The Diamondback, March 11, 2019

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Monday, March 11, 2019

administration

community

UMD has enacted 30 recs from FB reports They offered guidance after Jordan McNair’s death A co m m i t tee ta s ke d with implementing recommendations from two investigations into the University of Maryland’s football program said it’s almost reached that goal.

After offensive lineman Jordan McNair suffered fatal heatstroke at a May team workout, one investigation looked into the circumstances surrounding his death, while the other scrutinized the school’s football culture. At its first meeting Wednesday, the committee said it has accomplished 18 of 20 pieces of guidance from the first report and 12 of 21 from the latter.

In the coming months, the six-member committee of higher education and athletics professionals — chaired by former system Chancellor William “Brit” Kirwan — will examine the rest of the recommendations: establishing an athletic medical review board and a model for supervising athletic trainers and therapists in line with best practices.

But it’s not just about putting the recommendations into place.

“We’re looking to learn further and make sure nothing like this ever happens again,” said athletic director Damon Evans.

The two separate reports found university athletic trainers failed to recognize and properly treat McNair’s symptoms in time, and the football program had fostered an abusive culture, largely due to a lack of organizational structure and oversight.

Among the steps the university has taken are making cold water immersion tubs available at every practice, updating emergency action plans and having “trauma bags” — medical kits packed with thermometers, oxygen masks, tanks and other supplies — immediately on hand, said David Klossner, the university’s director of sports performance.

Evans said members of an athletic medical review board — consisting of surgeons, psychiatrists and doctors from other disciplines — would be announced in the coming weeks.

That board, which will convene in the next few months, will aim to examine student health from a medical perspective.

Rod Walters, the sports medicine consultant who led the first investigation into the by

Arya Hodjat @arya_kidding_me Staff writer

Many CAMPUS BATHROOMS have been made accessible for community members with disabilities, but nearly 100 buildings still need restroom renovations. jillian atelsek/for the diamondback

‘A basic necessity’ Some of UMD’s bathrooms are not accessible enough for students and faculty with disabilities

By Victoria Ebner | @victoria_ebner | Staff writer

W

herever Marieh Arnett goes on the University of Maryland’s campus, she knows that a trip to the bathroom will take as much as 20 minutes.

“If I have class, I’m like, ‘I’m gonna be 20 minutes late,’” Arnett laughed. “I was once even late for an exam.”

The senior psychology and statistics major, who has spinal muscular atrophy and uses a wheelchair, said there are a variety of problems that make her trips to the bathroom inconvenient.

Among the issues Arnett encounters are soap dispensers that are out of reach, heavy doors that are nearly impossible for her to open without a button and “handicapped” stalls that don’t fit her wheelchair.

Arnett, and other university community members with physical disabilities, said they’ve faced problems with the current levels of accessibility that make everyday tasks, like taking a trip to the bathroom, a struggle. Numerous bathrooms at this university aren’t fully accessible, and some of the ones that meet the university’s accessibility standard still present obstacles for students with disabilities.

“Going to the bathroom is a basic neces-

sity,” Arnett said. “You really shouldn’t have to put this much thought in it.”

The university first formally tackled accessibility issues in its 2000 Accessibility and Disability Transition Plan, a document dedicated to outlining a plan for ongoing accessibility projects. The plan was updated in 2010 and 2013, and since the latter year, the university has completed $1.92 million in restroom reconstruction, according to its 2016 report.

“We work to maintain, upgrade, and plan facility spaces that accommodate the various needs of our community,” a

still need some sort of renovation, such as door replacements, widened doorways and automatic door buttons.

Some of the buildings on the list of those awaiting bathroom upgrades are prominent locations such as the Health Center, the Main Administration Building and McKeldin Library.

The Americans with Disabilities Act does not require all of these buildings to be accessible.

The university’s transition plan cites Title II, Section 35.150 of the ADA, which stipulates that a public entity “when viewed in its entirety” must be “readily accessible to and usable by” those with disabilities — but the entity doesn’t need to “make each of its existing facilities accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.”

“Going to the bathroom is a basic necessity. You really shouldn’t have to put this much thought in it.”

- SENIOR PSYCHOLOGY AND STATISTICS STUDENT MARIEH ARNETT

university spokesperson wrote on Facilities Management’s behalf.

But the 2016 report also listed nearly 100 buildings — including residence and dining halls as well as fraternity houses — with restrooms that aren’t accessible and

See recommendations, p. 2

Rather, the ADA mandates that the university have a transition plan to ensure that it’s on track to remove physical barriers to accessibility.

In a statement, a spokesperson said the university has “corrected many physical

See BATHROOMs, p. 3

DIVERSITY

Final VPDI candidates make their case for the position Georgina Dodge is currently the chief diversity officer at Bucknell by

Georgina

“What happens to the

Angela Roberts Dodge told least of us, happens to all @24_angier members of of us,” Dodge told a crowd Senior staff writer the Univer- of about 50 people in McKsity of Maryland community Tuesday that she’s a “firm believer in the concept of linked fates.”

To illustrate this concept, Dodge, one of four finalists for the newly created diversity and inclusion vice president position, brought up the practice of using a canary in a coal mine to signal impending danger.

eldin Library. “We need to be cognizant of that metaphor without sacrificing the canary.”

The forum, which had mostly faculty attendees, served as a chance for participants to learn about Dodge’s background and plans for encouraging diversity and inclusion at this university if she is hired to fill the position.

Dodge, who now serves as chief diversity officer at Bucknell University, welcomed the opportunity to visit this university and address the faculty and staff — but she emphasized that she didn’t come to the campus “begging and seeking for a job.”

Through conversations with the committee, Dodge said she learned that there are challenges at this university that need to be confronted.

“I think it’s important that this is a good match for both of us,” she said. “There

calendar 2 OPINION 4 FEATURES 5 city 6 diversions 8 SPORTS 12

See dodge, p. 8

Cynthia Edmunds took over as UMD’s interim CDO last year As an undergraduate student struggling to find her niche at Notre Dame of Maryland University, Cynthia Edmunds immersed herself in her surroundings, eventually landing a job in the school’s president’s office.

Now, as the interim chief diversity officer and one of the candidates for the University of Maryland’s newly created diversity and incluby

Sarah D’Souza @thedbk Staff writer

sion vice president, Edmunds said she’s “come full circle.”

Edmunds, the fourth finalist for the position to present to the campus community over the past two weeks, told a group of about 45 people in McKeldin Library on Thursday that she’d be the best person for the role because of her ability to lead with vulnerability, make bold decisions and take control in crisis situations.

“What got me here is daring greatly and taking the

Submit tips and corrections to The Diamondback at newsumdbk@gmail.

road less traveled, and learning to be really comfortable with my own sense of difference,” she said.

Edmunds told the audience, which consisted mostly of faculty, that she wants to launch a new framework for the future of diversity and inclusion at the university.

She stressed a need to re-examine and amend the Office of Diversity and Inclusion’s structure.

“This is not just a problem that ODI has to fix,” said Edmunds, who was hired as the university’s interim See edmunds, p. 8

The Diamondback is a publication of Maryland Media Inc.

2 | News

monday, march 11, 2019

COMMUNITY CALENDAR CRIME BLOTTER

By Leah Brennan | @allhaeleah | Senior staff writer University of Maryland Police responded to reports of burglary and a recovered stolen motor vehicle this week, according to daily crime logs.

BURGLARY On Tuesday after 11 p.m., University Police responded to a burglary on Lakeland Road.

An officer saw a man dragging a trash can with a blue tarp from the campus toward Route 1, police spokesperson Sgt. Rosanne Hoaas wrote in an email.

The officer lost track of the man, but found the trash can in a wooded area nearby. Other officers ordered the man to come out of the woods, and he complied. Police found “items of copper” in the can, Hoaas wrote.

After searching the area, police found trash can tire marks leading to storage containers

behind the Energy Research Facility, Hoaas wrote.

Officers arrested and charged Edward James Hoffman, 49, of Oxon Hill, with theft and second- and fourthdegree burglary, Hoaas wrote.

RECOVERED STOLEN MOTOR VEHICLE On Monday at about 5 p.m., University Police responded to a report of a stolen motor vehicle at the impound lot, located off Rossborough Lane.

A vehicle that had been reported stolen to DC Metro Police was towed from Lot 8 to the impound lot, Hoaas wrote.

The owner was notified and given information on how to retrieve their vehicle from the lot.

This case is closed.

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c i rc u m s t a n c e s re ga rd ing McNair’s death, said he would be advising that board.

“We just want to try and give as much feedback as possible,” Walters said. “The staff has been great so far as embracing those things.”

The university will also consider altering its athletic health care system to put it under the supervision of the University of Maryland Medical School in Baltimore.

Currently, university athletic trainers are under the purview of this university.

In August, The Washington Post reported that university President Wallace Loh rejected a similar proposal from Evans’ predecessor, Kevin Anderson, in 2017.

Evans said an advisory group would make its rec-

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ommendation on possible changes to athletic health care in the coming months, at which point the university will make its final decision.

Wa l te rs ’ re p o r t fo u n d t ra i n e rs d i d n ’t u se co l d water immersion — which has a 100 percent success ra t e a t t r e a t i n g h e a t stroke when administered promptly — after McNair fell ill because they feared he would drown. No immersion tanks were present on the scene, and the heatstroke treatment options on hand were “inadequate,” the report said.

Last month, defensive back Raymond Boone had low blood sugar during a workout and fell ill. Even though Boone didn’t have a heat-related illness, the staff’s “first instinct” was to put him in an ice bath, associate athletic director Colleen Sorem said.

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“That’s one we’ve really focused on,” associate athletic director Colleen Sorem said. “That’s something everyone has learned and has been trained on very well.”

Boone was hospitalized as a precaution and released the next day.

In August, the athletic department established Terps Feedback, an online portal where athletes could report their concerns anonymously, Evans said. No player has used the portal

yet, Evans said.

