Hello friends — we haven’t stopped blogging, we’ve just moved to a newer, prettier website at CampusDriveDBK.wordpress.com. Thanks for reading.

Although College Park residents may have once enjoyed the convenience of throwing a quarter into a coin-operated meter when stopping by the shopping center, they now have to grapple with more complex electronic pay stations.

Customers must now pay 25 cents for 20 minutes of parking at one of five convenient pay stations on the strip. And while the city may be boasting a more up-to-date method of parking, residents don’t seem to be enjoying the update.

“It’s stupid,” alumna Michelle Cleveland said. “It used to be so convenient to just throw your change into the meter, but now you have to take the time to go to the parking tickets box and it takes so much longer.”

Instead of simply using loose change to pay for a few minutes of parking, residents will now memorize their space number and enter it in the machine to pay; if a credit card is used, there is a 75 cent minimum, which translates to one hour of parking.

Some said this method is far less convenient than a coin-operated meter, and believe it is simply a method to generate more revenue.

“How is a person going to remember to check for a number, and then remember to [go to] this new machine?” junior Camille Sheehan said. “This is clearly a ploy to just get more money from tickets.”

In the past, no change meant no parking. Now, too much change might have the same effect.

— Sarah Hogue

Nothing says personal freedom quite like cruising down the street sans seat belt, medical marijuana and a gun in the glove box, on the way to your unlicensed embalming practice.

Yet, students at this university are settling for less, as a study released this month by two political science professors ranked the state last in granting residents personal freedoms and 43rd for overall freedom.

Much of the state’s low ranking is attributed to its strict laws regulating guns, gambling, homeschooling and occupational licensing, according to the study, Freedom in the 50 States, co-authored by Jason Sorens and William Ruger.

A ban on same-sex marriages — which came close to being defeated in the state House of Representatives in March — also lowered the state’s ranking, according to the study from the Mercatus Center, a research and education organization at George Mason University.

“Since spring, there’s been a lot of hope, but maybe I’m overly optimistic,” said Hannah Spiro, president of the Jewish LGBT student group Hamsa. “It’s a lot more on the agenda than it used to be, and I think peoples’ opinions are changing.”

The Free State lagged behind No. 48 New York in granting personal freedom, and although that state took last place overall, it legalized same-sex marriage on Friday night.

“I think we basically feel like it could be a lot worse because the climate in Maryland, as far as discrimination is concerned, is preferable to a lot of other regions in the country,” said Spiro, a senior Jewish studies major.

Junior psychology major Lauren Mendelsohn said the state’s ranking did not shock her because of its strict punishments for low-level possession of marijuana.

“Students have twice as many things to be afraid of,” said Mendelsohn, president of the university’s chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. “In addition to the state being strict, our university is also extremely strict.”

A bill that would allow states to regulate and tax marijuana was introduced to the U.S. Congress June 23 and would also affect the university’s policies if it passes. Mendelsohn said policymakers should remain open-minded to avoid making laws that do more harm than good.

“They’re very strict with being caught with possession in any amount, even little crumbs in a bag,” she said. “They can charge you with a year for having just a teeny little piece of bud in your pocket.”

The study declared the most personal freedom was in Oregon, and New Hampshire took first place overall. Respectively, those states refuse to authorize sobriety checkpoints and seat belt laws.

— Rebecca Lurye

A group of engineering students made history last month when they set two national records with the flight of their human-powered helicopter at the Comcast Center.

According to the Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center’s website, the National Aeronautic Association observed as Judy Wexler, a life sciences graduate student and the helicopter’s pilot, hovered the helicopter off the ground for 4.2 seconds. This flight earned the team national records for both the duration of a human-powered helicopter flight and the first flight of a human-powered helicopter by a female pilot.

The world record for duration of a human-powered helicopter flight is held by a Japanese team, Yuri I, with a flight of around 20 seconds, said Brandon Bush, a graduate project manager on the team. Bush said he hopes the next major stepping stone for the project will be to break that world record.

“Even if we just broke the record, if we got, say, 25 seconds or 30 seconds, that would be huge because we would have the world record,” Bush said.

The ultimate goal is to qualify for the Sikorsky Prize. According to the American Helicopter Society’s regulations, to qualify for the award, their human-powered helicopter must achieve a 60-second hover time, momentarily reach an altitude of 3 meters and stay within a 10 square meter area. No team has been able to meet all of the requirements.

The helicopter, named Gamera by the team, is powered by hand and foot pedaling. The pilots undergo physical training in order to successfully pilot the craft.

Wexler, the pilot for the record-setting flight, is in California working on a graduate program, so the team may use one of its other two trained pilots for the upcoming test flights, Bush said.

With hopes of taking the next test flight in July, the team is working on minor modifications to some of the structural aspects of the helicopter, particularly blade design, Bush said, hoping to beat the world record.

