“They’re fighters”: Maryland softball finished last in Big Ten, but expects improvement next year, p. 11
MEDIA INNOVATION: UMD student awarded for his work in film and virtual reality, p. 6
The University of Maryland’s Independent Student Newspaper ONLINE AT
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Monday, May 13, 2019
administration
campus
First presidential search forum focuses on diversity
Campus climate data released
About 45 people attended the event in Stamp Student Union Members of the University of Maryland community expressed concerns about diversity to the comStaff writer mittee searching for the university’s next president Wednesday. About 45 people attended the forum in Stamp Student Union. The event aimed to give members of the presidential search committee — tasked with choosing university President Wallace Loh’s replacement before his scheduled June 2020 retirement — an opportunity to receive comments on the process. “We are not here to respond today,” said Gary Attman, a regent of the University System of Maryland and the committee’s chair. “We are here to listen and hear your feedback.” Twenty-one people spoke at the forum, many of them highlighting the importance of minority representation in the search. Nana Brantuo, an education college doctoral candidate and Office of Diversity and Inclusion graduate assistant, noted 10 of the committee’s 20 members are white men. The committee includes faculty, alumni, an undergraduate student and a graduate student. Former university president William “Brit” Kirwan and former men’s basketball coach Gary Williams will also serve on the committee. “I just want to know how important it is to you all to have a president that is deeply invested in also taking action as related to diversity, equity, and inclusion,” she said. Attman, who initially said the committee would not be answering questions, responded to her — pointing out the number of women on the committee, eight out of a total of 20 members. Taylor Green, a junior community health major who ran unsuccessfully for student body president on a platform centered around minority representation, took issue with the fact that only two students were chosen to serve on the search committee. “You would assume we would have more seats by
Maria Trovato @mariatrov
See committee , p. 8
student government
GSG wants oversight on int’l student fee
Results show detachment, safety concerns higher among minorities The
by
The survey, which included
Jillian Atelsek University 7,027 respondents, aimed to @jillian_atelsek o f M a r y l a n d measure student, faculty and
Senior staff writer r e l e a s e d t h e staff perceptions of diversity
f i n a l r e s u l t s and equity on the campus. of its campus climate survey It was initially distributed to We d n e sd ay, h i g h l i g h t i n g over 50,000 members of the feelings of marginalization university community. among minorities and About 80 percent of divisions between students and respondents reported they administrators. felt the campus climate was
more positive than negative, according to a report of the results authored by outside consultant Jennifer Hubbard. But a “disproportionate number reported experiences of feeling marginalized and detached” — mostly people of color, women, non-binary people, LGBTQ people and people with disabilities. “I don’t want people to hear that the majority of people are having good experiences,
‘A way to build power’ By Sarah D’Souza | @sarahdsouza29 | Staff writer
The Maryland Food Co-op is calling for students and alumni to refrain from donating to the University of Maryland, in a lastditch attempt to pressure Stamp Student Union into keeping the establishment from closing permanently May 31.
The University of Maryland’s GSG voted unaniAngela Roberts m o u s ly to s u p p o r t t h e @24_angier formation of a student Senior staff writer a dv i so ry co m m i t te e to oversee the international student fee at its meeting Monday. The Graduate Student Government’s leaders said they were caught off-guard when the fee — $125 per semester for full-time international students and $62.50 for part-time international students — was announced in February 2017. Then-GSG president Stephanie Cork said the Committee for the Review of Student Fees, a body composed of students and university officials that is supposed to advise on all mandatory fee proposals, was not involved with the international student fee. The fee mainly funds the Office of International Affairs and International Student and Scholar Services. The resolution — which passed 18-0 with no abstentions — calls for GSG, Student Government Association and Residence Hall Association members to sit on an oversight committee. It is an attempt to inject a sense of transparency and accountability into the allocation of the charge, which has drawn criticism from graduate students. “At its origins, [the fee] doesn’t have sufficient student input,” said GSG student affairs vice president Xu Han. “After its implementation, GSG is hoping to work with the university to make it right.”
The Co-Op, a worker-owned sandwich shop, has been on the campus since 1975. Jillian Atelsek/ for the diamondback
The Co-op — a vegan-friendly shop owned by its workers — brought in enough money to pay off its debt to the state, amounting to about $8,500. However, it still owes Stamp about $40,000, not including the amount it owes vendors, according to Stamp director Marsha Guenzler-Stevens. Last month, Stamp rejected the shop’s plan to pay off its debt, saying it came too late. As of Sunday evening, nearly 3,000 people have signed on to refuse donating to this university if the Co-op is shuttered and to continue the boycott until a student-run cooperative space, on or off-campus, is secured. Co-op worker-owner Michael Brennan said the boycott isn’t meant to vilify Stamp or the university, but rather to put pressure on the administration to cement a cooperative spot nearby, even if the business is shut down. “It seems kind of harsh to call for a boycott of the university, but … it’s a tactic to build power in order for a positive outcome to come out of this,” said Brennan, a public policy graduate student. “It’s a way to build power, so that we can make sure that the cooperative’s legacy is preserved on this campus.” Even in the face of the boycott, Stamp remains firm in its decision to shut down the Co-op by the end of the month, Guenzler-Stevens said. See co-op, p. 8
See GSG, p. 8 4 FEATURES
See survey, p. 8
michael brennan, a worker-owner at the Maryland Food Co-op, is helping lead an effort to save the establishment before it’s set to close at the end of the month. joe ryan/the diamondback
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2 OPINION
and say, ‘That’s a win,’” said interim chief diversity officer Cynthia Edmunds. “We have to listen to the multiple voices — particularly those who are not feeling engaged, who feel isolated, who feel marginalized.” Fo u r t e e n p e r c e n t o f respondents indicated they felt either “somewhat” or “completely” emotionally unsafe on the campus,
community
The body is calling for the formation of an advisory committee
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