Expansion for the Law School

This week, the Maryland Daily Record reported the Maryland General Assembly had directed the University System of Maryland to explore the possibility of opening a branch of the University of Baltimore School of Law in Prince George's County. The idea of the PG law branch is to provide an alternative legal education, with public university tuition rates, to Maryland residents in the DC suburbs. There are five private law schools inside the beltway (American, Catholic, Howard, Georgetown, and George Washington) and one public (UDC). But Maryland residents must pay out-of-state or private tuition levels to attend these schools.

Given the success of the University of Baltimore/Towson University jointly-managed MBA program, UB should consider partnering with a USM school in Prince George's. There are two, the University of Maryland, College Park and Bowie State University. Bowie State is the better option. As an HBCU, partnering with Bowie State would give UB the ability to reach out to underserved populations and assist Bowie State with meeting is unique mission. Additionally, Bowie State is easily accessible from Annapolis, in addition to all of PG. It would be good to see UB and Bowie State consider this option.

His only son.....

As i was walking up the stairs to the study room, i wondered to myself would this be just naother study or would this one be an eye-opener, a life shocker to me that would get me excited about being one of his children. One of God's Children

Little did I know it was gonna be one of the most powerful lessons I have ever seen!

My youth pastor started out with a little garden knome

"This garden knome I hold in my hand, I created. His name is George and he is a child of me, his creator. Now i built this beautiful world for george full of trees, flowers and little animals. I let him live in this world and i loved him soooooooooooo much!! George and I would talk and walk and we have a wonderful relationship. the only rule he had to do was not walk through the gate, thats it!"

At this point I was like o i get it he is portraying the garden of eden, but then he took another direction.

He showed a slideshow of his cute little, adorable baby boy and said "Now this is the son of the creator, me =)"

He then went on with his story with the picture of his baby boy still up on the wall; "Now one day george got curious (Curious George heh lol) an decided to walk through that gate to see what was on the other side. when he did this the creator came looking for him and had seen what george had done. George had now created a gap between him and the creator, and that gap needed to be fixed."

at this point i was oo i see his son is jesus right? not even close

my youth pastor went on..."Now to bridge this gap, I can do one of two things, let my beautiful baby boy die for George's sins and the rest of all of mankind (or knomekind) so they may be forgiven or....

that is when my youth pastor brought out the baseball bat.....

he looked at the knome, and then he looked at his beautiful son

and then like lightening......BLAM!!!!

the knome smashed to pieces. " I could never sacrifice my one and only son, My beautiful baby boy for the likes of my creature. But GOD DID!!!"

"Do you UNDERSTAND how much God LOVES you?!?, God sacrificed his one and only son for YOU, because he loves you so much"

Now Jesus, o boy, he could have turned back and said "God, yeaaaa, the whole dying on the cross thing, just isn't my style." or " God, your saying I'm going to get whipped and beaten and nailed up on the cross and suffer immensely!, yea no thanks"

but no.....Jesus didnt do that......He "rose to the occasion" and died for us all because he too, loved each and everyone of us

After you are done reading this, please examine your life at this point and really consider discovering the wonderful, beautiful gift god has given us, his son Jesus Christ.

If you have any questions about God, Jesus, questions to life.....email me at changelives4jesus@yahoo.com and come join us at the UB Christian Fellowship Meetings monday and wednesday at 1230-2

See ya next week =)

Is Patience Really A Virtue?

I decided to take a step back from "academia" writing this week and post something from my personal blog. Enjoy!

People always say "Patience is a virtue", which in a lot of ways is true. But nobody ever tells you that being patient also takes hard work, faith, and perseverance. A virtue is "a desirable quality, moral excellence, goodness, righteousness, etc". Patience, by definition is "an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay." So when dealing with a situation in which you are made to wait an extended amount of time, how exactly do you practice patience? By nature, I am not a patient person, and when I have to wait for something to happen, I tend to get restless LOL. Like, I know that I shouldn't but it's hard not to. For example, I'm currently dealing with a guy whom I really like, and we get along great. The only problem is that he's "lost" aka trying to find himself and everything like that. So, I want to be patient while he's on this journey, and possibly help him as far as encouraging him and everything, but its just so hard. And I know its what I should do, not only because I would want someone to do the same thing for me, but also because its the Christian thing to do. But is there a difference between being patient and waiting for a result thats undesirable? I mean because as far as I know, he could not want to be in a relationship at all. And where does that leave me? This may seem selfish, but I have to guard my feelings. Now, I believe in God and I know that he won't have me wait for someone who isnt worth it. Its from Him that I heard that I should be patient and just stand still. But He didnt say for how long. So until this situation resolves itself, I guess I have to be patient...so yes, PATIENCE really is a virtue.

Are We Adults Yet?