Among the recommendations from the second report discussed Wednesday was clarifying the reporting structure for the football team’s strength and conditioning coaches.

The investigation into the team’s culture found Evans and Sorem claimed thenstrength and conditioning coach Rick Court reported to then-coach DJ Durkin — but Durkin and Anderson claimed Court was under

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K l oss n e r ’s s u p e rv i s i o n , which Klossner denied. The report also detailed several instances of abuse from Court.

“Reporting lines between football and the Athletics Department were blurred a n d i n c o n s i s te n t ,” t h e report read. “Court was effectively accountable to no one, and the training staff went relatively unsupervised for extended periods.”

Court resigned in August, and Loh fired Durkin in October. All strength and conditioning coaches now report directly to Klossner, Evans said.

While members of the panel commended Evans

and the university in their implementation of Walters’ recommendations, Kirwan said the commission would be seeking documentation to back up their assertions.

Fo o t b a l l c o a c h M i k e Locksley told the committee that he welcomed the recommendations from the reports and would work to make sure they are adopted by the program.

“I knew I couldn’t take it lightly, due to the events of last season,” he said. “Every decision I’m go n n a m a ke , I ’m go n n a m a k e a s i f i t ’s m y o w n child.“ newsumdbk@gmail.com

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monDAY, march 11, 2019

news | 3

university senate

Senate recommends overhaul of course evals Legislators say the current system doesn’t offer meaningful feedback Eve ry se m e s te r, t h e Alexander Dacy University of @alexanderdacy Maryland asks Staff writer its students to evaluate their professors — but University Senate m e m b e rs re co m m e n d e d overhauling that system at a meeting Wednesday, calling it ineffective.

The current evaluation system, CourseEvalUM, has been in place since 2008. It asks students to rank their professor in a variety of factors and leave comments about how effective they are as an instructor. The university then uses that data in faculty performance reviews.

But Philip Evers, Course Evaluation Subcommittee chair, said the system fails to by

BATHROOMS From p. 1 obstacles” in recent years, and “all of our programs have been made accessible.”

“While the ADA does not require that all of our facilities be accessible, we know that there are physical enhancements that should be undertaken to enhance program compliance beyond the minimum requirements of the law,” the statement read.

But for many of the people on the campus who identify as having a physical disability, those changes haven’t been enough.

Joseph Williams, a project assistant in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, echoed the sentiment that inaccessible bathrooms can disrupt a disabled person’s day.

“The point of the restroom is to get in and out as fast as possible and get back to class,” Williams said.

“That’s not the case for disabled people.”

Williams, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, said his biggest issue is opening the bathroom door.

He has to “run into the door” with his chair to get it open.

“You definitely have to be willing to get creative,” Williams said.

These problems pervade the building that Williams works in, Marie Mount Hall, which doesn’t have an pushbutton system for bathroom doors. He struggles to get into

provide a holistic look at an instructor’s performance, measure what students have learned or offer meaningful feedback for professors.

Course evaluation improvements were first proposed in January 2017. Evers and the rest of the subcommittee were then tasked with recommending improvements to the feedback method.

Wednesday’s briefing suggested the evaluation questions be revamped so instructors receive more specific, actionable feedback. They suggested asking students whether assignment and grading expectations made sense, whether the course was intellectually stimulating and whether instructor feedback was high-quality and timely.

History professor Marsha Rozenblit, who serves on the senate as a tenured faculty member, applauded the recommendations but remains concerned about evaluations’ low response rate.

“I think most faculty feel that students who actually respond are students who either love you or hate you, and not the broad middle,” Rozenblit said. “The response rate is too low to be meaningful.”

Evers agreed, but said it was a difficult issue to deal with, since the subcommittee didn’t want to mandate that students complete the evaluations.

Harry Huntley, an undergraduate senator, supported the recommendations but was concerned students wouldn’t have enough information to say how they felt about their grade.

“It asks on there, ‘Do you

feel you deserve your grade?” and that’s something that a lot of students have brought up to me — that we do these before we get our final grades and even before we take our final exam,” said Huntley, a junior agricultural science and technology and economics major.

Faculty also raised concerns about comparing data between the old and new set of questions.

“Despite the flaws in the current system … one of the advantages — since we’ve done it for so many years — is that we know how to interpret the data, the numbers we get and the comments we get,” chemistry professor and former Senate Chairman Dan Falvey said. “Maybe a couple of the survey items that were used previously could be carried over, just so we can have a constant to compare.”

Evers said the committee

agreed with Falvey’s concern, but he believes changing the questions at any point would cause a slight break in the data, so it doesn’t dissuade him from wanting to do so now.

Additionally, the subcommittee found that some students responded to professors with racist, sexist or otherwise contemptuous remarks in the open-ended section of the evaluation.

Doug Roberts, a physics professor and undergraduate studies associate dean who also worked on the subcommittee, confirmed they were aware of biases and inappropriate comments on the surveys, and recommended that questions clarify language expectations for students.

“I think we can help reduce some of these comments if the questions are phrased, ‘What would you like to tell your in-

these bathrooms every day, interrupting his workflow.

“It causes you not to be as productive as you could,” he said. “I’m sure I could knock a few minutes off of my bathroom trip if I could just press the button and go.”

Williams added that, depending on the person, trying to get the door open alone could cause injury. In his case, the method of pushing against a door feet first in a wheelchair could cause a foot injury.

It’s this concern that causes Benard Bampoh, a senior computer science major, to wait until someone else is around to open the door for him if it’s not electronic.

But most of the time, he just avoids on-campus bathrooms entirely.

Bampoh, who also uses a wheelchair, said he’s unable to use the sink because the joystick on his chair bumps into it, preventing him from getting close enough to wash his hands.

“Bathrooms, in addition to other things, are overlooked just a little bit,” he said.

As a commuter, Bampoh said he rarely enters oncampus restrooms — waiting until he gets home to his more accessible bathroom. Arnett, too, said she tends to avoid going to the bathroom while at the university.

“It’s just not convenient,” Arnett said. “I know my life, and I try to not go to the bathroom during the day.”

Though the university does have plans to renovate many of its non-compliant bathrooms, the transition plan doesn’t explicitly specify when that will happen.

In the 2016 update, many buildings’ bathrooms are listed as needing upgrades.

For instance, Marie Mount Hall had 10 bathrooms with this designation. But eight of them had not been completed as of 2016.

Each restroom that was added to the list in 2010 is listed with an estimated cost of $60,000. This is “a budget placeholder amount based on the average cost of recent restroom renovations,” the plan reads.

It’s these renovations, even the smaller ones, that can make the difference in the everyday lives of students with disabilities.

While Arnett said she can reach the sink, she cannot get to the soap dispensers because they are too high up on the wall.

Another issue Arnett and Williams mentioned is the size of stalls — some of which do not allow them to close the door. Arnett said the Stamp Student Union bathrooms were particularly cramped.

“Some of the stalls aren’t large enough to get into the stall and close the door behind you and maintain your privacy,” Williams said. “You may be able to get in but not close the door.”

And some of these issues

may not be resolved, according to the transition plan.

Both the 2010 and 2013 updates to the plan specified that if a project merely “correct[s] a minor deviation from the 2010 Standards for Accessible Design,” it would not be included in the university’s renovation plans, as it is “not a barrier to most people with disabilities.” Toilet stall dimensions, along with the width of entrance doors, can qualify as minor deviations if they are less than an inch away from the guidelines.

Arnett remembered an instance where she couldn’t close the door to a wheelchair-accessible bathroom s ta l l b e c a u s e h e r c h a i r couldn’t fit all the way in.

“Thankfully, it was the end stall,” she said. “So no one is going down there anyway.”

In response to accessibility concerns, a university spokesperson wrote that Facilities Management “encourage[s] the campus community to report their concerns to our Customer Response Center so that we

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structor about improving this course?’ or ‘What would you like to tell your instructor’s boss about improving this course?’ so that they know who they’re communicating with,” Roberts said.

After feedback is factored in, the report is slated to move to the full Academic Procedures and Standards Committee, the senate’s group that deals with examining and setting academic policies for revisions, Evers said. If the committee approves, it will then move to the full senate for a debate and vote.

There is no timeline for rolling out the new system, but Evers hopes it will be implemented at the start of the 2020-21 academic year.

Staff writer Nora Eckert contributed to this report. newsumdbk@gmail.com

can address any issue they are experiencing.”

Despite the issues, Williams, who works on the President’s Commission on Disability Issues, said he felt the university is on its way to becoming more accommodating — but there’s still much work left to do. “[The university] is making an effort to provide compliance,” Williams said. “But equity is a completely different thing.” newsumdbk@gmail.com

monday, march 11, 2019

4 | OPINION

Opinion EDITORIAL BOARD

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

Ryan Romano

Arya Hodjat

Iris Vukmanovic

Hadron Chaudhary, Zachary Jablow

EDITOR IN CHIEF

MANAGING EDITOR

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR

OPINION EDITORS

column

College admissions should be equitable OLIVIA DELAPLAINE @ODelaplaine Columnist

Many Friday mornings, the University of Maryland greets admitted students with a fanfare of trumpets blaring the Maryland fight song. Admissions officers court students with every tool in their arsenal: red and gold balloons, tours through the posh Prince Frederick Hall, coupons for the Dairy. The luckiest applicants are even offered meritbased scholarships.

The goal is to lure the highest-performing, top-ranked students to this university.

The way the school recruits, evaluates and rewards its applicants is certainly strategic. Yet it’s also inherently discriminatory.

This university admits applicants based on 26 review factors, according to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

It doesn’t just accept those with high GPAs, rigorous course loads and great SAT scores (though it weighs those factors more heavily, along with student performance).

It takes race, ethnicity, geographic origin, family educational background and other factors into account to ensure a diverse class.

Still, the process rewards students who have had access to opportunity and resources.

