two days later, according Christine Condon o f M a ryl a n d messaged a female university to the alert. The incident does @CChristine19 s t u d e n t h a s s t u d e n t “ b e ca u se o f h e r not appear on the university’s hate bias report log. Senior staff writer been arrested religious beliefs.” Although the incident was The female student told in connection with an anti-Semitic hate police she was in McKeldin originally considered a hate crime perpetrated against Library when she started to bias incident, it was later another student, according to receive the messages, which reclassified as a hate crime, the were sent by someone she alert read. A detective applied a UMD alert. for the arrest warrant Feb. In an email alert sent to the didn’t know. Abdullah is charged with 24, and the Charles County campus community, University Police said Muqarrab Ahmed electronic communication Sheriff’s Office served it Feb. 27, Abdullah, a 24-year-old from harassment, telephone misuse according to the campus alert.
In an email sent to the campus community Saturday, the university’s diversity and inclusion vice president Georgina Dodge and student affairs vice president Patricia Perillo condemned the hate crime as “unacceptable.” “Hate has no place on our campus, and we thank UMPD for holding our community accountable,” the message read. “[W]hen we have the ability to charge perpetrators, we will do so.” newsumdbk@gmail.com
campus
“you don’t have to worry about being left alone” After a UMD student was hit by a bus, an outpouring of support from those standing nearby might have saved her life By Rina Torchinsky | @rinatorchi | Senior staff writer
route 1, near landmark apartments, was the scene of an accident last Saturday. A UMD student suffered severe leg injuries after being hit by a bus. file photo / the
diamondback
After getting off work last Saturday night, University of Maryland sophomore Daniel Williams was making his way up the hill toward Montgomery Hall and chatting on the phone with his mom.
The school’s only tenured black professor is retiring Shelton Daal had a lot of reasons for taking Christopher Foreman’s PLCY737: Strategies of Equality class this semester. For one, Foreman has been director of the public policy school’s social policy program since 2000 — a specialization Daal is considering. Foreman is also the school’s only tenured or tenure-track faculty member who is black. And while Daal — a senior sociology major pursuing a public policy master’s degree — said he’s had valuable experiences with some of the white professors he’s had in class, he said being taught by someone who shares his racial identity is different. “It can often be a really transformative experience, seeing someone who looks like you — who’s been through, potentially, a similar journey [to] you — in that position,” Daal said. But Foreman is set to retire at the end of this semester. And after he leaves, some public policy students are worried the school will have no black faculty members who are tenured or on the tenure-track: The search is on for a new social policy professor, and so far, all candidates who have visited campus have been white. The Black Students in Public Policy organization held an emergency meeting Thursday night to raise concerns about the search process so far, which they say is emblematic of the school’s long struggle to increase diversity among its student body and faculty. by
Angela Roberts @24_angier Senior staff writer
photos courtesy of tori sauder
See policy, p. 8
calendar 2 OPINION 4 FEATURES 5 city 6 diversions 9 SPORTS 12
That’s when he saw somebody trip as they rushed to catch a bus, just five or ten feet away from him. “I hear the worst cracking sound I’ve ever heard in my life,” said Williams, a history and secondary education major. “And then I hear screaming.” Tori Sauder, a senior computer science major at this university, had gotten her left leg crushed under the wheels of a Shuttle-UM bus. In the days since, Sauder said she has undergone two surgeries for her broken femur and tibia. But in the moments that followed the accident, one thing was certain: Sauder was not alone. Immediately, Williams called 911 and offered her some water from his 24-ounce Wawa cup. Another student turned their hoodie into a makeshift tourniquet to stop the flow of blood coming from her leg. A group of girls also converged to talk with her, keeping her distracted until paramedics arrived. Now, Sauder credits their fast actions for saving her life. “I could see on their faces that they were really scared,” Sauder said. “But despite that, they stopped and helped anyway, which I think is really amazing.” In an emailed statement sent by a spokesperson for the university, the Department of Transportation Services expressed its sympathy for Sauder. “Pedestrian safety is of the utmost See bus, p. 2
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2 | news
monday, March 2, 2020
CRIME BLOTTER By Rina Torchinsky | @rinatorchi | Senior staff writer
University of Maryland Police responded to reports of a traffic collision, theft and suspicious activity over the past week, according to online crime logs.
vehicle/bicycle collision University Police responded to a col l ision between Martin Hall and the Iribe Center Friday afternoon, police spokesperson Sgt. Rosanne Hoaas wrote in an email. A male student was riding his bicycle on the crosswalk on Paint Branch Drive at about 3:45 p.m. when a vehicle hit him, Hoaas wrote. The driver was a male student, she wrote. The bicyclist sustained minor injuries and sought treatment, Hoaas wrote. He was later released. A video review is underway, Hoaas wrote.
Theft Pol ice responded to McKeldin Library for a theft report on Feb. 25 at about 7 a.m., Hoaas wrote. A female student reported that her wristlet and its contents were stolen. A video review is underway, Hoaas wrote. The case is active.
COMMUNITY CALENDAR 2 monday
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KIBEL GALLERY PRESENTS: MAKING THE HOLODOMOR MEMORIAL Architecture Building, Kibel Gallery, 12 to 2 p.m. Hosted by the architecture school.
STEAM SALON WITH BRANDON MORSE (STEM Library) William E. Kirwan Hall, Room 1403, 2 to 3 p.m. Hosted by the Research Commons at University Libraries.
MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID TRAINING FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS Edward St. John Learning & Teaching Center, Room 1309, 7 to 9 p.m. Hosted by the Division of Student Affairs and Student Government Association.
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5 thURSDAY
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PROSE, POLICY, & PRACTICE: ETHICS IN MEDICAL HUMANITIES Marie Mount Hall, Maryland Room, 12 to 2 p.m. Hosted by the women’s studies department.
USING YOUR ENGINEERING SKILLS TO BUILD FAST-GROWING COMPANIES A.V. Williams Building, Room 2460, 12 to 1 p.m. Hosted by the engineering school.
SWING DANCE AT UMD Adele H. Stamp Student Union, Atrium, 7 to 9 p.m. Hosted by the Swing Dance Club at UMD.
UMD REPERTOIRE ORCHESTRA: SONGS OF WAR The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, 8 to 10 p.m. Hosted by The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.
State police are investigating the incident, which occurred near Seven Springs apartments Maryland
Rina Torchinsky State Police are investi@rinatorch Senior staff writer g a t i n g t h e death of a man in College Park, in what appears to be a hit-andrun that occurred Saturday morning, according to a press release. The incident occurred at I-495 and Northbound I-95, near Seven Springs Apartments, the release read. Po l i ce re ce ive d a ca l l about a body in the road shortly before 5:30 a.m., according to a tweet from state
BUS From p. 1 importance for DOTS and we wish for the student’s swift recovery and our hearts go out to all those involved in the incident,” the department wrote. When incidents involving Shuttle-UM buses happen, the driver is “immediately removed from safety-sensitive functions and/or placed on leave” while officials conduct an investigation to determine the incident’s cause, the degree of the driver’s responsibility
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“COLORING WHITENESS: ACTS OF CRITIQUE IN BLACK PERFORMANCE” DISCUSSION Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library in the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, 2 to 5 p.m. Hosted by Research Commons.
UNIVERSITY SENATE MEETING Adele H. Stamp Student Union, Atrium, 3:15 to 5 p.m. Hosted by the University Senate.
EPHRAT ASHERIE DANCE (USA): ODEON The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, 8 p.m. Hosted by The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.
4 wednesdaY
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THE ENTREPRENEURIAL APPROACH TO TRENDS IN THE A. I. INDUSTRY A. James Clark Hall, Room 1101, 12:30 to 1:30p.m. Hosted by the engineering school.
BASEBALL VS. DELAWARE Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium, 4 p.m. Hosted by Maryland Athletics. umterps.com WOMEN’S LACROSSE VS. NAVY Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex, 7 to 8 p.m. Hosted by Maryland Athletics. umterps.com
Suspicious Person Police responded to Martin Hall for a report of suspicious activity on Feb. 24 at about 12 p.m., Hoaas wrote. A female employee reported that items in the office suite had been moved around. Nothing was reported stolen and there was no damage, Hoaas wrote. The case is active.
Man dead after probable hit-and-run by
3 tuESDAY
6 friday
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COMPLICITY AND LESSER EVILS: A TALE OF TWO LAWYERS Edward St. John Learning & Teaching Center, Room 2208, 4 to 10 p.m. Hosted by the philosophy department.
“AMEN”: THEORIZING AN AESTHETICS OF INTENSIFICATION IN 15TH CENTURY MUSIC The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, 4 to 6 p.m. Hosted by The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.
BASEBALL VS. BRYANT Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium, 4 to 8 p.m. Hosted by Maryland Athletics. umterps.com KAREN CHEE COMES TO UMD! Adele H. Stamp Student Union, Charles Carroll Room, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Hosted by the Asian American Studies Program.
7 saturday
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WOMEN’S LACROSSE VS. HOFSTRA Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex, 12 to 2 p.m. Hosted by Maryland Athletics. umterps.com WOMEN’S TENNIS VS HOWARD Junior Tennis Champions Center, 12 to 2 p.m. Hosted by Maryland Athletics. umterps.com
8 sunday
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MEN’S BASKETBALL VS. MICHIGAN XFINITY Center, 12 to 4 p.m. Hosted by Maryland Athletics. umterps.com
police. An unidentified black male was pronounced dead on the scene, according to the tweet. A preliminary investigation indicates that the victim was on foot and then struck by the vehicle, according to the release. The debris on the scene indicates that the striking vehicle may have been silver, according to another tweet from state police. T h e i n ve s t i g a t i o n i s ongoing. newsumdbk@gmail.com
and any necessary disciplinary action, the department also wrote. Students who saw the accident took to Reddit on Saturday night to search for answers. In threads, people extended “prayers up to everyone involved” and asked what happened near Route 1. The next day, Sauder shared her story with the online community. As of Sunday afternoon, the post she wrote — titled “Thank you everyone!!! From the girl whose leg was run over by a Shuttle-UM bus yesterday” — had been upvoted more than 750 times.