“The blades are one of the most critical pieces, so if we can make those lighter or somehow get them to give us more thrust for less power, then we’re much better off for it,” Bush said.

–Annie Emberland

While the prospect of retirement may be a bit off students’ radars, it’s never too early to start saving, according to family and consumer science staff member Lynn Little.

More than a dozen faculty and staff members gathered in the University Health Center yesterday to listen to advice on the importance of saving money in the face of Social Security’s uncertain future. But no students showed up to hear the message.

“When you start early, putting a small amount of money away on a regular basis towards retirement, that money has a long time to grow in value,” said Little, “So by the time you are of the age to retire, what you started out with — small amounts today — has grown into a nice, comfortable sum.”

The first step is to set goals, such as an expected retirement age and a target sum of cash to have in the bank account beforehand, said Little.

Factors to take into consideration: housing expenses, taxes, medical bills, debt and recreation.

Many financial professionals suggest making sure individuals have collected enough money in their accounts to have at least 70 to 80 percent of their current income each year after they retire, Little said.

Diego Hernandez, a lecturer for the Maryland English Institute, said he wished he’d heeded this advice earlier.

“If you do the math, I’m 31; I could put a fraction of what somebody who’s 40 needs to put away and still have the same amount of money at the end of the day,” said Diego. “I wish I had started saving when I was 18.”

— Lauren Hicks

In a pinch for math and science teachers, Prince George’s County Public Schools officials hired instructors from overseas but didn’t reimburse them for all their expenses, according to a federal investigation into the school district.

The U.S. Labor Department ruled early last week that the school district owes $4.2 million in back wages to 1,044 foreign teachers, who are mostly from the Philippines, according to The Washington Post. The incident is costing the system a total of $5.9 million, and this expense could impact the quality of education received by county students applying to this university.

Those teachers paid out-of-pocket for the costs of securing temporary work visas — expenses that, by law, the schools should have covered. Additionally, the school district owes $1.7 million in penalties because officials were not receptive to investigators’ demands that they pay the back wages, The Post reported.

Prince George’s County represents a significant portion of the university’s undergraduate population, with 2,379 students coming from the area last fall. That’s second only to Montgomery County, which produced 6,941 students for that semester. It is also second for number of graduate students.

PGCPS Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said that coughing up that cash would prove detrimental to the schools’ competitiveness and that officials plan to appeal the Labor Department’s decision.

“[The penalties] may have a devastating impact on PGCPS and its employees and the school system’s ability to continue to place a highly qualified teacher in every classroom,” he told The Post earlier this month.

The expense falls during tough economic times, as the county faces a $155 million budget shortfall that has resulted in slashed funding for sports programs, an overburdened faculty and an increased possibility for hundreds of layoffs, among other consequences.

Senior journalism major Nicole Jones attended two Prince George’s County high schools, and said the financial strain was often obvious. At Central High School, where she spent her freshman year, she said teachers would sometimes not show up to class, and students knew some of the resources were lacking and that teachers felt they weren’t getting paid enough.

“I definitely think [these expenses] will have a huge impact. They already don’t have enough books and supplies for students — well, they didn’t in 2007,” she said.

Federal investigators and school system officials have been negotiating for the past six months but have not yet come to an agreement.

Although the system has begun to reimburse teachers for various paperwork-filing and anti-fraud fees — which can cost hundreds — officials said they shouldn’t have to pay for other services that they deemed optional.

Many of the educators paid fees of about $1,000 to recruitment agencies, but the school system maintains those expenses were not necessary components of the hiring process.
The Labor Department countered that notion. Because the system signed off on the teachers’ contracts for their visas, it is monetarily responsible, the department said.

— Alissa Gulin

In an e-mail sent to its listserv this morning, the Jewish Student Union endorsed all of the Action Party candidates for Student Government Association except one: vice president of finance candidate Drew Carroll. For that role, the group endorsed Love Party candidate David Berlin.

Although the difference an endorsement makes cannot be quantified, JSU’s executive board has endorsed SGA success stories for the past several years, including current President Steve Glickman and former SGA presidents Jonathan Sachs and Andrew Friedson.

JSU officials said the combination of concrete ideas in the Action Party’s platform and its candidates’ experience made the party the best choice for the Jewish community.

“What really stood out was [Kaiyi Xie’s] desire to create a cohesive communication base in the SGA and with the community and other student groups on campus,” said JSU President Josh Finifter. “His energy and passion to sort of make SGA a more open environment, as well as an environment where things will actually change short-term and long-term.”

Finifter, a junior accounting and operations management major, said the endorsement was made after the JSU board asked candidates from both parties to fill out a questionnaire about various issues at the university.

The group endorsed Berlin, who has served as JSU’s vice president of finance this year, to hold that same position in the SGA.
“One of the important things to note is while party politics is important, what’s more important is to choose the best people for each SGA position,” Finifter said.