It’s been proven that student proficiency scores in grades 3-12 correlate more strongly with student demographics than with knowledge or success. Consider the countless reports of schools in majority-minority districts being chronically denied the funding and investment they deserve.

Under our current system, students who went to schools that provided AP classes, extensive extracurricular opportunities, tutoring and test prep are going to be favored, and once they’re admitted, they’re

given even more resources.

This compounds the inequality present in our educational system.

The system concentrates the power of evaluating student qualifications in the hands of select admissions officers. These officers, often alumni of the university, make decisions on student merit that replicate the existing demographics of the university — demographics that are neither representative nor equitable, considering the population of the state as

The admissions process rewards students whohave had access to opportunities a whole.

At this university, centralized gatekeeping is particularly troubling, given that black freshmen are only 7.3 percent of the 2018 freshman class, half of what it was in 2011.

If this taxpayer-funded university envisions itself as a place to harness the potential of students, produce new knowledge and transform the human experience, it needs to radically rethink the way it defines merit.

Harvard researcher Nadirah Farah Foley offers a promising proposal. She calls on universities to “think of merit as something that can be developed in anyone, rather than found only among the elect” and to use their resources to “cultivat[e] the best and brightest, as opposed to simply finding them.”

With Foley’s call to action in mind, this university should not just evaluate students on their past achievements but

also on their full life stories and their future plans. Such a system is better suited to serve underrepresented and marginalized students in achieving their goals instead of leaving them struggling academically and financially.

Once students are admitted, financial aid to cover the cost of tuition and housing should be given out based on need only, to ensure that students’ educational and job prospects are not limited by their parents’ incomes or inherited wealth.

And the funding for meritbased scholarships should be replaced with a universal student fund that all students can apply to, not just the most talented incoming students. This would supply funding for research projects, internships or study abroad programs —similar to how faculty and graduate students apply for grants to fund their research based on the project and their needs.

This revamped system would incentivize students to learn, grow and explore as much as possible while in college. It would also ensure that resources are distributed based on need. An engineering student might not need as much of the financial support that a merit scholarship offers if they are working high-paying internships or jobs, but a journalism student working at an unpaid internship at a newspaper could definitely use the funding.

If colleges want to seriously think of themselves as “producers of value, not arbiters of merit,” to borrow Foley’s term, they must recognize our deeply unequal K-12 education system and radically shift admissions practices to avoid disproportionately rewarding students from privileged backgrounds. odelaplaine15@gmail.com

MORE ONLINE

photo courtesy of Pixabay

Smartphone addiction disproportionately affects poor families EMILY MAURER | @emilyrosemaurer | Columnist Technology firms need to be held accountable for the way they market their products toward children. Screen addiction is a public health issue, and there must be an appropriate policy response.

Read the full column at dbknews.com

Puerto Rico needs more federal government support LIYANGA DE SILVA @OpinionDBK Columnist

It’s been more than a year since Hurricanes Maria and Irma hit Puerto Rico. Given how much damage the storm caused on the island — as well as the death toll, which is now estimated at 2,975 — the U.S. government’s inaction is stark.

In a time of constant disaster and media overload, it’s all too easy to let issues that don’t affect us personally fade into the background. It may feel like Puerto Rico should be doing OK by now, because one of the mainland U.S. states probably would have gotten the help it needed in that time.

Yet while most of Puerto Rico’s electrical infrastructure and water systems have been repaired, they are still very unstable, and funding for restoring the island to its previous state is low.

These natural disasters have left a disproportionate amount of people without access to proper housing and nutrition. About 1.4 million Puerto Ricans will be left with barely enough money to feed themselves and their families if the federal government doesn’t continue to fund the Nutrition Assistance Program at a higher level.

NAP provides Puerto Rico with about $2 billion to deliver nutritional assistance to extremely poor households on the island. NAP is capped at that amount, regardless of how much is required to meet the changing needs of low-income households in Puerto Rico. This means NAP has to raise or lower the requirements for eligibility to provide assistance with the given funds.

In contrast, the Supplemental Nu-

trition Assistance Program — which most people know as food stamps — provides assistance to the 50 states as well as some territories in the U.S. and receives funding based on the number of eligible individuals.

There is already an issue here: SNAP’s funding is adjustable to support the changing number of eligible citizens, while Puerto Rico has to deny assistance to citizens living on the island because their funding is not flexible. Until Congress authorizes higher funding, the Puerto Rican people have to work within the $2 billion they are allotted.

Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States, which means the federal government has a responsibility to support and care for those living there.

Citizens of this nation are not only in its 50 states.

Given that Puerto Rico has only one (non-voting) delegate in Congress, citizens of the island have very little say in how federal money is apportioned to them. Because of this, it falls to the rest of the country to take an interest in what happens to Puerto Rico. While the House of Representatives has approved an additional $600 million in NAP funding, the Senate has yet to make a decision on the issue.

It’s not enough to offer thoughts and prayers and share this article with your circle of friends on Facebook. I’m not asking you to protest, donate and do any of those things that so many of us are reluctant to do. I want you to call your representatives — let them know that their constituents care about Puerto Rico, and that they should too. liyanga.a.ds@gmail.com

column

UMD’s budget needs student input ALYSSA MCKINNEY @OpinionDBK Columnist

The University Senate could be adding a Budgetary Affairs Committee, which would give the body a more active role in campus financial decisions.

The senate uses a shared governance structure that includes faculty, staff, students and administrators. It allows for direct collaboration between students and more experienced professionals, all of whom senate floor proposals affect.

After the year this school has had, more student involvement in campus decisions is exactly what it needs. The decisions made by the University System of Maryland’s Board of Regents suggest either a complete disconnect with, or a complete disregard for, the interests and needs of students.

Who better to advocate for students’ best interests than students themselves?

They’re the ones walking to class every day, using campus spaces for living and learning and investing their time and money to earn a degree, gain new skills and have more experiences.

Even seemingly minute details can make a big impact on a student’s daily life. The sparsity of student-accessible microwaves can make it harder for those who bring their lunch from home to fit in a hot meal between their various classes and activities.

In certain libraries and study spaces around campus, outlets are few and far between, making it that much harder to find a proper spot to study around finals week.

At a school as large as this one, and with so many different people involved in campus affairs, it’s no surprise many students feel like they’re an afterthought. Just recently, the lack of transparency about the construction and delegation of space in the new Iribe Center sparked outrage

among computer science students. At a town hall discussion, they made it clear they felt slighted by the lack of student input in the decision-making process — even though those decisions directly affected their education and opportunities on the campus.

If you believe the theory of psychological egoism, even apparently altruistic acts are inherently motivated by self-interest.

When university decisions are primarily made by wealthy people — such as the Board of Regents — it’s easy to conclude that the motivation of those decisions will be first and foremost economic.

Students, on the other hand, should be allowed to be selfish in these decisions.

At the end of the day, the university is an educational institution. Its mission statement is “to provide excellence in teaching, research, and service” and to be “the institution of choice for Maryland’s undergraduates.” Right now, that promise seems to have been forgotten in a sea of politics and finances.

University President Wallace Loh has made it clear that his main goal is to make the university more money. His coming departure is the perfect opportunity to redefine the role of students in university decision-making. By increasing cooperation between the incoming leadership of the university and our senate, we can better utilize the shared governance structure that is already in place and give students a more tangible influence at this university.

The proposed Budgetary Affairs Committee is the first of many necessary steps toward this goal. The university says it wants to be the “institution of choice” for students — it should start by giving the students a choice. alyssa.cmck@gmail.com

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6 | news

monday, march 11, 2019

City development

College Park to get electric vehicle charging station MOM’s Organic Market spot to be finished within the next few months by

University

Samantha Subin of Maryland @samantha_subin student Winter Spray is Staff writer the proud owner of a 2012 Nissan Leaf.

During visits to McKeldin Library or Eppley Recreation Center, she’ll drop her car at a nearby electric pump.

But the growing popularity of electric cars on the campus is starting to make Spray’s life difficult, as parking becomes harder to find.

“It’s gotten to the point where there are more people who have electric cars than there are charging stations,” said Spray, a junior communication major.

But College Park residents like Spray will soon have a new place to charge their electric vehicles.

T h e M O M ’s O r g a n i c Market in Hollywood Shopping Center is expected to

complete construction on an electric charging station within the next few months, said Alexandra DySard, an environmental and partnership manager for the chain.

The station will have two to four pumps, and more could be added over time. “[The station is] great for customers,” she said. “And it’s great for our workplace and for our staff.”

MOM’s touts its sustainability. The grocery chain has already eliminated one-use plastic bags, and it has its own 1.5-megawatt solar field in Kingsville in Baltimore County, which accounts for 25 percent of its stores’ electricity in the U.S. The College Park location is also adding solar roof panels that will account for 30 percent of its electricity, keeping in step with the White Marsh and Waldorf locations,

which already have the technology, DySard said.

“This just goes along with who we are,” DySard said. “This goes along with our brand, our purpose and our mission.”

District 1 councilman Fazlul Kabir said many residents are looking forward to the new charging stations, since electric vehicles are popular in College Park.

“People who care about the environment and sustainability come [to MOM’s],” Kabir said. “It is a win-win situation, both for the business and the community.”

College Park currently houses charging stations in the city parking garage and Davis Hall. This university also has 17 electric charging stations located in visitor lots, according to its Department of Transportation Services.

“We’ve talked about other places where we might be able to install them,” Mayor Patrick Wojahn said. “We don’t cur-

rently have any plans to put in more.”

A s c h a rg i n g s t a t i o n s b e co m e m o re p reva l e n t across College Park, Peter Ryseck, a junior aerospace engineering major who owns an electric bike, wonders if the same options will be available for him.

“It would be cool if there was a standardized electric bike charging station,” Ryseck said. “The issue is that there’s more standardization with cars.”

The charging station in Hollywood Shopping Center — like those at all other MOM’s locations — will operate as a level II charging station, according to the company website. These pumps will work at a 240level voltage, capable of fully charging a vehicle within 8 hours; this is a step up from level I stations, which can take up to 20 hours to charge.