flowers, cards and messages of support flooded in for the University of Maryland senior who was injured in a bus accident. (photo courtesy of tori sauder)
of her Reddit posts, students rallied behind Sauder, calling her “a warrior,” a “true Terp.” Another even asked for her X-rays — which she shared the next day. Watching the messages of encouragement and support flood in was a powerful experience for Sauder, especially since she said she struggles with anxiety and depression. “You kind of get used to looking at yourself almost like a fragile person,” Sauder said. “And so, to see so many people coming together and viewing me as strong and a warrior and me actually feeling like I can agree with them to some degree — that’s really amazing.” Looking forward, Sauder isn’t sure when she’ll be up and moving again. However, she’s optimistic that she’ll be able to use her leg again — even though she said she’ll need at least a year of physical therapy before she’ll be able to run again. Seeing Sauder’s post on Sunday made Williams feel a lot better. He posted a comment, which sparked a virtual conversation between him and Sauder. Through private X-RAYS show tori sauder’s left leg, which was crushed under a Shuttle-UM bus last Saturday night. She broke her tibia and femur. (photos courtesy of tori sauder) messages, Williams said Sauder S a u d e r t h a n k e d f i rs t responders and the bystanders who jumped to her aid, and recognized that the incident must’ve been difficult to watch. She also said her “good prospects” are thanks to the fast-paced response and a bit of luck — adding that she can still wiggle her toes. The accident, Sauder wrote in
a message, left her with a femur fractured into three pieces, a broken tibia that punctured her skin and a dislocated tibiofibular joint. Additionally, she wrote her femur was forced upward into her hip, causing further damage, and she can’t put weight on her leg for three months. In the comments section
told him about how much blood she could have lost if people hadn’t stepped up to help her quickly. “It made me reassured to know that I did everything that I could do and that I did all of the right things,” Williams said. Martin Gonzalez, who graduated from the university in 2018, watched the accident unfold from the window of a corner unit in the Landmark Apartments. He saw that a bus had stalled on the street for a while, and when people started circulating around it, he realized that something had gone wrong. But as Gonzalez and his friends looked down on Route 1 as paramedics and police arrived on — and they felt relieved. Later, Gonzalez commented on Sauder’s Reddit post, letting her know that he had seen the incident and that he was glad she was doing all right. “It’s almost like you don’t have to worry about being left alone,” Gonzalez said. “When you’re on campus, you have all your friends around, and you know that there are people that are ready to respond.” newsumdbk@gmail.com
monday, march 2, 2020
news | 3
SGA subsidizes mental health first aid training The student governing body will discount the training sessions for 30 undergraduates this year
A student government association legislator speaks at the body’s meeting at the Stamp Student Union on Wednesday. Legislators voted in favor of subsidizing mental health first aid training, so the cost per person would be $10 — not $20. susannah outhier/the diamondback The University Amanda Hernández o f M a ry@amandavhernan land’s SGA voted Staff writer Wednesday to help fund and host a training session for emergency mental health aid on the campus in April. With the Student Government Association funds, the cost of the training session for 30 undergraduate students will be $10 a person — rather than $20. The body passed a similar bill last semester. Participants are awarded a certificate upon completion of the training — which focuses on teaching students how to properly intervene when someone is experiencing a mental health crisis, such as a panic attack. “It doesn’t train you to by
d i a g n ose so m e o n e . T h e point of it is not to make you a therapist or to make you a medical professional, the point of it is to give you the power and the confidence to respond in a crisis situation,” said junior public policy major Colleen Herrmann, the deputy director for the SGA’s Health and Wellness Committee. The training for undergraduates will take place on April 5 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will also be a session for graduate students on March 28, and two others for faculty and staff on March 18 and April 17. Graduate students will also pay the reduced cost of $10, thanks to funding help from the Graduate School and Graduate Student Life. Faculty and staff will still have to pay $20.
To register for the training, students are encouraged to use an online form. The session will be led by Leslie Krafft, the North Campus residential case manager and one of the first people on campus to be certified through Mental Health First Aid USA, an 8-hour course on recognizing and treating mental health emergencies The SGA is cutting the program’s cost to undergraduates for the second semester in a row, hoping to make the training more accessible. “A s a n u n d e rg ra d u a te s t u d e n t myse l f, I p ro b ably wouldn’t even invest $20 into this training, even though I’m very, involved with mental health resources on campus,” explained Kelly Sherman, director of the SGA’s Health and Well-
ness Committee. “Subsidizing it to $10 is still allowing students to pay for the certification and also just like, actually attend it and like bring it to the broader audience.” Student groups are currently allowed to request specific training dates, but those cost $20 per person. In 2018, a study published by the Journal of American College Health found that college students in the U.S. showed higher rates of diagnosis of different mental health conditions than years prior. The researchers analyzed data from 2009 to 2015, concluding treatment and diagnosis of anxiety increased by about 6 percent. Depression and panic attacks both increased by 3 percent. During the spring of 2018,
a student group at this university, Scholars Promoting and Revitalizing Care, l a u n c h e d “ 3 0 Days To o Late,” a campaign focused on spreading awareness of the dearth of mental health resources for students on the campus. Later that year, SPARC won $5,000 in the university’s Do Good competition and gifted half to the Department of Resident Life to establish the very first training session, which allowed Krafft to receive the training she needed to train others. Since then, she has led about 15 training sessions on campus, she said. At first, Krafft was the o n ly p e rs o n o n c a m p u s certified to lead training sessions. Now, she’s joined by seven other instructors.
T h e p rog ra m h a s a l so launched its own website where students can find more logistical information on future sessions, what the training will cover and why it’s important to become certified. “It provides this really amazing opportunity for students to get involved … in a really meaningful way, not only for themselves. I’m someone who’s struggled definitely with mental health crises and issues before, and it’s helped me,” said Alon Sherman, who was trained last semester. “It’s allowed me to give myself to this sort of greater culture around campus of taking care of one another.”
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UMD Senate weighs background checks for all faculty and staff If passed, student employees wouldn’t be subject to them because they’re “students first,” a sponsor said The Univ e rsity of Lyna Bentahar Maryland @lynabentahar Senate is Staff writer considering a bill that would make all faculty and staff subject to criminal background checks before employment — a substantial shift from what is mandated by law. Under current policy, the university only requires criminal background checks when federal or state laws demand them, such as for those working in child care or whose jobs involve transporting hazardous materials. This leaves thousands of faculty, staff and student employees who have not been background checked, according to the bill. “The issue we’re trying to address is safety,” said John Bertot, associate provost for the faculty affairs office and a sponsor of the bill. “We have a number of initiatives with the police department and others that focus on the by
safety of the campus community, and a background check would be one more piece.” The bill would centralize criminal background checks under two offices: the Office of Faculty Affairs and University Human Resources. Any criminal convictions would show up on the check, but arrests or citations that didn’t lead to convictions wouldn’t. Ten out of the 12 schools in the University System of Maryland perform backg ro u n d c h ec ks o n a l l or some specific categories of employment, according to results of a survey conducted by this university’s human resources department. Volunteers at some of these schools might also be subjected to background checks. Similarly, in a survey of Big Ten member schools, all schools performed background checks on all staff, while all except the Uni-
versity of Nebraska performed background checks on tenured and non-tenured faculty and research employees. Under university policy, the school is allowed to perform any background checks “that assist the University in meeting its commitments to keep our campus safe for students, s t a f f , fa c u l t y, a n d t h e public,” according to the proposal. The bill, submitted in March of last year, is up for a decision in both the Faculty and Staff Affairs committees on March 30. Then, if it’s approved by both committees and the senate office, it will be sent for a vote to the entire body. Nick Thompson, an administrative assistant for the mechanical engineering department, never had a criminal background check done on him when the university hired him. He doesn’t believe they’re necessary for
Senators watch a presentation at the University Senate meeting Feb. 5. Now, the body is considering a bill that would subject all faculty and staff to background checks — a substantial departure from current policy. Joe Ryan/the diamondback his level of work. “It might not be necessary to go through the lengths and hoops of doing a criminal background check,” Thompson said. “If it’s more of a position of higher responsibility and pay grade, then yes, a criminal backg ro u n d c h e c k wo u l d b e appropriate.” The background check policy wouldn’t apply to student employees, Bertot said, because despite being employed by the university, they’re “students first.” Still, M. R. Sauter, an information studies professor whose research focuses on security and data collection, worried a more general criminal background check could disproportionately
affect marginalized groups — such as people of color and poor people. “It’ll catch bad actors, but because it’s relying on a structure that has a known bias,” Sauter said. In 2016, 27 percent of people arrested in the U.S. were black — double the share black people make up of the country’s population, according to the Sentencing Project. And, on average, black Americans are more likely than whites to be convicted once charged with a crime. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission maintains that results of criminal background checks cannot be used to discriminate against candidates.
“It is this moralized judgment that is masquerading as objective,” Sauter said. Bertot, however, maintained that any criminal background check would be conducted in a holistic manner. Plus, he said, the staffers responsible for reviewing them would consult with campus experts when analyzing the check’s results — bringing in outside perspectives to determine w h e t h e r a n i n f ra c t i o n should cost a candidate a job. “Implementing such checks would provide the campus community with an additional level of safety,” Bertot said. newsumdbk@gmail.com
monDay, march 2, 2020
4 | opinion
Opinion OPINION POLICY Signed letters, columns and cartoons represent the opinions of the authors. The staff editorial represents the opinion of The Diamondback’s editorial board and is the responsibility of the editor in chief.
