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Author: joel@joellevtov.com
Journalism dean search: Some raise concerns over candidate’s work for liberal think tank
Part of a Stories Beneath the Shell series covering the appointment to dean of the University of Maryland’s journalism school. First published Thursday, April 6, 2023 in Stories Beneath the Shell. One of the first things Sam Fulwood, who is a finalist to become dean of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, said at his…
Journalism dean search: Dean candidate brings experience in newsroom, but lots of controversial history
Part of a Stories Beneath the Shell series covering the appointment to dean of the University of Maryland’s journalism school. First published Saturday, March 25, 2023 in Stories Beneath the Shell. She’s doubled the number of reporters of color in her newsroom. She capitalized the “B” in Black before anyone else. She turned her newsroom…
UMD students, staff mark first anniversary of Ukraine invasion with vigil
First published Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023 in Stories Beneath the Shell. In the midst of happy students basking in the unusually warm February weather, dozens of Ukrainian students were rather more somber, standing around the McKeldin Mall sundial to mark the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Thursday. “It’s been a year of…
UMD plans to include “X” as nonbinary gender mark option in IT system
First published Tuesday, May 10, 2022 in the Diamondback. One letter can make all the difference for nonbinary students. The University of Maryland has committed to implementing an “X” gender marker — indicating that a person is neither male nor female — by 2026 as part of a huge overhaul of its student information systems…
Clarice performances highlight the future of livestream shows
First published Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021 in Stories Beneath the Shell. When the University of Maryland shut down its campus on March 12, 2020, because of COVID-19, everything changed for opera professor Craig Kier. From one day to the next, he had to teach his students online. And have them perform online. Kier could teach…
One UMD orchestra only plays music from games
First published Monday, Dec. 20, 2021 in Stories Beneath the Shell. Gaming music isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks about an orchestra. But that’s exactly what the University of Maryland’s Gamer Symphony Orchestra plays. “There’s a million orchestras that play Beethoven and a lack of general awareness of the artistry…
Why agnostic and atheist Jews continue to identify as Jewish
First published Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021 in Mitzpeh. Russell Schwartz decided that God isn’t for him. “That’s never really interfered with my ability to identify as Jewish,” the senior computer science and mathematics major at this university said. He’s not the only one. One in five Jews don’t believe in God, according to the Pew…
Dedicated maintenance man provides welcoming presence for UMD community
First published Dec. 21, 2021 in Stories Beneath the Shell. Stanley Proctor is as close to a superhero as a maintenance guy can get. Timothy York, Proctor’s supervisor, said students and professors routinely request Proctor to fix whatever needs fixing. “Stanley’s work ethic is like not too many people. I can give him any task…
UMD enters second phase of more than decade-long Campus Creek restoration
First published Wednesday, July 7, 2021 in the Diamondback. The Campus Creek at the University of Maryland, instead of providing a healthy ecosystem and serving as a home to aquatic animals, is home to water bottles and algae. Now, the university is fully restoring the creek, and experts said the restoration could again provide a…
Behind the scenes, these employees ran the quarantine and isolation housing at UMD
First published Wednesday, June 30, 2021 in the Diamondback. Donning an N95 mask, Mike Butler drove students from their dorms to their quarantine or isolation housing in his black Suburban, separated by plexiglass. Butler serves as the vice president of Special Events Medical Services, a medical transport company that provides emergency medical and ambulance services…