The federal government incentivizes solar panels and electric stations by offering

A new ELECTRIC vehicle CHARGING STATION will be constructed by MOM’s Organic Market in the Hollywood Shopping Center. ryan romano/for the diamondback various tax credits to businesses and individuals that sign on for the environmentally-friendly features.

The Federal Solar Tax Credit, implemented in 2005 as part of the Energy Policy Act, allows individuals to deduct 30 percent of the fee for solar panel installation from their federal taxes. By 2020, deductions are expected to drop to 26 percent and by 2022 to 10 percent.

But DySard said the company doesn’t care about

these rebates.

“It’s not the thing that we go after,” DySard said.

“We’re just going to do these things anyways.”

While owning an electric car is difficult planning wise, Spray is happy with her decision.

“I feel like you vote with your dollar,” Spray said.

“One more person on the road having [an electric car] is a step in the right direction.” newsumdbk@gmail.com

council

Four-year terms might require more changes to charter Current charter prohibits running for multiple positions at once I f t h e College Park Carmen Molina City Council Acosta @carmenmolina_a ex te n d s i ts members’ Staff writer te r m s f ro m two to four years, it might have to re-evaluate the city’s charter further than initially thought, members of the city’s Charter Review Commission realized at their meeting March 4.

T h e c u r re n t c h a r te r prohibits candidates from running for two positions simultaneously. The current charter prohibits candidates f ro m r u n n i ng fo r two positions simultaneously, or from running for a position while they’re still serving in another position. That means a four-year term system with staggered elections would keep current mayors or council members from running for one another’s positions if their terms line up, said commission member Peter King. by

Officials in seats that are up for re-election at the same time as the mayor would have an advantage, if they wanted to run for the office. Any prospective mayoral candidates and those on the other half of the council would have to finish their term and wait another two years before running.

“It would work,” King said.

“It would, however, work [in] unfairness to four members of the council and work in advantage to the incumbent mayor.”

That unfairness, members said at the meeting, would likely force them to re-evaluate the city charter — though they don’t yet know how they’d address the problem.

“Right now, our charter doesn’t contemplate anything like staggered terms,” city clerk Janeen Miller said. “But all of this is going to require a charter change. So it’s going to take some thought.”

The city council established the 10-member commission in November. The commission’s task is creating an informal report by soliciting public input on the pros and cons of passing the amendment by May 31. The council initially set exploring longer term limits as a priority more than a year ago.

At Monday’s meeting, the commission discussed the different themes they planned to orient their report around.

These included costs, the time it takes for new council members to be fully active, the continuity of members, engagement with University of Maryland students, campaigning frequency and voter participation.

At the Charter Review Commission’s first public forum Feb. 11, several College Park residents voiced opposition to extending city council terms from two to four years. They expressed concerns that the move would discourage new candidates from running and disconnect council members

from their constituents.

However, the seven written comments submitted online between Jan. 22 and Feb. 8 offered more varying perspectives, with five explicitly expressing support for fouryear terms.

Some commission members hoped to solicit more public comment, such as reaching out to the University of Maryland’s Student Government Association, but were con-

cerned as to how to solicit and consider those opinions while staying objective.

“How is this body supposed to then weigh the views of formal associations instead?”

King said. “Is that equal to 50 votes? Or is it just one?”

Hearing from just subsections of the population is the best they can do given their resources, said commission member Virdina Gibbs. Still, the commission can acknowl-

edge that ultimately they’re hearing the loudest voices offered.

“That’s kind of, unfortunately, the beauty and the issue with democracy,” Gibbs said.

The second — and most likely last — public forum will take place Monday at Davis Hall. Residents can still submit a public comment online at the city’s website. newsumdbk@gmail.com

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news | 7

State collective bargaining

M

arybeth Shea doesn’t have a car. She bought just about everything she owns from thrift stores, except for her bike. In the winter, she doesn’t heat her house above 50 degrees; in the summer, she doesn’t cool it below 86.

These are the calculations Shea makes to live off the $33,693 she earns each year as a lecturer in the University of Maryland’s English department. In Prince George’s County, where Shea lives, the expected yearly cost of living for a single adult is $36,492, according to MIT calculations.

“It makes me cry that, at 60, I am in poverty and I am a professor,” Shea said.

A bill in the Maryland General Assembly could give lecturers like Shea more power in negotiations for higher wages.

House Bill 1143 would grant collective bargaining rights to all faculty members and graduate student employees in the University System of Maryland.

This would allow these workers to directly negotiate wages and terms of employment with their superiors — something they’re currently prohibited from doing under state law — and unionize, if they so choose.

Two other bills currently in the House Appropriations Committee would grant collective

‘a justice act’ Some university faculty live in poverty. A state bill would expand their union rights.

By Angela Roberts | @24_angier | Senior staff writer bargaining rights to graduate student employees — something the graduate school and other university officials have been forceful in opposing. But HB 1143 is designed to serve as a catch-all for higher education workers who currently don’t have these rights, said graduate student labor activist Katie Brown.

“It’s framed as a justice act for a reason,” said Brown, a communication doctoral student. “It’s because this is something that needs to be addressed.”

This isn’t the first time that such a bill is being heard in the state legislature. In 2012, Shea and six other non-tenure track faculty members testified in favor of legislation that would have granted collective bargaining rights to the same population of workers.

While that bill died in committee, the university system tweaked its policies a few months later to include meet-and-confer, a process that allows graduate student employees and adjunct faculty to discuss job-related concerns with administrators without a binding agreement.

But the revised policy didn’t

cover everyone. Tenured faculty and non-tenure track faculty who aren’t adjuncts — Shea and the six other faculty members who testified, for instance — are still excluded from participating in meet-and-confer.

When Shea saw she wouldn’t be included in the revised policy, she was shocked.

“I was devastated,” she said. “I knew it meant I had no standing to be involved in any of it.”

Spokesperson M ike Lurie wrote in an email that the university system “remains comfortable” with the current law in place.

“The cost of negotiation, and potential for productivity slowdowns for both faculty and students, outweighs any perceived benefit,” Lurie wrote.

Graduate student workers have tried to use the process to resolve grievances, Brown said, but they haven’t been satisfied, due to the non-binding nature of negotiations.

Attendance for adjuncts is low in meet-and-confer meetings, said Mark Arnold, the director of faculty initiatives in the university’s Office of Faculty

Affairs. The most he ever saw at a meeting was 12, and the fewest was two. Plus, those who showed up weren’t interested in engaging a union to represent them in the process — an option available in meet-and-confer.

Anthony McCann, who was an adjunct lecturer for the public policy school before being promoted to associate professor in 2017, attended a handful of these meetings out of curiosity. He said he’s not sure whether he’d join a union if this bill were to pass.

As a former federal employee, McCann doesn’t rely on the paycheck he receives from the university.

“Money’s not a big deal,” he said. “I do it because I enjoy it.”

Arnold said he’s observed interest in collective bargaining among non-tenure track faculty in English and other departments in the arts and humanities college, acknowledging that there may be interest in other colleges that he just hasn’t heard of.

Still, Shea said she’s grateful for other policy changes since 2012 that have benefited faculty like her.

Arnold has been pushing for

longer contracts for non-tenure track faculty. It’s a personal fight for him: He worked on semesterly contracts for most of the 12 years he taught in the English department.

This semester, all instructional faculty members in this department got a $500 bonus per course, Arnold added.

“That’s not the end of the conversation,” he said. “That doesn’t mean there’s going to be some massive change tomorrow, but the challenge of salaries for instructional faculty is recognized and is part of ongoing discussions.”

Julie Greene, a history professor who specializes in United States labor history, noted that research shows unionization leads to higher salaries and better working conditions for staff.

While Greene expressed interest in joining a union, she said that as a faculty member with tenure, she’s better off than those without tenure and graduate student workers.

“As a labor scholar, what I see in the world around me, and at the University of Maryland, is … a whole lot of teaching and research is being done by two groups that are especially exploited,” she said. newsumdbk@gmail.com

“It makes me cry that, at 60, I am in poverty and I am a professor.”

- ENGLISH DEPARTMENT LECTURER MARYBETH SHEA

legislation

Lawmakers want to raise fines for hitting bikers Currently, drivers who hit bikers incur a typical fine of $110 Riding his black-andBrad Dress @brad_dress o ra n g e K a wasaki Ninja Staff writer 400 along Route 29 on his way to the University of Maryland, Jo n a h H o r n u m n o t i c e d a small sedan coming up behind him.

Hornum was driving the speed limit, so he didn’t understand why the driver was trying to weave over the lanes and cut him off.

The driver almost hit him, and Hornum barely moved out of the way in time. He nearly flipped over.

In Maryland, striking a biker, pedestrian, motorcyclist or mobile transportation vehicle with a car can incur up to a $500 fine.

Typically, though, drivers get off with a $110 prepaid fine and no court appearance — something a new bill aims to drastically change.

The bill — sponsored by two senators and 23 delegates — would bump that fine to a maximum of $2,000 and impose a mandatory court appearance on anyone who hits a biker, pedestrian, motorcyclist or any mobile rider with their vehicle and causes serious injury or death. by

Additionally, depending on the court’s ruling, a driver in violation of the law could have to work up to 150 hours of community service and participate in a motor vehicle safety course. They would also lose their license for anywhere from seven days to six months.

The bill passed the House of Delegates with a 141-0 vote and is on its way to the Senate.

Del. Stephen Lafferty (DBaltimore County), the lead sponsor of the bill’s House version, said the current law does not deter nasty behavior or accidents caused by drivers on the road.

“Right now, I think people are getting off pretty easy,” he said. “If increasing the penalty enables more people to be held accountable and, secondly, to change the way they behave so no one is seriously injured or killed, then we’ve succeeded.”

But Hornum said he thinks things are unlikely to change.

“Maryland drivers don’t care about motorcyclists,” the sophomore enrolled in letters and sciences said.