column
Maryland must stand against ICE
Leah Brennan
Arya Hodjat
Madelyn Miller
Hadron Chaudhary, Zachary Jablow
EDITOR IN CHIEF
MANAGING EDITOR
DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR
OPINION EDITORS
column
ELMS can be a tool for evil
CATERINA IERONIMO At l a s t detainees are housed in private conditions. Additionally, abuse, facilities run by five compa- sexual assault and inadequate @cate_ieronimo week’s Maryland nies. One of them, Immigration medical care are rampant at Columnist
HADRON CHAUDHARY We understand col- system of checks and balances. It’s an insidious @esophagor leges as microcosms of tactic preventing solidarity across the university Opinion editor the scalding broth of community by weakening professors’ abilities
General Assembly meeting was a bold proposal, known as the Dignity Not Detention Act. The bill — which proposes to ban private detention facilities in Maryland and to phase out immigration detention in Maryland — was introduced to counter federal plans for a new immigration detention center within 50 miles of Baltimore. Immigration and Customs Enforcement hopes to build this proposed private detention facility in Queen Anne’s County. As of now, Maryland holds three detention facilities in Frederick, Howard and Worcester counties. The bill is timely, as immigration detention has been a booming business across the United States in recent years, and hosting private detention facilities has helped rural communities like Sudlersville gain valuable tax revenue. However, the financial gains of this $3 billion-a-year industry come at the cost of people’s dignity, and they are a result of perverse financial incentives to detain as many people as possible in a cost-effective way. Maryland should reject plans for another detention center and adopt this bill in order to stop profiting off of human misery, and hold ICE and private industry accountable for rampant immigrant abuse. In the vast and unhinged machine that is American immigration enforcement, profit is king. Over 75 percent of ICE
tension and inequity that boils the nation. But there is no scaling down the significance of injustice. Graduate students — especially at the University of Maryland — have been stuck fighting for collective bargaining rights for several years, with little support from graduate school administration. Tension over the same issue at the University of California, Santa Cruz have escalated tension into an outright strike, as graduate students demand a pay increase to manage working in one of the most expensive areas in the country to live. Surveillance methods have always been employed as tactics of strike suppression, and education technology is its new frontier. Some companies — including Canvas, the one behind this university’s digital infrastructure — have a history of being abused by institutions. They collect too much student data, which is exploitable by system managers to the point that we should be wary. Educational technology has evolved in recent years to track more of a student’s activity. Purportedly, this is to see what the metrics for success are. ELMS currently logs minute individual information, like how frequently you looked at a course page and resubmitted assignments. This information is already a little excessive for an instructor, but system administrators can also view it, potentially without professors’ knowledge. Also, anyone can be added into a virtual class and given permission to access these analytics data, student assignments and even student-instructor communications. This is a system built to maintain hierarchies, and one that is easily manipulated. Blackboard, a similar learning management system, was used as early as 2005 by New York University to spy on its striking graduate student union. University administrators joined virtual classes to monitor communication between students, and find out which teaching assistants supported the strike. Faculty were just as outraged as students, but the only people with the tools to ensure security were the administrators controlling both the university and its online infrastructure. The absolutism of this power prevents any
Centers of America, also initially took ICE up on its need for a detention facility in Maryland. Two-thirds of detainees have no criminal record, and 26 percent of them are detained simply for claiming their legal right to request asylum in the U.S. As such, ICE detention is not designed to be punitive — but it often ends up that way. Private detention facilities incentivize ICE and law enforcement to seek out as many people as possible to fill their beds and turn a profit. In at least half of all ICE field offices, there are guaranteed minimums of detainees that ICE supplies to keep the money flowing. Between 2016 and 2018, the state of Maryland saw an over 145 percent increase in non-criminal arrests. On the opposite end of the profit wheel, the idea of job creation for rural host communities is undercut by detainees being forced to do paid employees’ labor. And perhaps worst of all, this for-profit system incentivizes abuse and lack of accountability at every level. According to the Department of Homeland Security itself, ICE routinely fails to enforce its own detention standards on private contractors. A USA Today investigation found at least 175 cases in which ICE granted facilities waivers to ignore detention standards and increase strip searches, use chemicals on detainees and limit the information provided to detainees about their medical
private detention facilities. Recently, two deaths in Maryland detention centers were reported. In one case, a man hung himself the night he was detained, and in another earlier this month, a man died after complaining to officials of excruciating stomach pain. These deaths reveal that — contrary to what ICE and its private partners would have you believe — an immigration system that packs people away for profit is inseparable from the deaths and abuses of power plaguing detention facilities. Personally, I don’t see immigrant lives as high up on the Maryland — or national — legislative agenda, so I’m pessimistic about the Dignity Not Detention Act’s prospects, as well as any hope of blocking this proposed detention center. However, what I do know is that all these detention centers we’re building are signs that even “progressive” states such as Maryland can’t pull themselves away from the firm grip of the prison industrial complex. Passing this bill and blocking the construction of a new detention center would signal a major change in how we deal with immigration in America and show that we’re capable of treating immigrants like human beings, no matter their citizenship. Until we can all make that quantum cognitive leap, we’ll just keep shoving people in cages. ieronimocaterina@gmail.com
column
Salisbury exemplifies the right response to racism If you’ve face, the information is out in the Wicomico County State’s LIYANGA DE SILVA attended the open and easy to find. Attorney’s Office for prosecu@liyangads t h e U n i On the day of the actual intion. Salisbury didn’t attempt Columnist versity of Maryland for the last few years, you probably know that our administration is not the best at responding to hate and bigotry on this campus. Each time my parents hear about one of these incidents — whether it’s white nationalist posters, the noose found in the Phi Kappa Tau house or the homophobic and misogynistic Key of David Christian Center demonstrators — they remind me to be careful. As an LGBTQ woman of color on this campus, I’m aware that there are people at this university who don’t want me here. That’s fine — sticks and stones and all that — but it’s unacceptable when the university administration fails to adequately respond to incidents that incite fear in minority students. Salisbury University, however, is handling these kinds of incidents much better. Last week, racist messages threatening black students were found in academic buildings on its campus. While it’s impossible to make a total comparison, Salisbury’s administration’s response has been much more immediate, transparent, thorough and emotionally aware than anything I’ve seen at Maryland’s flagship university. The first thing that surprised me was that information about the incident is right on the homepage of the university’s website. Instead of trying to save
cident, students were notified via email at 2:16 p.m. about the situation, stating outright that “racist graffiti” had been found in Henson Hall. Then, about an hour and a half later, the Salisbury University Police Department sent an update, informing students they were working “in conjunction with the FBI and allied police agencies” to investigate. Later, at 7:28 p.m., SUPD sent a third email notifying students of a second instance of reported graffiti. However, within four hours of the first incident’s occurrence and even before the second incident was reported, students were notified that there would be no class on Thursday “to provide a day of healing following the most recent incident of threatening, racially charged vandalism discovered on campus.” This email and the email about the second incident was followed by another that outlined six opportunities for students to vent, mourn or meet in solidarity. One of those opportunities even included an “open discussion” with university President Charles Wight. This is what a proactive response to hate speech looks like on a college campus. Not only was the investigation transparent, but SUPD — with the help of the FBI and other law enforcement agencies — identified a suspect just two days later and referred the case to
to brush the incident under the rug, or stifle conversation about hate on the campus. For me, the most impactful part of their response was their acknowledgment of the fear this incident created amongst black and other minority students, regardless of how “small” it was. They validated that members of the community were feeling afraid, and that they didn’t deserve to feel that way just so someone else could express hateful opinions. I know some people will try to say that Salisbury has a larger black or minority population, or make some other off-the-cuff claim to invalidate my argument, so let me just address that now. The fall 2019 undergraduate population of Salisbury University was 71.8 percent white. At this university, 48.4 percent of undergraduates were white in fall 2019. This university’s undergraduate population is made up of 43.6 percent racial or ethnic minority students, while Salisbury’s is 26.9 percent minority students. Even though Salisbury has a much smaller minority student population, the school supported its students. While I can’t speak for past incidents of bigotry and hate at Salisbury, this time, the university did an excellent job of showing where its priorities lie. liyanga.a.ds@gmail.com
to control their classrooms or support their teaching assistants. The same spirit moves UCSC administration to use Canvas as a way to identify striking graduate students. Notifications on Canvas encouraged undergraduates to report their teaching assistants for causing class “disruption.” This is another method to kill the solidarity between teaching assistants and students, who have power as consumers of the university. Approaching them through their educational infrastructure is deceptive and makes it clear who the technology is really serving. The strength of the UCSC strike comes from the transgression of hierarchies, so that many different members of the university community can stand together on the picket line. However, this isn’t just the physical strike on the campus — but also the digital picket line of Canvas. We have to acknowledge that using educational infrastructure to advance cop behavior is a security problem. In addition, Instructure, the parent company to Canvas, was recently sold to a private company. Instructure’s CEO advertised the value of students’ “data assets” for machine learning. There’s been much controversy around what that means for the future of that data. While Instructure has promised not to sell students’ data, it’s clear that monetization is a large part of the conversation around educational technology development — and privacy is an afterthought. Anyone at this university knows not to put full faith in the institution, from its moral judgment to transparency to WiFi stability. We have reasons to be wary of its power, especially in the ways that aren’t fully disclosed. While this university’s educational technology infrastructure — particularly ELMS — may seem too frail to accomplish much, it permits an unnecessary level of surveillance that other universities have abused in the past. The precedent has been set to make a weaker community — but we can’t allow it. chauds@umd.edu
column
We should consider the bugs LEXIE WERNER @tofu4president Columnist
In light of recent complaints filed against the University of Maryland for reported mistreatment of guinea pigs, students and alumni may be wondering what other kinds of animal cruelty might be taking place on college campuses. Perhaps activists should spend time looking into the treatment of insects in their school’s entomology departments. I do not pretend to be an expert on the difference between Hemiptera or Insecta, nor on the distinction between use of the words “bug” and “insect.” (For this reason, I will refer to the subjects of entomological study simply as “insects” and pray the bug people do not come after me.) What I do know is that many animal rights activists already boycott products such as honey and silk, which require the farming of bees and silkworms, and that that outrage should be extended to all insects. Silk is produced by commercially breeding silkworms, which produce it as a part of their cocoons. Sericulture is the process by which these worms are fed and farmed and then killed (typically through steaming) while in the chrysalis stage of development, so that the fibers of their cocoons can be spun into fabric for human use. The similarities between steaming worms alive to spin their cocoons into clothing and making fur coats — a far more commonly cited example of animal cruelty — are quite obvious. Meanwhile, bees are also a significant focus of activist campaigns. In the past few years, it has become very popular to care about bees — for good reason. With bee populations dying out, vital crops humans and animals alike use for food will go unpollinated. Industrial bee farming is known for a variety of behaviors harmful to bees (as with any domestication or breeding process). In particular, breeding bees to produce more honey can reduce genetic diversity in bee populations, leaving colonies more susceptible
to disease. But bees are only one example of the detrimental effects of insect farming. Other insects are farmed around the world, with little advocacy effort made for decent treatment. Per the Vegan Society, vegans and animal rights activists abstain from the consumption of honey not only because of the act of breeding bees, but also the over-harvesting of honey and its replacement with sugar water for the bees. There is comparatively little focus on the consumption of other products produced from the suffering of insects. Why is it that there is so much controversy and discourse about the treatment of bees and silkworms, but very little noise about the treatment of other insects? At this university, BSCI481: Insect Diversity and Classification, a course required for graduate students in the entomology department, lists the capturing and killing of insects as the main component of students’ final course grade. A fall 2016 syllabus for BSCI481 states that “120 properly preserved, identified and labeled hexapod ‘families’” are required per student and that collecting and preserving specimens makes up 75 percent of the overall course grade. Surely the preservation and pinning of large numbers of insects for study is not specific to the university’s entomology department, but rather common everywhere. So why does no one seem to care? Is it a question of consciousness? Of brain size? Why do activists steer away from bivalves and fail to fight for insects equally? While I do not intend to condemn scientific research of the natural world, the focus on cruelty toward insects must be more balanced. The controversy bees and silkworms inspire should not be the only outrage we feel, and we should strive to treat insects more fairly within our institutions and regular lives. lexiew@terpmail.umd.edu
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monday, march 2, 2020
City City residents: Leaf airport trees alone Officials said they were only trimming trees near the College Park Airport, but removed 250 instead Tensions we re h i g h during Angela Mecca @AngelaMecca2 Tuesday night’s Staff writer College Park City Council meeting, as council members and residents expressed frustrations with ongoing “tree trimming” near the College Park Airport. Despite starting the process earlier this month, zero trees have been pruned to date, said airport manager Lee Sommer, who spoke during Tuesday’s meeting. Instead, over 250 trees have been removed. Officials tasked with pruning the trees were concerned doing so would kill them, and if they died in their current spots, the dead trees would rot and fall, causing potential hazards. The officials didn’t return to the city council to ask about removing the trees altogether, so the city requested they attend Tuesday’s meeting to explain what happened. Six audience members spoke up about the issue during Tuesday’s meeting, with most expressing oppoby
sition. Those in favor of the removal, though, praised it as an effort to increase safety for pilots flying out of the airport. On the other side, though, one resident referred to the measures as a “slaughter” of the tree canopy. Jan van Zutphen, a city resident who spoke at the meeting, said he has been shocked by the project’s outcome so far, and he doesn’t think the public was provided adequate information about its scope. “College Park Airport Tree Trimming is a misleading title — it actually should be called the College Park Airport Tree Removal Project,” van Zutphen said. “When I saw what had happened, to me it looked extreme, and I really question if it was necessary.” When the city spoke with airport officials three weeks ago, District 1 Councilman Fazlul Kabir said council members were told that just around 150 trees would be trimmed. But during a presentation on the project Tuesday, given by officials from the airport and repre-
sentatives of Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission — the office assisting with the project — predictions said more than 400 trees could be trimmed or removed. The information previously provided to the council wasn’t transparent, Kabir said, and the lack of communication has made residents angry. “The community has been misled,” Kabir said. “This is not rocket science. If you knew that there were 400 trees that would be gone, it’s not a matter of interpretation.” The trimming project, which began earlier this month, has targeted both sides of the airport: near the Calvert Road Park Disc Golf course to the east and near the College Park Metro to the west. Approximately 150 trees have been removed from the area near the Disc Golf course, and 114 have been removed near the Metro, Sommer said. If the project continues, another 282 could be removed, he said.
