Category: Featured
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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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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…
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Delaware poised to become 17th state to ban LGBTQ panic defense
First published Friday, June 30, 2023 in the Washington Blade. It was an extraordinary week in the Delaware Senate, as a bill to ban the LGBTQ+ panic defense, in which a defendant claims they panicked and killed or injured a victim upon finding out the person was gay or transgender and receive a lesser sentence…
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Journalism dean search: Many breathe sigh of relief as insider is picked to be next dean
First published Friday, April 21, 2023 in Stories Beneath the Shell. Many Philip Merrill College of Journalism faculty and staff seemed to breathe a sigh of relief today as it became clear that Rafael Lorente will be the journalism school’s next dean, ending weeks of waiting and nail biting in the college. In an interview…
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Shell Shocked: Why the rent is so damn high at UMD
Reported for my Advanced Audio and Podcast Reporting class at UMD, JOUR364. I helped report this story, contributing data analysis and the interview with Dennis Passarella-George, the director of resident life at UMD. Nicole Blanchard and Aaron Wright reported as well. Grace Kpetemey and Mat Schumer anchored the episode. Julia Eisen was the executive producer. Molly…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…