“Among motorcyclists, we have a saying: ‘Even if we look a driver in the eye,

we have to pretend we are invisible.’”

Mags Hansen, a freshman mechanical engineering and theater major, rides a bicycle to some of her classes. She said the bill would make her feel safer since many drivers “don’t share the road.”

“I would feel more protected on the road if I knew it was a heavier fine than $500,” she said.

Hansen said she’s often booted to the sidewalk from campus roads and “feels bad” riding there because she has to weave between so many walkers.

Lafferty said a primary goal of the bill is to not only stop aggressive behavior from drivers against “vulnerable individuals” — those protected also include anyone who drives a scooter, moped or even a farm tractor — but also to avert lifethreatening accidents.

“You can’t always be sure that what you’re doing is going to make a difference,” he said. “But that is certainly the goal.”

In 2017, 111 pedestrian fatalities and 499 serious injuries were reported in Maryland, according to the Tra n s p o r ta t i o n De pa r t ment’s Annual Attainment Report. The report included 11 bicycle-related fatalities and 85 serious injuries in

LEGISLATION currently in the Maryland General Assembly would impose stricter penalties on drivers who strike motorcyclists and bicyclists. The new bill would increase penalties from the current fines, which are typically $110. ryan romano/for the diamondback 2017.

Meanwhile, there were 76 reported motorcycle fatalities in Maryland in both 2016 and 2017, according to the Governor’s Highway Safety Administration. Not only are there around 70 motorcycle traffic fatalities each year, more than half of these accidents are caused by other cars, according to the Motor Vehicle Administration.

“In a crash between a car and a motorcycle, the car driver is more likely to be at fault than the motorcyclist,” according to the MVA.

O n t h i s u n i v e r s i t y ’s campus, there were five reported incidents of cars striking bicyclists in 2017, and four reports in 2018, said University Police spokesperson Sgt. Rosanne Hoaas.

If the bill becomes law, Maryland would join Colorado, Mississippi, Louisiana and Vermont, which have all passed stricter laws on aggressive driving behavior to protect pedestrians, bikers and motorcyclists.

Last year, a similar bill passed the House only to be struck down in the Senate.

In 2010, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued a statement to encourage states to adopt laws that protect pedestrians and bikers.

“Because of the numerous individual and community benefits that walking and bicycling provide,” it read, “transportation agencies are encouraged to go beyond minimum standards to provide safe and convenient facilities for these modes.” newsumdbk@gmail.com

8 | NEWS

MONDay, MARCH 11, 2019

city

Over 100 lights to be installed on Route 1 More pedestrian lights come as part of a larger accessibility campaign man P.J. Brennan. “I think it’s a great step forward in transforming our city.”

Construction on the lamps will start after the relocation of utilities for the Route 1 project, which is expected to begin as early as May. The first phase of the project — from College Avenue to Lakeland Road — is expected to be completed by spring 2021, Somers said.

The new LED lamps will have red poles, and could display banners or have flower pots, according to city documents.

The Route 1 improvement project has been in the works for more than a decade, but the light installations were a recent addition considered at the city’s request, said Lindsay Bobian, a project manager in the SHA’s highway design division.

“It’s all one big project,” Bobian said. “The pedestrian lights are just one other element.”

The light installation is part of a cost-sharing program where the SHA pays for the underground infrastructure and splits the costs of the basic light pole bases and fixtures.

College Park plans to Carmen Molina partner with Acosta t h e S t ate @carmenmolina_a Highway AdStaff writer ministration to install more than 100 pedestrian lights in the city by summer 2024.

To make Route 1 safer and more attractive, the groups are set to place 134 pedestrian lights between College Avenue and University Boulevard over the next five years. The move is part of a larger SHA improvement project on that stretch of Route 1, which also includes adding bike lanes, raising the median and widening certain sidewalks to make them ADA-compliant.

The College Park City Council unanimously passed a motion at a work session Tuesday allowing the city’s manager, Scott Somers, to sign a document affirming the city’s commitment to the plan.

“I think this particular action is just what we should be doing, and I’m really proud that our staff has been paying attention to this relationship with this particular project and is capitalizing on the ability for some cost-sharing here,” said District 2 councilby

134 PeDESTRIAN LIGHTS will be installed between College Avenue and Route 193 in the next five years as part of a larger State Highway Administration project. file photo/the diamondback Some of the lamps will replace current light fixtures, but most will be new. The city would be responsible for funding any additional features, such as banners, and as well as electricity and maintenance of the lamps.

The annual operating cost for 134 lights is estimated between $5,000 and $6,000.

The SHA will begin accepting bids Thursday and won’t know the project’s actual installation cost until then. But the administration initially estimated that the city would pay about $535,000, according

to city documents. The SHA estimates it will pay almost $800,000.

Somers said it makes both fiscal and logistical sense for the city to work with the SHA on the project.

“It is a high cost, but I really think the council and a lot of people see the value. … Since [the SHA] is going to be paying a large chunk of the total cost, it would cost us a lot more if we did this separately,” Somers said. “Plus, they’re digging up the road, they’re putting in the infrastructure.”

In addition to the lights the

city plans to add downtown, it may agree to partner with the SHA and expand lighting up to the Capital Beltway during the second phase of the improvement project, according to city documents.

At the last work session, council members noted that the price tag was high, but ultimately expressed support for moving forward with the measure. They’re also considering funding the project with bond sales, as they intend to do with the new city hall.

Alex Tobin, the student liaison to the city council, said

he hopes increased lighting will keep students and other pedestrians on Route 1 safer.

“It allows the student to be aware of their surroundings, and it reduces crime,” Tobin said.

Somers also pointed out the beautification aspect of the project.

“It really will help dress up and clean up the street,” Somers said. “I mean, it’s the backbone, it’s the main street of our community. It should look nice.”

versity, faces murder and hate crime charges in the killing.

About two months after Collins’ death, the university announced its plans for the diversity and inclusion vice president position. This past November, it released its external review of diversity and inclusion measures, which recommended that former Chief Diversity Officer Roger Worthington be promoted to this role. But before he could accept the position, Worthington resigned over the summer, later criticizing the administration for not fully supporting him.

If Dodge takes on the role, she said she’d work toward developing a united identity to enhance feelings of belonging among members of the community, as well as encouraging cohesiveness in diversity efforts among units and departments across the

decentralized campus.

Dodge said she would also move to expand fundraising efforts, especially to enhance the university’s ability to financially assist its students.

She believes this action has become crucial as public funding has dried up for higher education.

A f te r D o d ge f i n i s h e d her presentation, a faculty member asked her how she’d encourage change within the administration, particularly when it requires an abundance of resources.

“How did you approach the situation? How did you go about convincing a reluctant administration?” asked Patricio Korzeniewicz, the chair of the sociology department.

Dodge said that while it’s important to impress on administrators the urgency of the situation at hand, it’s

necessary to show them how they’d benefit from the proposed reform in order to be taken seriously. In Dodge’s experience, this approach has spurred university leaders to take action.

Lucy Dalglish, the dean of the journalism school and the search committee’s cochairwoman, asked Dodge to describe a time when she had to respond to a charged incident involving diversity on a campus where she was working.

“Tell us a horror story,” Dalglish told Dodge.

Dodge obliged, recounting the time a visiting artist had erected an effigy of someone dressed in Ku Klux Klan robes at the University of Iowa’s main entrance while she served as its chief diversity officer.

Although the artist had meant for the display to

showcase his feelings of solidarity with the AfricanAmerican community, Dodge said the piece of art was terror-inducing for faculty and staff.

A group of students marched to the president’s office, and police responded to the protest, flashing the lights on their squad cars.

Tensions quickly ramped up and soon, the students and officers were yelling back and forth.

Dodge was in a meeting across campus at the time, but she went running to the scene when she heard what was happening. She calmed the students down, and gathered them in the university’s student union, where she encouraged them to talk about what they were feeling.

And for over two-and-ahalf hours, Dodge said, she listened as members of the

community expressed fear, anger and pain — not just over the day’s display but about things they had experienced during their time at Iowa and throughout high school.

Ultimately, Dodge and the students worked with the president to develop a plan to address certain issues at the university. But for a good 15 minutes after that meeting, Dodge said she just cried.

“The amount of pain and agony that we inflict on people — and then hold them in an environment where they’re competing to be successful — is a little bit ridiculous,” she said. “That’s what fuels me in this work.

Inclusion is not just something to talk about. Inclusion is really necessary to be successful in our lives as human beings.”

inclusion.”

The purpose of the VPDI From p. 1 position, announced in July CDO in August. “We have 2017, is “to advance diversity, to be able to start talking equity, and inclusion as core about how people see them- institutional values,” accordselves as part of diversity and ing to the Office of the Presi-

dent’s website.

Edmunds was brought on as the interim CDO after the resignation of Roger Worthington, who later publicly criticized the administration for not supporting his efforts. Worthington’s predecessor, Kumea ShorterGooden, resigned in 2017.

Since be coming C D O, Edmunds has worked on s eve ra l i n i t i a t ive s. S h e highlighted the university’s Thriving Workplace Initiative, where her team worked to create a better work environment for faculty by talking to them about their experiences at the university.

Going forward with her idea for a new framework for diversity and inclusion, Edmunds said one of her priorities is tracking where the university is spending its money on diversity efforts.

In November, the university released an external review of its diversity and inclusion efforts, which didn’t include quotes or stories from students and declined to offer

concrete recommendations.

Instead, the report affirmed support for the actions the university’s administration has taken since 2nd Lt. Richard Collins, a black Bowie State student, who was fatally stabbed on the campus in May 2017. But some students and activists said they’d hoped to see a more substantive result.

After Collins’ death — in which Sean Urbanski, a white former student at the university, faces hate crime and murder charges — the university hired a hate bias response coordinator, launched a diversity task force and created an online log to track hate bias incidents.