That could pose a huge problem for habitat loss and stormwater management in the city, said District 3 Councilman John Rigg. To take on the project without considering the effects it could pose to runoff and surrounding ecosystems was “infuriating,” Rigg said — especially because, he insisted, the agency had numerous resources it could have used to gather information. “You’re a sophisticated bicounty agency,” Rigg said, slapping the table in front of him in frustration. “To come here without having done your homework, and having been three weeks away from presenting information that’s misleading at best and deceptive [at] worst, I find galling.” Echoes of “Amen” from audience members followed Rigg’s speech. However, Sommer said the project is meant to to bolster safety measures around the airport, as tree canopies can pose a threat to pilots landing at the airport. And, he said, the airport plans to replant the trees it removes with ones that
will not obstruct the paths of incoming planes. Michael Cummins, who is president of the Free State Flying Club— which is based in College Park — spoke in favor of the airport’s actions, saying tree trimming is routine for most airports. “With our pilots, they don’t want to be flying into College Park Airport at night,” Cummins said, “and then all of a sudden see tree branches in their windshield.” District 2 Councilman P.J. Brennan said the potential replanting of trees in the future wasn’t enough to justify the present removal of the canopy. Trees take decades to grow, and Brennan was concerned that if the agency plans to replace the removed trees with types that don’t grow as tall, there is no guarantee that the canopy will ever fully be restored. Mayor Patrick Wojahn echoed Brennan’s remarks. He said he was shocked to learn how many trees had been removed, and the impact the project was having on the community.
Still, he pointed out that the airport — as well as the tree canopy — means a lot to College Park. “At this point, these are two issues that are of important values for the city that are in conflict,” Wojahn said. Moving forward, a representative from MarylandNational Capital Park and Planning Commission said she would regroup with her colleagues to pull together a timeline for the trimming, and report back to the council. The result was an attempt to restore communication between the city and the agencies supporting the tree removal — a goal that caused District 1 Councilwoman Kate Kennedy some hesitation. “I’ve not felt good about building that trust tonight again,” Kennedy said, adding that in the future she hopes information presented to the council will be clear and accurate. “I’m just hoping that there can be a holistic conversation.”
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Sunnyside neighborhood to get playground by 2021 The lot has been empty since it was donated to the city 21 years ago, councilman said North College JonathanTercasio Park’s Sunnyside neigh@jon_terc borhood is set Staff writer to get a park by early 2021, according to by
District 1 Councilman Fazlul Kabir. Plans for the park, which will be located at the east end of Odessa Road, are still in their early stages, said Brenda
Alexander, assistant director for the city’s public works department. Greenman-Pedersen, Inc., the construction company, is currently designing the amenities of the
playground, she said. In a community meeting last month, residents expressed “positive interest” in the future play area, said District 1 Councilman Fazlul
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Kabir. “This park will be closer to the homes of many of the young families,” Kabir said. “They’re really excited about it.” The 1.2-acre lot, known as the “Odessa Outlot,” has been empty for the past 21 years but designated for recreational use, after longtime residents donated it to the city, Kabir said. Its anticipated cost is to be determined, according to the city website. C h r i s t i n a Toy, wh o i s raising two small children in the Sunnyside neighborhood, said she came up with the idea for a playground in 2018 when the lot on Odessa Road was considered for becoming a dog park. A playground, she said, would be another way to use the space, especially since the nearest park is a “difficult” walk across Rhode Island Avenue. And given the number of kids in the neighborhood, she said that a park could help build a safe and strong community. “Every day, I see more and more kids riding their bikes around, riding their scooters around, dribbling a basketball,” Toy said. “We need a place for kids and adults to congregate and develop a community.” But residents whose houses border the future park are concerned about the lack of privacy that a play area would bring, Kabir and Toy said. Sunnyside resident Kevin G i l l i s, wh o h a s l ive d i n the neighborhood for over 20 years, is one of several residents whose backyards
border the parcel. “I expressed my concern about trying to keep traffic on the far lot,” Gillis said. “They said they would update us when the designs are more finalized.” On Jan. 8, Maryland’s Board of Public Works approved a plan to widen the Capital Beltway — which borders Odessa Road — by up to four lanes. The Maryland Department of Transportation, which was involved in the negotiations to broaden the beltway, proposed last summer that a 30-foot buffer zone be plalced between the highway and the park, shifting city plans further from the highway, but closer to neighboring homes, Kabir said. “When we got information that part of the parcel will be impacted by this work, we decided to look at a different area of the parcel,” Alexander said. “We made sure it wouldn’t be impacted.” To mitigate residents’ concerns about privacy, the city will plant trees between the park and the neighboring houses, Kabir said. Gillis noted that a line of trees will not only block the view from his backyard, but also make it more difficult for the city to maintain the lot. “I don’t know how they’re going to get back there with the lawnmowers if they plant those trees,” said Gillis. “I also have a big giant window facing the lot… If I have windows, I want to be able to see out of them.” newsumdbk@gmail.com
monday, march 2, 2020
news | 7
Library software aims to boost accesibility Morphic, which is being piloted on computers across campus, is meant to help the “everyday user” Starting this week, if you use a PC at the University of Maryland’s McKeldin Library, STEM Library or Michelle S m i t h Pe r fo r m i n g A r ts Library, you may notice a little green chameleon icon on your d esktop. His name is Morphy. Morphy is the symbol for “Morphic” — a software created by the Trace Research and Development Center in the College of Information Studies to make desktop navigation easier and more accessible for users. The pilot version of the software allows assis tive technologies, such as screen readers, to be accessible on all computers. But Meagan Griffith, who helped develop Morphic, says the new program is also meant to by
ClaraNiel @vballclra12 Staff writer
help the “everyday user” by allowing them to personalize their computer settings. “[Having Morphic] sort of makes you less nervous,” said Griffith, a senior information science and data science major. “[It] helps familiarize students who don’t have constant access to a computer [with the university’s PCs].” By this summer, developers also hope the software will allow users to customize the program’s icons. The line of icons, called the “Quickstrip,” simplifies finding and using features already built in the computer, such as language change, contrast and brightness and screen capture. This feature is one of the things Trace director Gregg Vanderheiden says he is the most excited about. “You can actually make your own buttons so that you
can create something that matches what you need it to be to make it faster or easier for you to use,” he said. Rachel Wood, a graduate student studying human c o m p u t e r i n t e ra c t i o n , helped create Morphic and tried it out throughout the development process. She appreciates how the software makes Chrome Read Aloud extension — a feature she uses when taking notes on articles and other assignments for class — easier to find, by adding its icon to the QuickStrip. “ S t u d e n ts a re a lways looking for life hacks,” she said. This version of Morphic has been in the works for 18 months, and its pilot version was launched two weeks ago at the university’s libraries, said Vanderheiden. Since then, Trace has been working to fine-tune the software to
COMPUTERs in McKeldin Library now feature the Morphic program, a new accesibility software. eric harkleroad/the diamondback the computers, Vanderheiden said. Students will be able to start using the new program this week. Currently, the software has been installed on all PC’s in McKeldin, the STEM Library and the Performing Arts Library. A Mac version
of Morphic is still in progress, Vanderheiden said. Apart from helping students optimize their study time and making technology more accessible for users with sight difficulties, Vanderheiden said Trace is really just trying to make life easier
for people in a world that puts those with a low technology IQ at a disadvantage. “We can’t make the computer completely simpler but we can provide a gentler onramp,” he said. newsumdbk@gmail.com
Official launch for major on religions of the ancient Middle East The new program will be housed within the Jewish Studies department and will require just 30 credits
Hayim Lapin, one of the two Jewish Studies professors who led the charge for a new major on world religions. joe ryan/the diamondback by
University
Meyerhoff Center for Jewish
some students turned to the
Chloe Goldberg of Maryland Studies first began offering Individual Studies Program @ChloeGoldberg10 students are a religious studies minor in to create their own form of a Staff writer now able to 2001, said Grossman, who religious studies major. enroll in a new major from the Jewish studies department — the school’s first-ever degree program to focus on multiple religions. The Maryland Higher Education Commission approved a major focused on religions of the ancient Middle East in January. That marked the end of a two-year review process for Hayim Lapin and Maxine Grossman, the two Jewish Studies professors behind its development. The Joseph and Rebecca
leads the program. But in recent years, Grossman and Lapin found that more and more students held specific interests when it came to religion, and that the minor, with a few electives spanning a broad range of cultures and time periods, couldn’t provide a coherent, specialized approach. Students were looking for more structure in their studies, said Grossman, but without a major, they weren’t able to find it. In the past,
“Actually having a religious studies major, not so much in the Meyerhoff center, but as an aspect of a larger set of undergraduate religious studies offerings, is monumental,” Grossman said. The 30-credit program will provide students with a background of the historical and cultural context that led to the emergence of ancient Judaism, Christianity and early Islam between 850 CE and 1200 CE. Students will also be able to explore the methodological
aspects of historical research, including archaeology and economic modeling. “The first step was to recognize that there is a real interest on campus and take advantage of that,” Lapin said. Anticipating that many students would enroll in religions of the ancient Middle East as a second major, the department wanted to keep credit requirements at a minimum. It’s a way for students to learn more about a subject that interests them, even if that subject doesn’t correspond with their future career, Lapin said. In fact, Grossman said, a lot of the students who expressed interest in the major on a survey last fall came from STEM and business fields. “Students who are interested in religion will now have something to tell their parents that makes it a good idea to study religion,” she said. “They can say, ‘I’m going to get all my gen-eds done, I’m going to be able to do whatever major you think is more practical, but I’m still going to get to study religious studies.’” The new religions of the ancient Middle East major will become the only major outside Jewish studies within the
Jewish studies department. Many other state universities, such as the University of Virginia and the University of Florida, have religion departments that include courses on Judaism. A Jewish studies department that offers a major focused on other religions is a bit of an “inside out” structure, Grossman said. But in the absence of an overarching religion department, Jewish studies over the years has become a default for all things religion, Lapin said. The department already offers classes on Christianity and a minor in Middle East studies. Students can take Arabic language courses through the department as well. Though expanding Jewish studies into a larger religious studies department to reflect this shift is a question for “further down the road,” Lapin didn’t dismiss the possibility. “Right now it’s really just providing the administrative umbrella in which this takes place,” he said. Students began the process of declaring the major after a kickoff event Wednesday, and those with enough credits may be able to complete their degree as soon as next academic year.
