In the News

Jeremy Blevins ’09, Men’s Lacrosse, in Baltimore Sun
Men’s Lacrosse Goalie Jeremy Blevins ’09 was featured in the Baltimore Sun as the “little goalie who comes up big in big games.” The Sun reported that Blevins, who is 5 feet 8 and 145 pounds, was an honorable mention All-American last season and is off to a strong start in 2009. As the nation’s active leader in goalkeeper victories, Blevins is a solid UMBC player and despite the high ranking, “the Retrievers still have to prove themselves again this season.” This story, “Size No Concern for UMBC’s Steady Force in the Goal” ran Thursday, February 26.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/lacrosse/bal-sp.preston26feb26,0,6153833.column
Simonne Michelle Jones ’08 in the NY African American Community Examiner
Simonne Michelle Jones ’08, an artist, musician and AIDS activist, was featured in the NY African American Community Examiner as part of its coverage of Black History Month. The short feature, “Simonne Michelle Jones: Artist, Singer, Musician and AIDS Humanitarian,” appeared Sunday, February 18.
http://www.examiner.com/x-1731-NY-African-American-Community-Examiner

Josh Michael ’10 in the Baltimore Sun
Josh Michael ’10, the student regent on the University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents, was co-author of an opinion essay for the Baltimore Sun that praised a fourth straight tuition freeze for resident undergraduates at Maryland public universities. The piece, “Tuition Freeze Right Move for Maryland’s Universities,” ran Monday, February 23.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.say23feb23,0,3527591.story
Robert Provine, Psychology, in Wired Science
Robert Provine, professor of psychology, and his latest research were featured in Wired magazine’s science blog, Wired Science on Tuesday, February 24. Provine, a noted expert on the science of laughter, has turned his attention to tears and how Photoshopping the tears out of pictures of sad faces changes the perceived emotion. The story, “Without Tears, Is There Still Sadness?” was based on Provine’s recent article in the journal Evolutionary Psychology.
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/02/tears.html
Tom Schaller, Political Science, in the News
In his latest column for the Baltimore Sun, Associate Professor of Political Science Tom Schaller wrote about the potential contribution the mortgage interest deduction has made to the ailing U.S. economy. “The mortgage crisis also reveals the dark underbelly of the mortgage interest deduction. For one thing, it disproportionately benefits high-income earners who buy expensive homes,” Schaller wrote. The column, “Sacred Cow Shares Blame for Economic Crisis,” appeared Tuesday, February 24.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.schaller24feb24,0,1361600.column
Politico.com interviewed Schaller regarding the official Republican Party response by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal to President Obama’s address to both houses of Congress. “Some day, when scholars are trying to fingerpoint the nadir of the post-Bush Republican Party, they may arrive at Jindal’s speech tonight,” Schaller said. “Though it was a tough moment for any Republican to give the opposition response, his speech came across as unserious in content and condescending in its tone.” The story, “Jindal’s Response: Panned, Seared,” ran Wednesday, February 25.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/19283.html
Schaller was also quoted in a Thursday, February 26, The New York Times article analyzing Jindal’s response speech. “This was the moment for him to seize the mantle with new ideas, new direction, and lay the groundwork for himself as a creative new thinker,” said Schaller. “He just used old platitudes and party clichés.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/26/us/politics/26jindal.html
Zeynep Tufekci, Sociology, in the Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun interviewed Zeynep Tufekci, an assistant professor in the sociology department, about Facebook users’ willingness to reveal private items about themselves to the public. “It used to be that ‘private’ was intimate and invisible. But what we have here, on Facebook, is intimate and visible,” she said. The story, “Facebook Members Make Their Innermost Thoughts Public,” ran February 24.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/bal-to.personal24feb24,0,4061188.story
Jeffrey Wilkinson ’89 in The New York Times
The New York Times reported on a post-birth condition that some women are suffering in Africa. In Tanzania, some women had gone through prolonged labor, after which the babies died and the mothers were left with a fistula, an internal wound that leaves them incontinent. Jeffrey Wilkinson ’89, an expert from Duke University on fistula repair, noted that women with fistulas frequently become outcasts because of the odor. The story, “After a Devastating Birth Injury, Hope,” ran Monday, February 23.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/health/24hospital.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&emc=eta1