Because of his experience with student groups, Finifter said Berlin has the background to work successfully with groups that may be struggling financially because of budget cuts.

Although Berlin did not comment on the endorsement because of his role in JSU, the university’s largest student cultural group, according to his biography on the Love Party website, he has served as treasurer for UMD Kesher and Maryland Jewish Experience and serves on the SGA’s finance committee.

“He knows both sides of the program, and he also is a very approachable, compassionate person to bring the groups together as well as help each group succeed,” Finifter said. “He would be that guy who would say, ‘This is what has to happen, but this is what we’re going to do about it.’ He would fight for the students.”

— Lauren Kirkwood

About 30 student activists who have urged the university to cut ties with a janitorial supply company found guilty of violating federal labor laws finally got what they wanted last week — a meeting with university President Wallace Loh.

But it wasn’t the outcome they wanted.

Since October, members of Feminism Without Borders have repeatedly asked to meet with Loh face-to-face to talk about what they feel is the university’s moral obligation to cut ties with Daycon. And April 6 at 1 p.m., three members of the group ascended the Main Administration Building steps to meet with Loh.

Feminism Without Borders President Mary Yanik said while Loh expressed his “commitment to social justice” and even surprise at Daycon’s actions, he stood by the stance he announced last month: The university could not terminate its contract with Daycon as a reprisal for the company’s pending appeal of the ruling because such an action would be unconstitutional and illegal.

The student leaders, who had obtained a copy of the university’s Daycon contract, argued that it explicitly stated the university could cut the contract if it had cause to do so. However, group members said their claims seemed to fall on deaf ears.

“I feel the response of the president was just sort of dismissive of us because obviously we don’t have law degrees, but if the president won’t listen to us, then we’ll go get legal experts to back up our position,” Yanik said.

— Leah Villanueva

[Editor’s note: The name of a sexual assault victim in the following article was withheld due to the sensitive nature of the crime.]

Last night, the university’s Take Back The Night event empowered women to make this campus a safe haven and a place to safely call their home.

“How many women feel comfortable walking along Route One at 2 a.m.?” sociology lecturer Michelle Corbin asked. “Or going on a jog after dusk along the railroad tracks or even walking to your car in the mall parking lot alone at night? We are here, as women, to take back our rights.”

About 60 students attended the event that served as an open forum for victims of sexual assault to realize that they are not alone. The Sexual Assault Response and Prevention Program will offer emotional support toward a healthy recovery, said SARPP coordinator Allison Bennett.

“Speaking out is putting the shame where it belongs — on the perpetrators,” she said.

The event — sponsored by organizations such as Feminism Without Borders, SARPP, the Vagina Monologues and more — turned emotional when one female spoke about being raped by a friend. She said that although working through the pain is a long process, SARPP counseling is helping her cope immensely.

“When I told my mom about it, she called me a whore,” she said. “My grades started slipping, and I lost a lot of my friends because they sided with my attacker. Even though I am still not over it and have not reached a level without fear or anger, I am healing.”

Attendees said they felt passionate about the issue and wanted to take a stand against sexual abuse.

Sophomore history major Aryaan Azarbarzin, president of Pi Kappa Alpha, said he and his fraternity brothers chose to attend this event to bring to light an issue that is often silenced.

“Fraternities cannot ignore this issue as a community,” he said. “There have been several bad incidents in frats around the country, which I think is horrible. Frat houses should be the safest place for women.”

Signs with statistics were hung around the room, representing the vast number of sexual assaults that occur.

The biggest poster in the room simply stated, “No One is Alone.”

— By Maria Romas

Dekunle Somade wants students to Get Schooled.

Somade, a senior finance major and former Diamondback columnist, was recently named a finalist in MTV and College Board’s nationwide Get Schooled: College Affordability Challenge, for his proposal to improve financial aid resources through texting.

The contest called for students to “create digital tools to enhance or simplify the financial aid process,” according to its website.

Somade said that after working with low-income high school students in Washington who had no idea how to go about the college application process and receiving a listserv e-mail about the contest from his Hinman CEOs advisor, he “put two and two together” and began working on his proposal.

Somade is the president of Justice for D.C. Youth — a university campus group that mentors and tutors incarcerated young people in the District.

“I was in a workshop and one of the kids, who is very intelligent, I asked him if he has looked into opportunities for college and he said he didn’t know where to start asking,” Somade said. “It triggered my interest — ‘Why isn’t there a one stop shop for low-income students to learn about it.’”

Somade’s proposal — titled First Aid — allows students to sign up for a text messaging service that will help them access information about applying to college and financial aid options.

The most common way to get financial aid information out to students is through the Internet, Somade said, which many low-income kids do not have regular access to.

If Somade wins the contest he will receive a $10,000 prize and an additional $100,000 to start up the program.

Although voting ended last week, the grand prize winner will be announced on Saturday.

– By Kelly Farrell