Jared Bennett, a sophomore English major, plans to switch from his religious studies minor to the new major, which allows him to take a more focused look at the various religions he’s already studying. “It’s a lot more useful than just saying like, ‘Oh I took a bunch of classes in religion but I don’t have anything specific to show for it,’” he said. “Now it’s a B.A.” Neil-Peace Tebid, a freshman English major, has always been interested in the religious side of her history courses. She said the new major would allow her to take advantage of that interest. Plus, the cultural awareness she’s gained from these classes will also be an asset when she travels abroad in the future, she said. “I want that awareness, to be able to respect someone else’s opinion and conviction, because it does move a lot of what they do culturally,” Tebid said. “In studying a lot of different religions, you gain a lot of perspective that’s helpful in actually interacting once you go out.”
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Students’ startup works to make online shopping more sustainable Enly is meant to help shoppers find clothes that fit the first time around — and cut down on returns University of MaryClara Longo de l a n d senior Freitas Thomas @clongode1 Savransky Staff writer s a i d h e ’d rather spend six hours trying on outfits in a brick-andmortar store than search for new clothes on a website. “I never trusted online shopping,” the finance major said. “I never thought I’d get the right size, the right fit and I didn’t want to deal with returns.” So, he founded Enly. The application, which is still in the piloting stages, aims to help online shoppers easily find clothes that fit. Users input their measurements, and Enly provides size recommendations for a host of common brands across the country. And if someone doesn’t have their measurements by
on hand, Savransky added, the technology uses information from a range of the most popular brands across the country to recommend sizing at specific stores. If a user tells the program they’re a size medium at H&M, for example, it could tell them they’re probably a large at American Eagle. The application can provide fit recommendations, too — which Savransky stressed is different than sizing. “Fit is more about the style and how you wear it,” he said, “and size is more about, ‘Can you put this on?’” E n ly l a u n c h e d a p i l o t for their interface on Feb. 8, said Jonny Schneider, a senior finance and information systems major and the chief operating officer of the company. This will allow
them to plug the application into any online retailer and designer website that agrees to partner with them. The venture was born in 2017, when Savransky went to New York Fashion Week to meet with designers and buyers. He talked to them about “virtual fitting,” which he said would help consumers see how clothes would really look on them. “The overwhelming response was that [they would] love to have something that simplifies this process,” Savransky said. So he got to work — he put together a team, started researching the market and coming up with ideas for a solution. In addition to helping simplify the shopping experience, Savransky and Schneider hope their technology can help create a
m o re s u s ta i n a b l e re ta i l system. Return rates for online clothing retail can be as high as 60 percent, according to a 2019 study by researchers at Sweden’s University of Gothenburg. The same rate is 8 to 10 percent in traditional stores, where shoppers have the option to try on clothes before purchasing. The waste that goes into all those online shopping returns is immense, Schneider said. “We’re dealing with packaging waste, we’re dealing with additional carbon emissions, we’re dealing w i t h exce ss i nve n to r i e s being burned by fashion companies,” he said. He and Savransky played around with the idea of adding a feature to the application in which the user would simply take a selfie
and receive a personalized avatar they could use to “try on” different fits and sizes. But, at the moment, there’s too much room for error with that method, Savransky said. “It’s fixable with some machine learning and just data collection,” he said, “but it doesn’t make sense early on.” Last summer, Savransky and Schneider were part of an accelerator program o n t h e D i n g m a n Ce n te r fo r E n t re p re n e u rs h i p, a center within this university’s business school, that allowed them to work on the company full-time. After completing the nine-week program, the duo started a fellowship with the center — which earned them up to $20,000 and an office space for the company. Sara Herald is the director of Venture Development
at the center. After working with the pair over the past academic year, she said she was impressed. “They’re giving 110 percent every day to this company, while still taking classes and doing well on their classes,” Herald said. But still, the road to graduation might be a little tricky for them. S av ra n s k y h a s b e e n a part-time student for the past year and a half. Despite being the same age as most of his peers, Savransky feels he lives in a completely different world. “Everybody around me is thinking about schools and exams and internships,” Savransky said. “I’m thinking in terms of quarters … and business development.” “I’m never graduating,” he joked. newsumdbk@gmail.com
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policy From p. 1 T h i s fa l l , 1 6 p e rce n t o f undergraduate students and 11.7 percent of graduate students were black, according to data from the university’s I n s t i t u t i o n a l Re s ea rc h , Planning and Assessment office. Apart from Foreman, the school also had two nontenure track faculty members who were black, according to IRPA. At the meeting, students discussed the importance of black faculty. They shared stories about times their white professors allowed problematic points students brought up to go unchecked, and when they lectured on issues shaped by racist policies without presenting the necessary background information. T i f fa ny Fo rd , BS i P P ’s graduate president, also talked about the significance of specifically having black faculty members who are tenured. Doctoral students are required to have tenured faculty members on their
committees. And earning te n u re co m e s w i t h a n enormous amount of job security. “On one hand, that can be wild as a black student because it means that sometimes we end up with faculty who are saying some wild stuff that frustrates us,” she said. “But on the other hand, we can think about it as: Imagine having tenured black faculty who are able to push on some of these issues that we care about without so much fear of being let go from their positions.” Robert Orr, public policy school dean, stressed the school’s commitment to bolstering diversity and inclusion. Last year, the public policy school hired a chief diversity, inclusion and belonging officer and created a task force comprised of students, faculty and staff. Furthermore, it created another committee last month to focus on the retention and recruitment of a diverse faculty. And, when the school a p p ro ve d i t s f i ve - ye a r
strategic plan on Wednesday, it included a goal to strengthen the diversity of its community and the sense of inclusion and belonging within it, Orr said. Orr also highlighted how the share of underrepresented minority groups in the school h a s c h a n ge d ove r t i m e . According to IRPA, from 2017 to 2019, this percentage among graduates increased from 17 to 19 and remained at 26 for undergraduates. The number of faculty who are underrepresented minorities also increased from three to seven from 2015 to 2019, according to IRPA. “It’s not enough, but we are moving,” Orr said. “What we’ve done over the last five years since I became dean is to create the infrastructure for sustaining support for efforts to diversity our community.” Many students on Thursday emphasized their appreciation for the school’s recent efforts. Some who were present sit on the diversity task force and expressed optimism about its progress. They also pointed out that the school has hired
more women over the years: the number of female faculty members increased from nine in 2015 to 25 in 2019, according to IRPA. However, they also took issue with the low percentages of black undergraduate and graduate students in their classes. Ford, for instance, says she’s the only black doctoral student in her cohort, as well as the cohort below hers. “We rely on each other, we need each other,” she said. And until we kind of have that critical mass, we’re not going to see an increase in the black population in the School of Public Policy.” While Orr said he couldn’t go into specifics about the ongoing search process for fear of violating its confidentiality, he detailed how the school’s hiring progress typically progresses. P ros p e c t ive fa c u l ty members visit campus to give mock lectures, and their CVs are circulated to students. The school also arranges meetings between interested students and candidates.
However, no students sit on the search committee — a structure some said should change. “There should be an opportunity out there for students who want to be involved to be involved,” said senior public policy major Raymond Nevo. “You know, you can’t claim transparency, but then close doors.” In an email to The Diamondback, Foreman — chair of the committee charged with finding his replacement — emphasized that everyone involved in the search has been “acutely aware” of the need to increase racial diversity in the school’s faculty. Foreman stressed that the search isn’t over yet. And while he acknowledged that it was “quite true” that all four candidates who have visited the campus so far have been white, he is confident in their qualifications. “I have scrutinized the records or each of these candidates, discussed their relative merits with my committee colleagues, and
dined with each of these candidates along with one other member of our search committee,” he wrote. “I have little doubt that each of these candidates would, if hired, be sympathetic to the interests and needs of our students of color.” Moving forward, BSiPP plans to continue pushing for some level of accountability to be attached to the public policy school’s diversity initiatives and for its hiring process to be more transparent. However, students pointed out that their concerns transcended building a more diverse faculty. “This issue is about: How are we creating an educated public policy force?” Ford said. “Who’s going to go forward and address these issues if they’re not being educated by diverse faculty members? And how can we expect that they’re going to go into public policy spaces with diverse perspectives?”