ODI’s log shows 22 reported hate bias incidents this academic year.

Edmunds stressed that she wanted to understand what diversity and inclusion meant to different communities.

“I’ve been doing diversity and inclusion work for the President’s office for nine years,” she said, “and what

I found — perpetually — is I had to enter into conversations defining what I mean by diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

Though Edmunds said she intended to end with enough time to answer questions, there was only time for one.

University archivist coordinator Kendall Aughenbaugh asked Edmunds what she would do to increase transparency within the administration.

“I know the campus is only asking at a moment of crisis,” said Aughenbaugh, a history and library science graduate student, “but I feel like if it’s a constant conversation, that could be helpful.”

Edmunds said transparency should begin with her and other leaders on the campus.

“If we want more transparency, we really have to build capacity so that people are capable of coming into the work and coming into the conversations and articulating the importance of this without feeling like

we’re throwing people to the wolves,” Edmunds said.

Adrienne Wicker, the associate director of the university’s Center for Leadership and Organizational Change, said while choosing a VPDI would be a “hard decision,” she thinks Edmunds’ experience gives her a leg up.

“She has some very specific information that will be useful and allow her to hit the ground running,” Wicker said.

After the presentation, Edmunds spoke to a group of six students in a close circle, relaying similar information.

She said that her previous experience with ODI would allow for continuity with the work she has done through the position thus far.

“I firmly believe that I am uniquely positioned to step into this role,” she said. “I heartily believe that the time has come really for us to shift the way that we’re doing this work.”

DODGE From p. 1 needs to be the right leader in place to address some of these challenges, and it’s important we find that for you.”

This university has been facing a spike in reports of hate bias incidents. Just this academic year, there have been 22 such incidents, including two reports in February involving swastikas etched in campus bathrooms, according to the school’s hate bias report log.

In late 2016, white nationalist posters were found in several academic buildings throughout the campus. In May 2017, 2nd Lt. Richard Collins, a black Bowie State University student, was fatally stabbed on the campus while waiting for an Uber.

Sean Urbanski, a white former student at this uni-

EDMUNDS

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monDAY, march 11, 2019

diversions | 9

Diversions UPCOMING EVENTS

ONE-SENTENCE REVIEW Mar. 13

9:30 Club

Daylight Savings Time — reviewed by Diversions Editor Allison O’Reilly

Smallpools

Exhausting and pointless. ★✩✩✩✩

7 p.m. $25

9:30 Club

The Anthem

Mar. 15

Mike Gordon

8 p.m. $30

Mar. 16

Erykah Badu 6:30 p.m. $75-145

three things to spend $1,550 on

instead

of a Canada Goose jacket Other, perhaps better, ways to spend your stack and a half.

By Manuela Lopez Restrepo | @mamueca | Staff writer photo via youtube

I

know you’ve seen them around.

If you step outside in any moderately-populated metropolitan area, their loathsome presence will be made obvious to you. At first it appears as a standard winter coat, a bulky parka designed to brave the winter conditions. Suddenly, the bright blue patch with red trimming catches your eye, and you realize: This is no ordinary winter parka.

Your broke, mortal form has come across a Canada Goose jacket, one of the most inexplicable winter trends to grace the East Coast and cities all over the globe.

Maybe owning one of these fourfigure cold shields would be fine if you were some sort of explorer who would literally die without flexing

in a $1,550 coat due to the nature of the work you do. But if you’re reading this from the University of Maryland, you’re technically in the South, and it rarely gets colder than the low 20s during a regular winter here.

So if you’re considering dropping more than ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS on a WINTER COAT that is made from DEAD COYOTES, I compiled a helpful list of alternatives to purchasing the pricey goose jacket.

features? The ones that could be found on most other winter parkas over $100? Or are you buying it because you feel that unignorable itch to stunt on homeless people dying of cold on the city streets?

Say no more.

For less than the price of one Canada Goose jacket, you can buy five North Face parkas. Get them in different colors so you can still display your preference for grossly excessive luxury! These coats are filled with real down, have great reviews and use faux fur — which is cool since Canada Goose jackets 1. like, five have actually driven up demand for North Face jackets coyote pelts, it’s sick if you want to Let’s be honest. Do you want the wear a dead dog around you. So sick.

Canada Goose jacket because of the

2. 1,608 HAND WARMERS You want warmth, don’t you?

Isn’t that why we’re here? Well, look at how easy I made it for you. I found a pack of 24 pairs of hand warmers and eight pairs of toe warmers on Amazon for about $23. For the same price as a $1,550 Canada Goose jacket, you can buy about 67 of these boxes. That’s more than 1,600 pairs of hand warmers. And 536 pairs of toe warmers. You know I really care, because I’m a humanities major who just did math to help you.

Tape them to every inch of your body for each day of the winter. You will never experience cold again. Your wealth will be obvious, but not like the rest of those sheeple in their parkas.

Your wealth is in HotHands.

3. 65 DOG PARKAS Does man even deserve warmth?

Or luxury parkas? Amidst all of our greed and hatred and selfishness, a part of me thinks not. Who is loyal, pure and the most deserving of a basic utility at a premium cost? Dogs, probably. The craze for these coats has gotten so big they make a “Canada Pooch” version for dogs, but it’s only $23. So just buy, like, 65 and give them out to all the dogs you see to restore the karmic balance of coat energy.

Or just buy the Canada Goose jacket. Everything is bleak. diversionsdbk@gmail.com

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10 | SPORTS

monday, march 11, 2019

men’s basketball

J

ust after Maryland men’s basketball coach Mark Turgeon embraced senior forward Ivan Bender, Turgeon remained standing in front of the senior as Bender’s longtime girlfriend, Andrea Kneževi ć , continued making her way to midcourt.

Turgeon then reached into his left pocket and, unbeknownst to nearly everybody at Xfinity Center, pulled out the ring box that Bender had handed off to him before the team’s shootaround in preparation for Friday’s game.

I t wa s n ’t u n t i l a b o u t 15 seconds later — when Bender dropped to a knee — that Knežević and the rest of his teammates and the crowd realized that Bender was making sure his Senior Day was an unforgettable one.

Bender stole the spotlight from Andrew Terrell’s towel-waving antics by proposing to Kneževi ć — she said yes — surprising his teammates and giving a jolt of energy before the Terps’ 69-60 win over the Golden Gophers.

“I had a few ideas [for how to propose],” Bender said.

“This one seemed the best, and I’ve always wanted to do it here because this is my second home for four-anda-half years.”

Bender and Knežević have been together since before

who knew about Bender’s plans, the senior said.

“Keeping teammates in the dark was hard,” Bender said. “But seeing their reaction was priceless.”

When Bender took a knee, the rest of the Terps immediately started jumping toward Bender at midcourt before realizing they should probably delay the celebration until she offered Bender a response.

“No one knew about it, so we were super happy for Ivan,” guard Anthony Cowan said. “It was a really good way to send both our seniors out.”

After she said yes, the celebration began anew, and forward Jalen Smith credited Bender for the 19forward ivan bender began his Senior Night by proposing to his longtime girlfriend, Andrea Kneževic at midcourt. As his teammates went crazy behind him, she said yes. corey hart/the diamondback point outing he embarked upon after the tipoff.

“It was Ivan’s proposal that kind of fired me up,” Smith said. “I was already hyped. I was like, ‘might as well carry it over.’”

And for Bender, the proposal likely erased any potential pain stemming from his three-foul, six-minute performance.

Even if he didn’t

By James Crabtree-Hannigan | @JamesCrabtreeH | Senior staff writer “ I a m j u s t s o g ra t e ful [Turgeon] said yes and “She was very — I don’t now happy that I didn’t say allowed me to do it,” Bender And for the last couple of the Bosnia and Herzegovina native came to College Park. weeks, she has been with know — boring and annoy- anything [and] it all worked s a i d . “ I t wa s a s p e c i a l She helped him during his him in College Park, pester- ing,” Bender said. “She kept out. But she was annoying.” moment.”

Turgeon was one of just early days as he was trying ing him about when he was asking questions about it, going to pop the question. but I couldn’t tell her. She’s five people in the building to learn English. sportsdbk@gmail.com

senior night surprise Ivan Bender pops the question before Terps’ win over Minnesota

women’s lacrosse

No. 2 Terps come up clutch vs. No. 4 ‘Cuse Megan Taylor helped send game to OT, where Kali Hartshorn ended it When Maryland Tom Hindle @Thomas_Hindle_ women’s lacrosse Staff writer midfielder Hannah Warther lined up for a free position opportunity midway through the second overtime against Syracuse, she didn’t look toward the goal — even though a score would end the game.

Instead, with attackers Kali Hartshorn and Brindi Griffin stacked on the left side of the crease, Warther opted to pass.

Griffin provided a screen to block out midfielder Grace Fahey and Hartshorn received by

the feed, bolting in front of the net and firing home for the golden-goal victory.

It was emblematic of the Terps’ performance Saturday.

In a game with few clear-cut opportunities for either team to pull away, Maryland delivered in big moments to survive a tense matchup against another top-five opponent.

“We struggled a little bit, we had our ups and downs,” coach Cathy Reese said. “But [I’m] proud of the way we rebounded.”

Despite shooting woes and concerning turnover numbers, Maryland grinded out a win.

The Terps hustled for loose balls, dominated on draw controls and forced important defensive stops. And although the Terps gave the ball away 18 times, Reese’s squad managed to stick around — and then win — in another tense matchup.

“We’re all veteran players at this point,” Hartshorn said. “It’s just … clearing your head and putting the ball in the back of the net.”

Attacker Caroline Steele, dealing with a knee injury, exhibited the hustle that made a difference Saturday. With the Terps leading 5-4 with three minutes remaining in the first half, the senior trapped Syracuse goalkeeper Asa Goldstock in the back corner of the field, knocked the ball away and dove

to claim it for the Terps.

Although it did not yield a goal, the aggressive play set the tone for the rest of the game.

