“The Lone Soldier”—Being the Only Advocate in the Room

To quote myself from the start of my first semester here at UMBC, “I have somewhat of a unique position in that I often find myself standing in the middle of the line–I am biracial, bisexual, nonbinary, and have lived below the poverty line in an upper middle to high class area. I straddle many…

Mutual Aid: One for All and All for One

  Nandi is a student staff member in the Women's Center and a Junior English major. Mutual aid, as a concept, is based in anarchism and the work of Petr Kropotkin. His work, “Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution”, is a foundational text for anarchists and other communist movements. But really, you don’t have to…

September Knowledge Exchange Roundup: A Voter Resource Guide

Last week, we had our first Knowledge Exchange of the Fall 2018 semester. With the midterm elections coming up in November, our overarching theme for these Knowledge Exchanges is political and civic engagement. The topic for this Knowledge Exchange was knowing your voting rights, and over the course of the event, we talked about the…

Music, Movies, and #MeToo

A critical look at the #MeToo movement and its limitations by student staff member, Sydney. Trigger Warning: This blog deals with Harvey Weinstein, Dr. Luke, and sexual violence/harassment; please practice self-care. Harvey Weinstein. He's a huge name in Hollywood but up until a few months ago, myself, and many others did not know who he was…

What are Pop Culture Pop Ups?! The Golden Globes: Black Out and Oprah

A blog post written by student staff member, Sydney.   It's official! The Women's Center has a new ongoing event starting this spring semester. What is it you ask? Pop Culture Pop Ups! You're probably wondering, "What the heck is a Pop Culture Pop Up?" Well, that's what I'm here to explain. If you frequent…

Women in Politics: No Way to Win

Having grown up right outside of D.C., Women's Center student staff member Hannah has spent most of her life following politics, and uses that passion here to reflect on its lack of gender parity.   Did you know that if you say "women in politics" three times while looking in a mirror, Hillary Clinton appears…

Women in Politics Roundtable Round-Up

The Women’s Center’s Spring Roundtable series has begun! On February 14th, we hosted the first of our three-part roundtable “Underrepresentation of Women in...” series. This roundtable was on “Women in Politics” and focused on the lack of women in the political sphere and the establishment. For this discussion, our panelists were Political Science professor Lisa…

A Time to Resist + A Time to Take Care

A reflection written by Women's Center Special Projects Coordinator, Amelia Meman So here we are. Another day in this brave new world. Are you exhausted yet? Emotionally, physically, psychologically? If you’re not--congratulations! That’s really good and you are a sweet glowing angel. If you are, though, you’re not alone and you are also a sweet…

Women’s March on Washington: We Marched. What’s Next?

A sampling of "what's next" from UMBC community members, curated by Jess Myers, Women's Center Director  Last week, I shared some of my hopes and desired outcomes from the Women's March on Washington. While I was looking forward to marching and being in relationship with other women and people at the march, I was (and am) more…

Women’s March on Washington

A reflection from Jess Myers, Women's Center director  Last weekend, I finally decided I would go to the Women’s March on Washington. I’ve been to marches in the past. I drove 18 hours from Baltimore to Ft. Benning, Georgia in my early 20s for the School of Americas protest with a van load of Mercy…