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“This is the moment, this is the movement” At a campus rally, Mckayla Wilkes made her pitch to students to help her unseat Rep. Steny Hoyer in 2020 Eric Neugeboren | @eric_neugeboren | Staff writer Mckayla Wilkes has seen firsthand the pitfalls of the criminal justice system. Throughout her childhood, Wilkes — now a candidate for Maryland’s 5th Congressional District — skipped school often,
Wilkes was also arrested twice in the last six years for driving with a suspended license. In 2014, in the middle of a high-risk pregnancy, she was jailed for a day and put into a system where she could only leave
Mckayla wilkes, who’s running to represent Maryland’s 5th congressional district, speaks at a rally at Stamp Student Union on Sunday.
among other progressive is the moment, this is the with the campaign since its policies. “ T h e f i g h t f o r ra c i a l justice, economic justice, environmental justice — they all have to go together, o r we w i l l go n owh e re ,” said community volunteer and College Park resident R a c h e l G re go ry. “ G o i n g nowhere means more and more climate refugees, more and more racial disparities, economic disparities, more and more injustice in the Students and other supporters, clap as Wilkes is introduced at the rally. susannah outhier/the diamondback world.” Wilkes has enlisted the movement. It’s possible, inception early last year. help of students from this and so I’m putting as much “He has an atrocious record university for her grassroots as I can into it.” on pretty much everything.” campaign. The campaign S e ve ra l o f t h e ra l l y ’s As of last August, a third has prioritized canvassing, a t te n d e e s vo i c e d t h e i r of Wilkes’ staff was made and at Sunday’s rally, almost displeasure with some of up of students from this half of the attendees raised Hoyer’s decisions, including university — the most of their hands when a speaker his investment in the fossil any candidate in the race. asked if they’d knocked fuel industry and opposition Though she’s up against an A volunteer holds a Mckayla Wilkes sign while at the candidate’s rally. susannah outhier/the diamondback doors for Wilkes before. to the Green New Deal. establishment candidate, “The biggest obstacle to “I was drawn to Mckayla she said she’s been thrilled admitting she “was going her cell for one hour a day. people came out to support her winning is not enough b e c a u s e I d e te s t S te n y with the progress of her down the wrong path in But it was through spending W i l ke s a t a ra l ly i n t h e people know about her yet,” H o y e r ,” s a i d s e n i o r campaign — she’s garnered l i fe .” At o n e p o i n t , s h e two days in prison in 2018 University of Maryland’s 35,000 Twitter followers was put into a group home that she knew she needed to S t a m p S t u d e n t U n i o n , and received endorsements after serving 90 days in a pursue a career in politics. pushing her progressive from 10 political groups. juvenile detention facility “It was at that moment agenda and helping voters “ I t’s d e f i n i te ly for skipping school. that really opened up my register for the April 28 empowering. It’s moving. election. A n d i t’s j u s t a m a z i n g ,” Wilkes — who is Wilkes said. “It really shows attempting to unseat m e t h a t re g u l a r p e o p l e longtime District 5 want change because it’s representative and House so much bigger than just 如需买房、卖房,请联系我们。 这里•将竭诚为您提供专业的中英文服务。 M a j o r i t y L e a d e r S te n y this campaign. We started If you or your friends want to buy or sell a house, townhouse, or condo, please call us. Equal housing opportunity. Hoyer — says her policies a movement.” align with those of Sen. A n d e ve n t h o u g h s h e Mindy Wu, Realtor, Richard Cantwell, Broker, Cell: 301-661-5387 Cell: 410-790-5099 gregory dances and sings “I believe that we will win” after the rally. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Aaron knows she may not win the realtormindywu@gmail.com rich4realty@msn.com susannah outhier/the diamondback Congresswoman Alexandria election, Wilkes believes Town Center Realty & Associates, Inc. Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). She said Gregory, who said she e n v i ro n m e n t a l s c i e n c e she has a career in politics supports Medicare for All knocked on her 2,000th a n d p o l i cy m a j o r B l a ke — something she would not and the Green New Deal, door this weekend. “This Munshell, who has helped havenewsumdbk@gmail.com even considered a few
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eyes,” Wilkes said. “Every s i n g l e wo m a n t h a t wa s there was there because they couldn’t afford to get out … These are systemic issues that need systemic solutions.” O n S u n d a y, a b o u t 3 5
susannah outhier/the diamondback
monday, march 2, 2020
diversions | 9
Diversions UPCOMING EVENTS
ONE-SENTENCE REVIEW 9:30 Club
Diversions editor Daisy Grant on leap year:
“2020 is already feeling like the longest year I’ve had in a while, like maybe in four years. Also, I stole this joke.” HHH✩✩
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comparing campaign merch Which Democratic candidates has the best branded merchandise? By Manuela Lopez Restrepo | @mamueca | Staff writer Bernie sanders at a rally in Springfield, Virginia, on Feb. 29, 2020. eric harkleroad/the diamondback
T
here’s a lot of ways to engage in political efficacy. You can canvass door to door, phone bank or register voters — but is any of that truly as important as wearing your preferred candidate’s merch out into the world like some sort of human-bumper-sticker-virtue-signal? After a lot of people freaked out over the Bernie Sanders/ The Strokes logo designed for his New Hampshire rally earlier this year, I wondered: are any other presidential candidates addressing the real issues? And by the real issues I mean, which hat/shirt combo will make me look the coolest while I run errands?
Right off the bat, I had high expectations for Joe. Before he started malfunctioning publicly (and frequently), he was known and loved as the ice cream-eating uncle of America and, more importantly, Obama’s sidekick. I assumed he’d have a team of people ready to pounce on the opportunity to market his fun-loving and incredibly erratic personality. But his normal campaign shirt is … boring. It sort of evokes the imagery from Barack’s iconic “Hope” campaign, but I also didn’t immediately realize that the shirt doesn’t just say “Jo,” which would honestly be a cute change for him. Then, I found this.
Mike Bloomberg
Amy klobuchar What can I say about Amy? She’s a spirited woman with an alleged penchant for throwing office goods. She is also throwing in the towel with her underwhelming gear. Ms. K has chosen an interesting earth-toned palette of greens, grays and blues, despite the fact that she views the Green New Deal as just “aspirational.”
Mike’s merchandise is both fresh and confusing, much like his campaign. It is also by far the most “online.” Plastered in catchy zingers and minimalist designs, his stuff mainly focuses on climate change and things that rhyme with “Mike,” which makes me wonder if he’s getting his money’s worth with that comedian he hired. He also came out with a “Not A Socialist Hat” that both pissed a bunch Yes, I understand the drive to beat Trump. But Jojo does of people off and sold out. not have a ton of designs available in his store. Why would you dedicate space and energy to an outdated diss that is also just not very good?
Elizabeth Warren
She also seems to be heavily capitalizing on her Midwestern kitsch with a towel “embroidered” with the recipe for something called “Hotdish.” Ultimately, her selection is lacking and I feel like she could be doing more. And, unfortunately, madam … I do not agree with your mugs.
Liz’s online store hits her demographic on the head. It’s giving me very strong Redbubble, bullet journal, Pinterest board vibes — she’s got inspirational quotes printed on every item possible and a seafoam green motif. Like, look at this. It looks like it belongs on Tumblr circa 2015.
There’s definitely a lot of merch options out there, but as for me ... I just checked the confirmation email for my Bernie shirt, and it’s still on pre-order.
diversionsdbk@gmail.com And, in what I think is an appeal to the Latinx vote (which she hasn’t done too hot with), she printed many of her main shirts in Spanish as well, but it all feels a little overwhelming. Narrow the product range, amiga.
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10 | sports
monday, March 2, 2020
men’s lacrosse
Break allows Terps to recuperate After Navy game was postponed, the time off let players rest up and recover from both injury and illness by
For the past two weeks, the scene in t h e M a r yland men’s lacrosse team’s locker room resembled an infirmary, its patients ambling around with a variety of ailments and injuries that threatened to dissolve the continuity coach John Tillman strived to establish early in the season. And during those two weeks, Tillman’s squad languished, the disconnect between each other growing ever apparent as the Terps squeezed past Richmond and Penn. Eventually, Maryland’s struggles came to the surface in a 13-12 loss to Villanova on Feb. 18 — a game in which the Terps never led against a winless Wildcats squad. An unexpected 10-day break followed, the consequence of a norovirus outbreak that caused Navy to postpone its Feb. 22 matchup with the Terps hours before it was set to begin. The lengthy hiatus gave Maryland a chance to recover from its host of maladies and rekindle some of the partnerships between teammates that looked so promising in its first game against High Point. And on Saturday against No. 5 Notre Dame, the Terps looked revitalized. Gone were the turnovers that plagued Maryland’s comeback efforts against the Wildcats. In its stead, a well-balanced attack and midfield stood to complement one another, backed by
David Suggs @ David_Suggs3 Senior staff writer
a stingy defensive unit that recorded 16 takeaways. Given the quality of their opponent, it was perhaps the Terps’ most complete performance of the season, a game that reiterated Maryland’s status as a contender. The Terps lend much of their display to that 10-day lull, where players returned from spells away from the team and reintegrated themselves into Tillman’s gameplan. “I think that really played into our favor,” attackman Logan Wisnauskas said. “Getting guys healthy, getting guys off some sickness, I really think it helped us — got us fresh, got us rejuvenated.” For many programs across the country, the winter months are brutal to team health. Practices and games are typically held outside, exposing players to frigid conditions. Meanwhile, the close-knit natures of teams also pose a threat — if one player catches a bug, it’s possible a wave of his teammates will follow suit, Tillman said. Maryland was no exception, with multiple players forced away due to the flu. “We just didn’t know who was going to be able to practice,” Tillman said. “We had some injuries, but it was like guys were sick on and off. … It crushed our guys.” As the Terps struggled to field practice squads for weekdays, their performances faltered on weekends. However, with a 10-day
midfielder Roman puglise scooped three ground balls in Maryland men’s lacrosse’s 14-9 win over Notre Dame on Saturday. The Terps used their 10-day break to run past the Fighting Irish, courtesy of five goals from attackman Logan Wisnauskas and another two each from Jared Bernhardt and Kyle Long. julia nikhinson/the diamondback break in hand, Maryland finally had an opportunity to slow down and give players an opportunity to come back at their own pace. And as the Terps resolved their health woes, a new sensation took shape: anticipation. “I think it made us a little hungry,” defender Nick Grill said. “We wanted to go out … to really just prove that we were getting better in those 10 days and that we didn’t just take a week off — we were ready to play against a topfive team.” Maryland’s frenzied firstquarter display showed the hallmarks of a team slowly building its strength and chemistry back up. Attackman
Jared Bernhardt thumped two shots beyond goalkeeper Liam Entenmann’s stretch in just over a minute, billowing his attacking unit with confidence while providing the rest of the squad with a platform to grow into the game. The Terps’ starts had been a point of emphasis in the 10 days prior. Tillman hoped to see a reversal away from the poor first-quarter showings that were so prevalent in Maryland’s first four games. “ C o a c h T i l l m a n wa s emphasizing the first five minutes,” Grill said. “Understanding that if we win those, it would give us a good start.” It was yet another example of just how pivotal Maryland’s
period away was — players flew around the field with an energy and ferocity that had been lacking in previous matches. Moreover, Tillman’s squad began to show inklings of its ceiling, a benchmark by which Maryland will measure itself as it inches toward conference play. So far, the Terps’ campaign has been defined by flux — newcomers trying to get themselves up to speed with Maryland’s gameplan. Illness certainly didn’t help foster that sense of continuity that Tillman and his staff so desperately craved. Back to health, Tillman’s squad is rapidly nearing its best. The Terps’ playing better
has coincided with a change in energy throughout the roster. “The effort, the energy today was terrific,” Tillman said. “It had been a long 10 days and [I’m] … really proud of how those guys handled the 10 days. It’s tough to go that long and not get stale and stagnant.” Once, Maryland’s locker room resembled an infirmary. Now, it’s a habitat for growth and prosperity, a 10-day period away from play giving the Terps a chance to reclaim its place among the best teams in the country. And for that, they are grateful.