“It was nice to have her back on the field and in the mix,” Reese said.

After entering halftime down by one point, Maryland found renewed energy in the second period. In response to Syracuse’s physical style, the Terps moved the ball quickly and attacked the goal earlier in the shot clock.

Positive results followed, and Maryland turned a onegoal deficit to a two-goal lead within the first 10 minutes of the half.

“We needed to come out in the second half with more of a purpose,” Reese said. “The next

piece was to … have some fun playing lacrosse.”

The Terps appeared revitalized on both ends of the field for the final 30 minutes. After a hot start to the period, both offenses cooled down considerably, and the contest shifted to a defensive duel. But Maryland was prepared for that battle, too.

With four minutes remaining, the Terps leaned on goalkeeper Megan Taylor to keep them in the game. Syracuse attacker Megan Carney drove from behind the goal and attempted to sling a shot through Taylor’s legs. From close range, the senior made an instinctive block that the Terps recovered.

She repeated the feat twice more in regular time, and had 12

saves on the day while holding the Orange to 41 percent shooting.

“I truly believe I play with the best defenders in the country in front of me,” Taylor said. “They were forcing shots that I knew I could save.”

After Taylor’s saves, Maryland held its ground and prevented any clear looks for the final minutes of regulation and the first overtime.

On the other end, they continued to plug away and provided a moment of magic when they needed it most.

“When you’re asking me what I’m learning about my team,” Reese said, “we got something special.” sportsdbk@gmail.com

men’s lacrosse

In junior year, Bernhardt more of a dual threat Leading scorer’s improved passing creates chances for other Terps Late in the second quarter of Maryland m e n ’s l a crosse’s 14-9 win over Albany, attackman Jared Bernhardt ran from behind the net to the wing and ripped a shot into the back of the net, despite four defenders surrounding him.

So, when Bernhardt ran from behind goal again in the fourth quarter, four Great Danes defenders blanketed him again in an attempt to cut down any shooting lane. But Bernhardt instead dished to attackman Louis Dubick, who had slipped free unnoticed and slotted one home.

For opposing coaches, finding a way to minimize Bernhardt’s impact on the game is a dilemma. by

Eric Myers @EricMyers531 Staff writer

In Maryland’s dispatch of Albany, Bernhardt exemplified the bind he puts defenses in with his ability to score or assist. And because of it, Maryland continually puts the ball in his stick to create opportunities.

“Early in the game, they were paying a lot of attention to him and I thought he really did a good job of letting the game come,” coach John Tillman said. “But when he had his opportunities, obviously tried to capitalize on those.”

Against the Great Danes on Saturday, Bernhardt notched a new career-high eight points, tallying three goals and five assists.

Bernhardt and Tillman both noticed the heavy attention Albany’s defense paid him in the early stages of the game, so the

junior remained patient and took what the defense conceded.

At the start of games, Bernhardt observes how defenses are playing him and then devises a plan for what’s going to allow the team to be successful. Against the Great Danes, that meant starting with a distributionbased approach, with his first three points being assists.

“Everyone plays different styles, and you’ve gotta kind of base how you’re playing off them,” Bernhardt said. “Maybe it wasn’t me getting goals, but other guys are able to score.

That’s just as good.”

On six of his eight points, Bernhardt’s positioning started behind the net, a place on the field he’s grown accustomed to operating in during his time in college. In the first six games of the season, Bernhardt showed a tendency to tightly wrap around the crease for goals.

But Albany negated those

chances with a defender in position to force him further outside when Bernhardt had the ball behind the net.

Even when pushed out to the wing on the runs from behind the goal line, Bernhardt still possesses the ability to hit shots from a distance, as he demonstrated with two of his scores.

For all the opportunities Bernhardt creates when he’s in possession, he often ties up at least one defender when he moves without the ball.

That often frees opportunities for other attackers, which was apparent on Maryland’s 11th goal on Saturday. Bernhardt was stationed on the wing as midfielder Bubba Fairman was wrapping around the crease. Bernhardt’s defender was hesitant to leave him to help deter Fairman’s move.

“He’s winning his matchups, not just on the ball because we all know he can do that,” midfielder

Anthony DeMaio said. “But he’s winning his matchup off the ball, keeping his defender occupied and opening up some of us who don’t get as much attention as him.”

Bernhardt’s latest performance came midway through a season in which he’s adjusted to being the focal point of the attack for the first time after playing supplementary roles in his first two years.

Despite the extra defensive focus on him – typically drawing the opponent’s best defenseman – Bernhardt has already matched the 21 goals he put up in his first seven games of 2018, and he has five more assists through seven games.

As the season moves forward, Tillman will continue to trust Bernhardt with the ball in his stick to discern which openings he can exploit with either a pass or a shot.

“He’s just always going to get a

attackman jared bernhardt has 14 assists through seven games, putting him on pace for a career high. joe ryan/the diamondback lot more touches than everybody else,” Tillman said, “just because that’s the nature of how we play and him being a catalyst for us.” sportsdbk@gmail.com

monDAY, march 11, 2019

SPORTS | 11

track and field

can’t stop kam Sprinter Kameron Jones has racked up school records and is now eyeing the Olympics.

By Charles Nyonga | @charlesnyonga | Staff writer

W

hen Kameron Jones was 9 yea rs o l d , h e hadn’t yet discovered his eventual calling. When a fa m i ly f r i e n d saw Jo n e s sprint a c ross a ba se ba l l field, they told his mother he might want to consider running track.

He hasn’t stopped running since.

As a junior at Maryland, Jones has taken the speed he once displayed on the d i a m o n d t o t h e t ra c k , finding success with the Terps at the highest level.

He has three school records, and on Feb. 24 he competed against professionals at the Toyota USA Indoor Track and Field Championships, placing third and breaking the school’s 600meter record — one which he already held — in the process.

T h e c h a n ce to l i n e u p

against professional runners o f fe re d Jo n e s a g l i m pse into what could become his career — running at a level he didn’t think was possible when he first arrived in College Park.

“It definitely gave me a lot of confidence. I went in just happy to be there and hoping to do my best,” Jones said. “Actually succeeding against people who I have watched on TV before has given me confidence.”

At the Bishop’s School in San Diego, Jones was a five-time Coastal League Champion. As he racked up personal best after personal best, colleges around the country took notice, from Portland State to Alabama State.

But Jones’ attention was drawn to Maryland. This was in large part thanks to coach Andrew Valmon, who has led the Terps since 2003

sprinter kameron jones finished third in the 600-meter sprint at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in February, setting a school record. courtesy of maryland athletics and made waves in his own sprinting career. Valmon won gold in the 1988 and 1992 4x400-meter relay for the U.S. Olympic Team and served as head coach of Team USA Track & Field during the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

“That’s what brought me here,” Jones said. “Having someone that’s been there and done that and everything possible in the sport, he’s been really instrumental in my development.”

Since arriving at Maryl a n d , J o n e s h a s b ro k e n school records in the 300meter and 600-meter sprints, including one as a member of the 4x400-meter relay.

And at the Toyota USA I n d o o r Tra c k a n d Fi e l d

Championships in New York in February, Jones’ 600meter time of 1:15:32 ranks 11th in the world. Jones shaved over one second off his previous best as he competed alongside Donavan Brazier, whose 1:13.77 set a new world record in the event.

Jones continues to build off last year’s success, impressing Valmon with his work ethic.

“Three school records, following up from what he did last year,” said Valmon.

“He could have just laid to the side, but stepped up his game and said this is where the program needs to be and got us a lot of exposure.”

While individual names go in the record books, there is a heavy team dynamic in

track and field, especially during training. Jones credits his teammates and Va l m o n fo r c o n t i n u a l ly pushing him during practice, preparing him to compete at other events.

“We like to push the pace, we like to go after it,” Jones said. “I’m getting pushed and I am pushing them, and as a collective, as a team, we are getting better.”

As Jones improves, there are discussions of following his coach’s footsteps toward the Summer Olympics, next to be played in 2020. His potential was on full display when he placed third at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships.

“I am more proud of how he handled himself,” Valmon said. “We wouldn’t want to

put the cart before the horse because he is in such a good place. My personal opinion, he should definitely have that on his radar.”

While Jones has plenty of time to decide on his future — the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials aren’t until June of t h a t yea r — h i s p e r fo rmance in New York was all the motivation he needed to start focusing his efforts on reaching the biggest stage in sports. “ Ho n e s t ly, go i n g i n to co l l e ge , [ t h e O ly m p i c s ] w a s n ’ t i n m y f ra m e o f mind,” Jones said. “After this weekend, it’s something I am looking towards and definitely something I would like to accomplish.” sportsdbk@gmail.com

gymnastics

On Senior Day, Terps break 196 in style Breakout performance on beam pushes Terps to new season high After impressing David Suggs @David_Suggs3 throughout her beam routine, Staff writer all that was left for sophomore Sabriyya Rouse was the dismount.

The sophomore relaxed, exhaled, and stepped towards the edge of the beam before her sticking her roundoff one-anda-half, letting out a yell as she threw her arms back to present for the judges.

Rouse’s 9.875 was the first of five huge beam performances that included three personal bests and pushed Maryland past 49 on the event for the first time since 2016.

With the Terps finally getting their beam routines where they want them, coach Brett Nelligan’s squad shattered its previous season-high and posted the fifth-highest score in program by

iowa From p. 12 “They flopped a lot,” forward Shakira Austin said. “They got good position. We just have to do better.”

Iowa’s run, which eventually went to 21-4, powered the Hawkeyes to a 33-19 edge.

Facing adversity, Maryland turned to its star.

Charles took over in the

history, winning a quad meet on Senior Day with a 196.525.

“That needs to become the tradition,” Nelligan said. “When it’s [Senior Day], you take it up another notch.”

Rouse’s beam routine helped make up for a rare misstep from a senior. Shynelle Agaran opened on beam and had some wobbles that led to a 9.55, but the rest of the lineup made up for it.