Over the holiday week, my Dad came to visit me. My family lives in California so it’s a rare occurrence that we get to spend holidays together. I showed him around the school and the city. We spent time talking about my work, school, what I saw myself doing after school was done…the usual father, daughter stuff. All in all, it was a great time.

But his visit made me think about being an adult…more importantly, when do you really feel like an adult? I’m 26 and I moved out at 18. I’ve been working and earning my own money since I was 16. I’ve bought furniture, a car and an apartment. My actions say I’m not a kid anymore. So, why, when we get around our parents, do we feel like kids again?

Is being a student contributing to this feeling of delayed adulthood? If you are a student who is taking classes and you’re not fresh out of high school, college feels different. But some would say we are being more adult by making the choice to return to school after a hiatus. I applaud those of us making that choice.

In these difficult economic times, many of my friends have had to move back in with their parents to get by. I refuse to believe that this means we have to revert to our childhood selves or be under the eye of scrutiny which may have plagued us as teenagers. Adulthood is not defined by actions, deeds or goods….and it shouldn’t be something to be feared. I think we all walk the line for a long time, no matter our age, of admitting that we are adults. In the end, I don’t think the opinions of others, even our own family, can define it. So I think, for this California girl, it’s time to stop trying.

Maslow & Me

Here we are, coming out of the holiday weekend... I, as it happens, don't celebrate any of those holidays, but I love watching the people who do. Dressed up, reverent, engaged in their process... It's all good.

Because I lack that ritual, I look for other places to belong. Those of you doing classes in Psych or Education (or presumably a variety of other fields) will know all about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. And you will know that there is a tier up in the middle of the hierarchy for BELONGING. For that human desire to be part of something larger. For a variety of reasons I often find this challenging. Part of it is the queer thing, of course, and a lot of it is just that I have often taken the windier branch of whatever road I happen to find myself traveling. This has worked out well, I suppose, but it has also made everything take longer (which is why I am only now treading the path of MFA grad student, I guess).

For me, it turns out that UB fills a big part of that tier. I see the bright white UB letters from the train station, or from around town, and I get the happies. I go to class and everything feels better (even if class is somewhat surreal, or somewhat harrowing, sometimes). For the first time in close to 20 years, I'm someplace I'm supposed to be, doing what I'm supposed to do. I belong here.

Part of this is that I am lucky enough to be in classes with people I like and respect. And a lot of it is that the instructors of my MFA program are so welcoming, and so warm, and so good at what they do. They know their stuff, but they are not bossy and full of themselves about it. They evolve along with us. And they teach by guiding and leading, not by arbitarily telling us what to do.

So thanks, UB, for being home. And happy holiday season, for those of you who celebrate in the spring.

The University and Mass Transit

The University of Baltimore is a great school for those who are mass-transit bound, but not just those in Baltimore. The University itself is next to the Mt. Royal stop on the Baltimore Light Rail system. But I live in Columbia and work in DC. Light rail would not cut it.

Fortunately, MTA's MARC service runs from Union Station on Capital Hill in DC directly to Penn Station, which is conveniently across the street from the University of Baltimore's Academic Center. Scheduling a pick up with my wife once a week made it possible to attend evening classes despite working in the District and keeping green.

Because of this, it is important that the University of Baltimore take a role in the future of Baltimore's mass transit development. Discussion of both the Baltimore Red Line and a Charles Street trolly are especially relevant because they will link the University's campus to the vibrant communities surrounding Mt. Vernon, Harbour Place, and the Johns Hopkins University's Homewood campus, and also link the campus to leading employment centers, such as the Social Security Administration. This will only benefit everyone associated with UB.

A little Free Write

I decided most of the time, our posts are just regualr ol "let me talk about this and you read", im swithcing it up this week, im gonna do a little free write, so hopefully you all like this

Heroes;
The way I see it
When most people think of heroes
They think of larger-than-life patriots
Firefighters, Soldiers, Cops, Doctors, and even our superheroes
People who have devoted their professional and personal lives
To help those who have fallen
And need a hand to help get back up

They stand for
Hope,
Selflessness,
Courage,
Nobility,
Strength,
Truth
And
Justice

The choices they make
That could change the lives of so many
When faced with the unthinkable and the unimaginable
Is what defines them

We live in a very “grey” world
Where around any corner of anywhere
An act of violence, an act of cruelty, an act of evil
Is waiting for us
And could change our lives forever

It’s at these moments in our life when we need someone
Who has courage and strength
And is willingly to stand up for us
And give up their lives to help us out in our time of need

Heroes;
People who stand for something bigger than ourselves
People who will cross the line to do what is right
People who risk their lives day in and day out.

These our the noble souls who might never be recognize
For their graciousness, their kindness, their helpfulness
But keep goin on anyway fighting the good fight
And saving the lives of many

This is for the heroes who have saved
Who have helped
Who have died helping
Who have been forgotten for their efforts
……….

Thank you