Author: joel@joellevtov.com
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Empty chairs on McKeldin honor Israeli hostages
First published Nov. 12, 2023 in Stories Beneath the Shell. by Daryl Perry Over 200 chairs. Over 200 hostages. Each chair on the University of Maryland’s McKeldin Mall on Nov. 9 represented one person Hamas holds hostage in the Gaza Strip. Dina Bash, a senior psychology major, said she hoped that the event would remind people…
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Students demand cease-fire in Gaza at rally on Reichskristallnacht anniversary
First published Nov. 10, 2023 in Stories Beneath the Shell. by Sanya Wason “Free, Free Palestine!” The chant echoed across Hornbake Plaza at the University of Maryland on Thursday as students supporting Palestine joined a walkout to demand a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip as the conflict entered its 33rd day. Israel launched the deadly…
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FACT CHECK: Were antisemitic slogans shouted at a UMD pro-Palestine event?
First published Friday, Nov. 10, 2023 in Stories Beneath the Shell. CLAIM: Protesters at a pro-Palestine protest on Nov. 9 shouted antisemitic slogans and chalked messages calling for a second Holocaust. SBS ASSESSMENT: Partially true. Two eyewitnesses confirmed that students shouted slogans calling for revolution and event organizers confirmed that someone chalked a message reading…
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New exhibit highlights UMD student activism over last 100 years
First published Oct. 31, 2023 in Stories Beneath the Shell. by Daranee Balachandar 2020’s racial reckoning drove university archivist Lae’l Hughes-Watkins to create a new collection highlighting activism on the University Maryland’s campus. Hughes-Watkins, an associate director at the university’s library department, said she wanted to highlight issues that have fallen out of the nation’s…
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Hundreds gather to mourn UMD student’s death
Reported with Kiersten Hacker. First published Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023 in Stories Beneath the Shell. Content warning: This article mentions death and loss. Resources for the University of Maryland community are listed at the end of this article. Flowers. Candles. Hugs. Singing. Offerings. A comfort dog. All these were on display as about 200 University…
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Clothesline Project returns weeks after campus chalking controversy
Editor’s note: This article references rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment and transphobic phrases. If you or someone you know needs support, help is available. The University of Maryland’s Health Center runs a 24-hour crisis line for assault survivors – call (301) 741-3442. A national hotline for survivors is available at (800) 656-4673. The 24-hour National…
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Fourth World Culture Festival gathers hundreds of thousands on the National Mall
First published Oct. 13, 2023 in Stories Beneath the Shell. By Jess Daninhirsch The fourth-ever World Culture Festival, organized by the Art of Living Foundation, offered a trip around the globe including meditation, performances and speeches for its roughly one million visitors without leaving the National Mall in Washington. The three-day festival, which ran from…
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Sarah McBride ‘not running to be the trans representative in Congress’
First published Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023 in the Washington Blade. Sarah McBride is running for Delaware’s sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. If you ask her what the most important issues are for voters, she’ll tick off several things: The cost of education, prescription drugs, housing, fear of gun violence, fear of the…
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Questions remain after Rehoboth Beach marijuana ban
First published on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2024 in the Washington Blade. Want to light up in Rehoboth Beach, Del.? If you want to smoke a joint, you’re out of luck.Rehoboth Beach’s mayor and Board of Commissioners voted last week to ban the smoking of cannabis on public property within the city’s 1.6-square-mile limits – despite…
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Trevor Project in crisis amid financial woes, staff dissension, ‘union busting’: sources
First published Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023 in the Washington Blade. (Editor’s note: This article contains references to suicide and self-harm. If you are having thoughts of suicide or are in crisis, call 988 to talk to a counselor or 911 for medical attention.) He was cutting himself and his mother was worried. Whom should she…