“Getting up there and being able to hit the best routine of my college career,” Rouse said, “I’ll never forget it.”

After Rouse’s 9.875, four more Terps scored at least 9.75, with sophomores Audrey Barber and Emilie LeBlanc earning careerbest 9.9s to post a 49.2, the team’s best beam score since 2004.

Maryland hadn’t gotten over the 196 hump before Sunday, but by setting new season-highs on

three of four events and breaking 49 on all four for the first time this year, the team left nothing in doubt.

“For everything to finally come together and everyone to do their best at once,” senior Megan McClelland said. “We

really came together as a team, and it shows.”

Four vault scores of at least 9.825, led by junior Alecia Farina’s 9.875, started the Terps with a season-best 49.125, and 9.825s on bars from sophomores Audrey Barber and Emilie

LeBlanc gave the Terps a 49.025 on the second event.

The bars performance affirmed Friday’s return to form.

Early in the year, bars had been Maryland’s strongest event, but the Terps struggled on the apparatus in two meets early this month, failing to break 49.

“I don’t think we changed much on bars,” Nelligan said after Friday’s meet. “Deep down [we] know that [we’re] a really good bar team.”

In a quad meet Friday, Maryland bounced back with a 49.05, part of a then-season-best 195.975 team score. On Sunday, the Terps backed up that performance and then some.

Maryland hadn’t earned a 49 on beam in either of the past two seasons. But the team’s electrifying performance on the beam Sunday broke that streak and also meant it moved to floor with a 196 nearly guaranteed.

The Terps weren’t content to merely sneak across the 196 barrier, though. Rouse and

second, and following a signature pull-up jumper, Maryland had trimmed its deficit to 35-29 behind a 10-2 spurt.

The junior had 22 points in the first half, including 16 on 6-of-9 shooting in the second frame alone.

“I just saw how aggressive I can be in transition and the halfcourt,” Charles said. “They were in a triangle-and-two, and I was still able to get to the basket.”

But the Terps could not stop

Gustafson. The senior netted 26 first-half points on 10-of14 shooting, and in the few instances when she didn’t score, her physical style alone was a problem for the Terps.

Seldom-used center Olivia Owens was forced into the rotation with Jones and Fraser already on the bench with two fouls, and the freshman didn’t fare well, fouling out in six minutes of play. All four of the Terps’ forwards had at least two

fouls before halftime.

“What we need to work on is just trying not to get at the refs, and just being present,” Charles said.

Still, Charles kept the game close, and Maryland entered the locker room with a manageable 51-45 deficit.

Gustafson and Charles continued to trade blows after the intermission, but the Terps’ leader began to slow while Iowa’s star continued to

dominate.

“Megan’s so strong, so physical, and so just a very difficult matchup,” Frese said.

Gustafson continued to make left hook after left hook, and her final basket of the third quarter, a second-chance finish over her left shoulder, capped a 10-2 run to enter the deciding period with a 69-60 advantage.

Early in the fourth quarter, Gustafson went on a 7-1 personal run. Later, as streamers

Emilie leblanc earned a career-best 9.9 on beam, one of the top performances that helped Maryland secure its best beam score since 2004. tyler ecker/the diamondback

Barber posted 9.875s on floor, and three more Terps scored at least 9.8 to power a third seasonbest event score of the meet, a 49.175.

“This was great timing for us to finally hit like we needed to,” Rouse said. “Now we can go [into] our last couple meets with confidence.”

After a rocky start to the season and more recent struggles, the Terps completed their best weekend of the year, hitting the type of scores necessary if they are to avoid being one of the final eight teams into the NCAA tournament and therefore earn a spot in the second day of regionals.

“We’re peaking at the right time,” Nelligan said. “Friday night we had a big season high, and then to follow it up with another season high two days later — it means we’re peaking at the right time. We’re getting ready for the postseason.”

and confetti fell from the rafters, she teared up.

And in the handshake line, she and Charles had a prolonged embrace, recognizing each other’s monumental performances. But it was Gustafson’s epic night, causing and then taking advantage of Maryland’s foul trouble, that won out.

“This is not a bad loss, we got beat by a great team,” Frese said.

sportsdbk@gmail.com

sportsdbk@gmail.com

12 | Sports

monday, march 11, 2019

THIS WEEK’S GAMES

TWEET OF THE WEEK Women’s lacrosse

Anyone who says Krispy Kreme is overrated is from up north where you can only get them out of Walmart when they’re stale and cold. That hot out the fryer is something different...

Mar. 9

2 Maryland 4 Syracuse

@DinoTomlin, Maryland football signee Dino Tomlin

12 11

Men’s lacrosse 7 Maryland

Albany

Mar. 9

14 9

Baseball

Mar. 10

Maryland Stetson

8 4

women’s basketball

gutted by gustafson iowa forward megan gustafson (left) and maryland guard kaila charles put on a show in the Big Ten tournament championship game, but Gustafson’s 45 points won out, pushing the Hawkeyes to a 90-76 victory over the Terps in Indianapolis. courtesy of maryland athletics

Nation’s leading scorer puts up 45 as 3 Terps foul out in Big Ten championship loss

By Alex Rychwalski | @arychwal | Senior staff writer

INDIANAPOLIS — By the time Iowa forward Megan Gustafson checked back in with a couple of minutes left in the Big Ten tournament championship game, she had already sewn up two trophies — one for her team, and one for herself as the tournament’s most outstanding player.

Maryland women’s basketball guard Kaila Charles had tried to keep up as the NCAA’s leading scorer wreaked havoc on the Terps’ defense, and for much of the first three quarters, she was successful.

But Gustafson helped turn a tied game with 7:21 left in the third into a nine-point Iowa lead entering the

fourth, so it hardly mattered when she picked up her fourth foul and took a seat midway through the final period.

Gustafson scored 45 points en route to a 90-76 Hawkeyes win in the Big Ten Championship game, outdueling Charles’ career-high 36 and pushing No. 2-seed Iowa past the top-seeded Terps.

“A lot of adversity for us with a lot of foul trouble. We continued to just keep putting our heads down and keep battling,” coach Brenda Frese said. “We had no answer to be able to stop the All-American.”

A year removed from falling to Ohio State at the same stage of the confer-

ence tournament, Maryland set out to reclaim its place atop the Big Ten with a fourth tourney crown. But a Gustafson-led Iowa, which took the teams’ lone regular-season matchup in February behind another big performance from its star, wouldn’t be denied Sunday.

The Big Ten Player of the Year was unguardable. Maryland had three players foul out, and three more logged at least three fouls. Because of that, Maryland’s limited post depth was exposed.

“From the very first possession, they showed that the game was going to be called really tight,” Frese said,

“and that impacted us greatly.”

The opening minutes set the stage for the foul-laden remainder of the night.

Gustafson drew a foul on forward Stephanie Jones on Iowa’s first trip down floor, and Austin was quickly called for another guarding the senior.

Just two minutes in, forward Brianna Fraser was forced to come off the bench with Jones and Austin relegated to the sideline, and Iowa responded with an explosive 15-0 run to erase Maryland’s 7-2 start.

See iowa , p. 11

wrestling

Hemida takes third at Big Tens After dropping 1st match, senior goes on run for program-best finish Before the referee Matthew Gilpin @matthewwgilpin raised his arm as Staff writer the thirdplace finisher in the Big Ten tournament, Maryland wrestling heavyweight Youssif Hemida turned toward the crowd and flexed his arms.

Hemida had entered the co n fe re n ce to u r n a m e n t unseeded and lost his first match on Saturday, putting him in danger of missing the NCAA tournament. But he closed the first day with three wins, securing him a spot in the national bracket and keeping him alive entering day two of the Big Ten championships.

Once the dust settled, Hemida was left standing tall heavyweight youssif hemida was unseeded in the Big Ten tournament, but a 5-0 run powered him to the best finish for a Terp since joining the conference. marquise mckine/the diamondback on the podium, having won by

five straight matches on the weekend to take third place, the highest of any Maryland wrestler since joining the conference in 2014-15.

H e m i d a ’s d ay s ta r te d a ga i n s t Co n a n Je n n i n gs of Northwestern, where the winner would go on to wrestle for the coveted third place finish.

Although Hemida entered Sunday with a 3-1 record against Jennings, the lone loss came at last year’s conference tournament, when it mattered most.

Their match started slow, but after a scoreless first period, Hemida took advantage. An escape and a penalty point gave the Terp a 2-0 lead heading into the third frame.

There, Jennings cut the lead to 2-1 after an escape of

his own. The two wrestlers batted at each other for the final minute, but each time Jennings shot in for the winning takedown, Hemida sniffed it out and stuffed him.

With five seconds left, the Wildcat shot in one final time but Hemida used his quickness to get a takedown of his own and seal the win, 4-1.

Hemida’s victory set up a rematch from Feb. 2, against another wrestler he lost to: Wisconsin’s Trent Hillger.

M u c h l i ke h i s m a tc h against Jennings, Hemida and Hillger were deadlocked at zero going into the second period.

T h e a c t i o n p i c ke d u p midway through the second, with Hemida escaping to take a 1-0 lead. Then, Hillger grabbed a hold of Hemida’s leg and seemed to be on the way to a takedown.

M iraculously, Hemida held tough, refusing to sur-

render the two points. But after a third-period escape

by Hillger, the two heavyweights were tied once again.

With time running out, Hemida shot in and locked onto Hillger’s leg. Hillger scrambled but Hemida tightened his grip and managed to finally get the Badger down.

Now w i t h a 3 -1 l ea d , Hemida cut Hillger loose and sacrificed a point in order to avoid any last-second takedowns. Hemida’s strategy worked, as he successfully avoided Hillger and won the match, 3-2.

After an up-and-down season — and a rough start to the weekend — Hemida has proven once again to be one of the Big Ten’s best. And with the NCAA tournament now in his sights, he will look to close his career by soaring to even better heights. sportsdbk@gmail.com