MARCH 9 K C A B D N O M A I D E TH E U S S I T N I R P FINAL
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Sports | 11
Terps swept by Coastal Carolina Maryland stuck with the Chanticleers on Sunday, but an eighth-inning RBI single proved to be the difference Maryland baseball Alexander Dacy right-hander @alexanderdacy Connor Staine Staff writer found himself in a jam. In a tie game in the eighth inning, Coastal Carolina had put two runners on with two outs for Cooper Weiss, who entered the at-bat hitting .500 with runners in scoring position. Coach Rob Vaughn trusted his freshman, who worked Weiss to a 2-2 count. But the Chanticleers’ third baseman won the battle, sending a single through the middle to give Coastal Carolina a one-run lead. That was the differencemaker Sunday in Conway,South Carolina, as the Chanticleers completed a weekend sweep with a 3-2 win over the Terps. Much like Saturday, Coastal Carolina (7-3) jumped out to an early lead. After right-hander Nick Parker struck out Maryland’s first three batters, shortstop Scott McKeon led off the bottom of the first with a solo home run to left field. But Terps’ right-hander Sean Burke didn’t let the early mistake get to him, as he struck out the next three Chanticleers to close by
the frame. “I threw him a middle-middle fastball in a fastball count that couldn’t have been a better pitch for him to hit out,” Burke said. “So it was just shaking that and getting back to the pitch plan, just taking it one pitch at a time.” “It’s a really easy time to say, ‘Here we go again,’ and have a tough game and let things snowball,” Vaughn said. “Burke did the exact opposite of that.” And after a clean second inning, Maryland’s offense gave the redshirt freshman some run support. The Terps (6-4) put runners on the corners, and with one out, center fielder Chris Alleyne poked an RBI single through the right side to tie the game at one. Two batters later, right fielder Randy Bednar stepped to the plate with two outs and two runners in scoring position. The right fielder — Maryland’s RBI leader — had a chance to put the Terps in front for the first time all weekend. But Parker struck him out and kept the game even. Neither team could break through in the next two innings, though Coastal Carolina came close in the fifth. Makenzie Pate
worked a two-out walk and advanced to third on a stolen base and throwing error by Maryland catcher Tavan Shahidi. That set up McKeon, who took Burke deep in the first frame. But Burke struck out the shortstop to end the threat, and the Terps’ offense came alive in the sixth. Maryland put runners on the corners with no outs for Bednar, who had a chance to avenge his strikeout in the third. The junior did just that, singling up the middle to give the Terps their first lead of the weekend and knocking Parker out of the game. “I try to not think about past at-bats at all,” Bednar said. “So when I’m able to do that, I just focus in the moment and take care of the things I’m supposed to be doing.”’ In five-plus innings, the sophomore right-hander allowed two runs — only one of which was earned — and five hits while striking out seven and walking one. Right-hander Shaddon Peavyhouse entered for the Chanticleers and calmed Maryland’s bats. With runners on the
right-hander sean burke gave up two earned runs and three hits over six innings while striking out eight on Sunday. gabby baniqued/the diamondback corners and no outs, he struck out designated hitter Maxwell Costes on a full count and got Shahidi to ground into an inning-ending double play. The Terps held a narrow lead, but Coastal Carolina clawed right back. Burke walked right fielder Nick Lucky to lead off the bottom of the sixth, and Lucky advanced to third on a stolen base and a wild pitch. With one out, first baseman Fox Leum poked a single to right field, plating Lucky and tying the game. Burke got the next two hitters
out, ending his day after 103 pitches. In six strong innings, the right-hander allowed two earned runs and three hits while striking out eight and walking three. “I liked how much belief he had in his fastball today,” Vaughn said. “He did a really good job of keeping a simple pitch plan and executing that, and he did everything he needed to do to give us a chance to win today.” Peavyhouse kept Maryland off the scoreboard in the seventh and eighth innings, and Staine was cruising for the Terps until there were two outs in the
eighth. Leum singled and Eric Brown worked a full count walk, setting up Weiss. The third baseman came through, drilling a single up the middle to put the Chanticleers back in front by one. Coastal Carolina would hold on to that lead for good, as closer Chase Antle got first baseman Michael Pineiro to ground into a game-ending double play. It was the dagger in a poor offensive weekend for the Terps, who scored five runs in three games and punctuated the series with 12 strikeouts in Sunday’s game. sportsdbk@gmail.com
Despite Terps’ loss, McSally makes her case in net Goalkeeper Maddie McSally saved 13 of the 23 on-target shots she faced in Maryland’s 10-5 loss to Syracuse by
Goalkeep-
Jacob Richman er Maddie @JacobHRichman McSally Staff writer smiled while recalling her performance for Maryland women’s lacrosse against No. 4 Syracuse on Saturday. She praised her teammates, and how a young defensive unit took big steps despite their defeat. Then, the sophomore turned to her own play. “Honestly, I just said I was a badass,” McSally said with a laugh. McSally wasn’t the only one who believed her 13-save performance against one of the best scoring offenses in the country was remarkable. “McSally being a badass? Did she say that? That makes me so happy,” captain Meghan Doherty said postgame. “She was on fire. She was a total badass.” As the Terps (1-3) dropped their third game in a row, McSally still made her case to become the No. 1 goalie for Maryland during its title-defending season with a stellar performance.
depth From p. 12 Other than those departures, the surrounding pieces have remained intact and clear of injuries. Instead of being one of the deepest teams he’s ever coached — as he said just before the season began — Turgeon has been left searching for answers. This has resulted in a shuffle between Serrel Smith and Hart for playing time at guard. His search has turned up a rotation of three big men in Ricky Lindo, Chol Marial and Joshua Tomaic to give minutes when Smith needs
watts From p. 12 In the College Park rematch, however, Watts had his say. On top of 13 points — including three triples — he remained glued to Cowan’s hip,
Time in goal had been split through three games between McSally and freshman Emily Sterling — who appeared in the first three games, including a start against No. 1 North Carolina. Although McSally has a year of experience over Sterling, coach Cathy Reese said she sees a lot of potential in the freshman. “You’re kind of waiting for something to step forward and clear it up,” coach Cathy Reese said last week of the battle for the top spot in net. Reese said she’d planned to start Sterling against the Orange, too. But when gametime came, it was McSally between the pipes, and she made the most of it. “It’s just exciting to get out there and have the opportunity to play with my defense in front of me,” McSally said. “We have a lot of fun out there.” McSally was clinical in goal, particularly against free position shots. All of Syracuse’s free positions were on target, yet McSally saved four of the six attempts.
The Terps came back from a 4-0 deficit at halftime to bring the score to 5-4, down by a single goal for the first time since the 22-minute mark in the first half. However, midway through the second half, Maryland conceded a free position shot to Meaghan Tyrrell, who had already scored for the Orange. McSally was one-on-one with Tyrrell as she charged toward goal, but the keeper remained unphased, tracking the shot to the bottom-right corner of the net and making a big save down the stretch for the Terps. “A lot of the time I get in my head, so I just want to see the ball, save the ball,” McSally said. “That’s all I can do.” A career-high save total from McSally wasn’t enough to overcome the slow offensive play from Maryland against Syracuse’s physical defense. The Orange scored four straight goals to seal the match 10-5, with the nation’s leading goalscorer Emily Hawryschuk leading the way. In the three-game skid for
a rest. On Saturday, Hart scored five points and earned playing time late in the game, an indicator of how much Turgeon valued his play. Lindo, meanwhile, played eight minutes and hit a 3-pointer, grabbed four rebounds and nabbed a steal. “I’d like to be a little bit deeper team. I keep saying that,” Turgeon said. “Hakim Hart gave us good minutes tonight, he’s feeling a little bit more comfortable, [and] made a three, which is good. And Ricky Lindo’s minutes were terrific.” So often, it’s easy to get caught up in the matchup
between the superstars, especially when four of the Big Ten’s best players are split two per side. That was the scenario heading into Saturday night’s tilt. But as those two duos essentially broke even in scoring, Michigan State’s role players came to the forefront, and Maryland’s failed to match them. “Their two superstars are really good players, you know, Cowan and Smith,” Spartans coach Tom Izzo said. “Some of their other guys missed some shots that I think they normally hit.”
hyped up over the possibility of facing one of the best guards in the Big Ten a second time and finding a remedy for his mistakes in the first. “He always loves big matchups; he’s a bigtime player,” Tillman said.
the Terps, Saturday’s performance was arguably the best defensively, between the play of McSally and a much-improved defensive unit spearheaded by Doherty. “We saw glimpses of being awesome,” McSally said. “We definitely have it in us. We just gotta work on that confidence piece.”
