By Andrew Mollenauer
Election Perspectives:
With just one day until the 2024 election, students in College Park are ready to make their voices heard. TerpsVote and VOTE (Fearlessly)! Have partnered since early in the semester to offer a mobile “pop-up” display as a resource for voter registration and education.
Our reporter, Ashna Balroop, stopped by the voter engagement space recently to ask fellow students their thoughts on the race. Ingrid Yang, a freshman psychology major, discussed how she takes the election seriously and appreciates that the university does, too, but wishes she were more informed.
“Everyone is voting,” Yang said. “[It’s important] because my voice will be heard.”
Devin Bowman, a freshman majoring in philosophy, politics, and economics, told Balroop he doesn’t see this election as one of unique importance like others do. Still, he said it’s a “big election” and that the participation of young voters could be pivotal.
“UMD and TerpsVote are doing a good job at encouraging voting efficacy, and I think that colleges should make an effort to get students to the polls or at least make them accessible,” Bowman said.
The VOTE (Fearlessly)! mobile display will stick around in the immediate aftermath of the election, ending Nov. 11, according to the Arts for All at Maryland website.
Povich Symposium:
The Merrill College of Journalism will host its 19th annual Povich Symposium on sports journalism, with this year’s event theme, “The Year of Women’s Sports,” at 6 p.m. Nov. 12 in the Riggs Alumni Center.
The lineup consists of several experts in this topic in journalism, nearly all of whom are women. Their perspectives in these conversations will offer the audience deeper understanding of business and coverage in women’s sports as well as cultural shifts and trends like the “Caitlin Clark Effect,” an eponymous reference to the now WNBA phenom whose prowess on the court at the University of Iowa captured the attention of sports fans and media, alike, everywhere.
The free event requires registration, as the college’s advertisement of the event notes that seating is limited. All are welcome to register at https://go.umd.edu/Povich2024.
College-Election Cost:
The University of Maryland Honors College and other sponsors held an “Election Dialogues” series throughout October to encourage discourse surrounding various issues associated with the election.
The space welcomed participants with free pizza and was centered around largely open-ended discussion topics to unpack together. The core areas explored were state and local issues, environmental regulations, and the cost of college.
Our reporter, Charlotte Ormond, spoke with participants last week and heard their thoughts on these topics ahead of tomorrow’s presidential election.
“People should always have more information,” Ryan Roboubo, a junior, told Ormond. “[These discussions] are another opportunity that people should have the choice to participate in.”
Calvin Chrisfield, a student organizer of the events, told Ormond the forum for students to express opinions and hear those of their peers was critical.
“We wanted to provide a space where students could talk productively and also listen to the ideas of other people,” Chrisfield, a sophomore public policy major, said. “Many people are so divided right now and can’t find a middle ground. We want to prove that people, even when they disagree, are willing to have civil conversations.”
SPOTLIGHT:
By Jack Bowman and Andrew Mollenauer
Elevators across Maryland’s campus have passed their expiration date
According to updated certificates placed in elevators throughout Maryland’s campus, all of these appliances have been inspected for safety in the last year. But as several buildings and garages experience outages and issues, some students still have concerns.
“It always feels a little weird taking one,” senior art student Xavier Joyner said of the elevators on campus. “It always feels like it might fall or something like that.”
The Mowatt Lane Garage elevator, which suffered an outage in October, stands out to Joyner as particularly concerning.
“That’s the worst one I’ve ever seen in my life,” Joyner said. “It just doesn’t feel right.”
Other students see the elevator problems as more of a practical issue than one of safety.
“Within the business school, especially, it’s a common occurrence where the elevators just stop and pause for a long time, so it’s not as efficient,” senior information systems student Christina Zhang said.
Both Joyner and Zhang said that, regardless of the date of the safety inspections, UMD should spend more on elevator maintenance.
“This school makes so much money,” Joyner said. “I feel like it shouldn’t take that much out of their pocket to just check up on [the elevators].”
Until late October, many of the elevators on campus had expired inspection certificates. Asked for comment, the university’s facilities management department said that “all UMD elevator inspections are up-to-date,” and that the updated inspections were in the process of being posted.
According to facilities management, inspections are performed by a third-party elevator inspection service.
“I can see how it can be a concern,” Zhang said. “[Maintenance is] spending money on other areas; they should definitely invest it into being able to properly maintain the elevators.”
According to Joyner, elevator safety has been a problem on campus for a long time.
“They’re always old-looking, they look decrepit and things like that,” Joyner said. “I’ve gotten so used to it just being not safe that, I mean, I use it anyway.”