Holding a top-10 scoring offense to four goals in one half along with causing 14 turnovers was a significant improvement from a defense that had just conceded 19 goals to North Carolina. And it was McSally who played a large part in that improvement, turning aside 13 of the 23 shots on target she
faced. While it wasn’t enough to spurn a losing streak, it’s the type of play the Terps need to get their season back on track. “We need to step up,” Reese said. “With a team that’s got a lot of new people that hasn’t had much game experience, we need them to step up quickly.” sportsdbk@gmail.com
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12 | sports
monday, MARCH 2, 2020
THIS WEEK’S GAMES
TWEET OF THE WEEK “I haven’t played baseball since 8th grade but I’m signing up for a league. This is the most retired I’ve felt ” @TorreySmithWR, former Maryland football wideout Torrey Smith
Feb. 29
Softball
Maryland Wisconsin
5 4
Baseball
Coastal Carolina Maryland
March 1
3 2
Softball
March 1
17 Arizona State
Maryland
16 2
women’s basketball
Big ten’s best For the fifth time in six seasons, Maryland wins conference regular-season title By Gus Martin | @gusmartin321 | Staff writer
maryland women’s basketball demolished Minnesota, 99-44, for its 14th straight win Sunday, paving the way to a share of the Big Ten regular-season title while earning the No. 1 seed in the upcoming conference tournament.
E
ach time guard Taylor Mikesell set herself in No. 7 Maryland women’s basketball’s game at Minnesota, she didn’t hesitate to let it fly once the ball hit her hands. The sophomore was in the zone, hitting 6-of-8 from behind the arc en route to 22 points. Her shot looked as confident as it has all season, and she unleashed attempts without hesitation, rapidly growing her team’s lead. With Mikesell’s red-hot shooting and strong team defense — generating a seasonhigh 24 steals, — Maryland eviscerated Minnesota, 99-44, earning its 14th consecutive win, a share of the Big Ten regularseason title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. The demolition served as the team’s most lopsided Big Ten win ever, and it secured the Terps’ fifth regular-season title in six campaigns. “To have two early losses at the beginning of conference play
and to go out and put your head down and be resilient then get better, it starts with the seniors and the accountability they took,” coach Brenda Frese said. “We really do feel like we’ve been battle-tested and we’re obviously looking forward to the next moment for us in the Big Ten tournament.” With forward Shakira Austin removed from the starting lineup for the second straight game, Maryland once again struggled on defense early. Minnesota made its first three shots to jump out to a 6-1 lead in the game’s opening minutes. The Terps didn’t provide much resistance and let their opponent penetrate easily while not getting the shots they wanted on the other end. Guard Ashley Owusu, who started her first game since Jan. 6 and replaced Austin, broke the ice with a free throw and then swished an open triple, her first in over four games. That long-
range rhythm spread to the rest of her teammates and Maryland (25-4, 16-2 Big Ten) quickly generated a large lead. The Terps couldn’t miss and went on a 29-7 run to end the frame. Mikesell caught fire from behind the arc, hitting three 3-pointers in a row. Her longrange proficiency then opened up the lane for forward Stephanie Jones, who added seven points and made all three of her shots in the period. Maryland’s defense also returned to form. Frese called for various looks that confused the Golden Gophers, constantly switching from man to zone to press, almost never giving the opposition a clean look. “Coming from past years, we had different defenses but nothing stopped defenders or [held] them to lower points than this one,” forward Kaila Charles said. “We just did a great job of buying into it, especially the seniors. We had to, like, unlearn
everything in the last three years … I’m glad we changed it because it’s really effective.” Although the Terps weren’t getting clean looks in the second quarter, their defense continued to shine. Before Minnesota hit a pair of free throws near the midway point of the period, Maryland held its opponent scoreless for over eight minutes stemming from the previous quarter with suffocating rotations and aggression. Both teams found offense in the quarter’s final couple minutes, and the Terps owned a 26-point lead going into the break after holding the home team to just 28.6 percent shooting. Although the Golden Gophers played their best offensive quarter of the contest in the third, scoring 20 points on 50 percent shooting, the Terps came out of the break and shot lights out. Maryland scored 38 in the
frame and hit 76.5 percent of its attempts. Mikesell was once again the catalyst, nailing three more triples — all of which hit nothing but net. The Terps’ defense let up some easy scores, but they stayed aggressive. They earned 10 steals in the period and played with full energy, getting to the line 11 times as a result. “The fun part for me is [this is] by far just a special team defensively,” Frese said. “This is the first team that really gets a ton of shot clock violations. It’s never happened in my time here. So it’s been fun to be able to see just the buy-in and we changed some things defensively this year that were pretty drastic and just how much they feed off of it and the energy that they play with.” A 44-point advantage heading into the fourth secured the game for Maryland. And the Terps held Minnesota scoreless for the frame’s first five and a half minutes, even with their reserves
photo courtesy of nur b. adam/minnesota daily
playing the majority of the time. One triple and last-second free throws would be all the Golden Gophers could notch in the frame, going just 1-of-14 from the field. Mikesell finished one point and one triple shy of career highs, but Maryland finished its regular season with a 25-4 record, securing a shared Big Ten regular-season title with Northwestern and a No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. “I thought, again, just [happy with] the resiliency of coming back from the Iowa loss when we were on the road to developing that win streak,” Frese said. “When you look at how we’re playing, just wanting to be great in every area. Our defense, our rebounding, our transition, our assists, really being as great as we can going into March now for whatever someone is going to throw at us.” sportsdbk@gmail.com
men’s basketball
In rematch, Rocket Watts displays defensive prowess
Spartans’ complimentary pieces lead them to victory
Watts made Anthony Cowan work, redeeming himself after Cowan’s late-game heroics last time
Malik Hall, others proved to be X-factors in win
Rocket Watts didn’t Andy Kostka say it aloud in @afkostka the buildup Senior staff writer to a rematch with Maryland men’s basketball, but his Michigan State teammates noticed it from the way he played Saturday night at Xfinity Center. They could see the extra fire within the freshman guard, charged with defending Anthony Cowan for the second time this month. They could see that Cowan’s late-game success at the Breslin Center on Feb. 15 — where he scored the final 11 points to lead a comeback win — hadn’t been forgotten. “You could tell by his performance that it was probably on his mind,” forward Xavier Tillman said. Watts didn’t hold the task of guarding Cowan completely to himself, but in his second matchup with the No. 9 Terps’ senior stalwart in the last few weeks, he displayed how bright a future he has. The Detroit native played a large part in pestering Cowan throughout with a lockdown defensive effort and a few big-time shots to silence the Xfinity Center crowd — similar to the way Cowan had siby
lenced Watts’ home court earlier this season at Watts’ expense. “Rocket did an unbelievable job on what I think is one of the great players in our league,” Spartans coach Tom Izzo said. “Cowan, he’s a hell of a player.” When at the Breslin Center two weeks ago, Watts was ready to lock in defensively for the final three or so minutes. He had already played Cowan tough to that point, holding the guard without a field goal for about 33 minutes. He was so locked in that he slapped the floor with both palms as Cowan dribbled down the floor, Maryland trailing by seven and in need of another eye-opening comeback. Once his hands hit the court, though, the Terps went on to score the final 14 points of the contest, dooming Michigan State to a 67-60 defeat. Watts didn’t slap the floor Saturday night. His play did the talking. When Cowan drove the lane with five seconds remaining before halftime, Watts kept his feet moving, arms raised, backpedaling toward the rim. And when the referees blew their
whistles, it was for Cowan’s travel — one of his four turnovers. It was those moments Watts had envisioned ahead of Saturday’s contest, chances to redeem himself after Cowan left him throwing his hands up in frustration toward the end of the Feb. 15 game as 3-pointer after 3-pointer fell home. “He had been talking about that all week,” guard Cassius Winston said. “[Cowan] got him at Michigan State, and these last couple games he took that really to heart and coming into this game he really said he was locked in, really said he wanted to burn him the entire time.” Cowan still ended up with 13 points, but it came on 6-for-15 shooting. It was Watts — as well as forward Aaron Henry, a taller defender to offer a different look — who helped keep him so off-balance. Cowan’s been shaky at times throughout the past three games, not hitting a 3-pointer since the first half against Northwestern on Feb. 18 and going cold since breaking out late against the Spartans and Watts in East Lansing. See watts, p. 11
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points with tonight.” 10 points, but the Terps Eric Myers Both teams’ respective didn’t get the complemen@EricMyers531 15 minutes to Senior staff writer play, Mary- top duos left their mark on tary scoring production they
land men’s basketball tried to start the early makings of a comeback when guard Hakim Hart caught a pass in the corner and confidently sank a 3-pointer. The Terps looked to have a defensive stop on the ensuing possession, but Michigan State forward Xavier Tillman corralled an offensive rebound and kicked a pass out to forward Malik Hall, who didn’t waste any time launching an attempt of his own from beyond the arc. His shot hit the front of the rim, bounced up to the backboard and fell through the hoop, causing coach Mark Turgeon to shrug in frustration. In a matchup of two of the Big Ten’s best insideout tandems — Maryland’s Anthony Cowan and Jalen Smith, and the Spartans’ Cassius Winston and Tillman — Hall and other Michigan State role players outplayed the Terps’ supporting cast to lead the Spartans to a 78-66 victory. “We’ve got to be a deeper team if we’re going to beat a team like that,” Turgeon
the game. Cowan scored 13 points, and Smith led the Terps with 20. Winston carried the load for the Spartans with 20 points, and Tillman dropped 14. Combined, Maryland’s pair scored 33, just one point shy of Michigan State’s tandem. But those points from other sources proved to be the difference. Two Michigan State freshmen played leading roles in silencing the rowdy Xfinity Center crowd. Hall, who came into the game averaging 4.3 points this season, scored six points in the Spartans’ 14-2 opening stretch and finished with 16. Guard Rocket Watts played lockdown defense on Cowan and exceeded his 8.1 scoring average with 13 points. “They’ve been through a lot of wars, been through a lot of battles, you know, been through a lot of ups-anddowns that’s part of being a freshman,” Winston said. “But we put a lot of faith into those guys, put a lot of confidence into those guys to make those plays.” Maryland freshman Donta Scott turned in a double-
needed from their sophomore wing players — crucial components to the offensive operation. Guard Eric Ayala finished the night with three points on 0-for-4 shooting in 21 minutes, and Maryland was outscored by 27 points when he was on the floor. Down the stretch, Ayala sat on the bench as Hart, a freshman seldom used until recently, stayed on the floor. Fellow guard Aaron Wiggins, the team’s third-highest scorer at 10.4 points per outing, also struggled. The sophomore finished with four points on 1-for-7 shooting, including 0-for-4 from beyond the arc. “Eric never felt comfortable, never got in rhythm, and [Wiggins] just couldn’t get it going,” Turgeon said. Before the season, some heralded Maryland’s depth as one of the major strengths of this year’s team. That depth took a slight hit when Makhel and Makhi Mitchell left the team in late December, but they didn’t provide much scoring during their time in College Park. See depth, p. 11