The University of Maryland’s Independent Student Newspaper
T H U R S DAY, F E B R UA R Y 1 2 , 2 015
Intern harassment bill weighed for state
Applications continue to decline for TFA corps
SGA representatives show support in hearing
quently not provided the same protections in this state. “By enacting this legislation, Maryland’s rising generation of leaders and young professionals will be provided By Jon Banister with a process to end verbal and sexual @J_Banister harassment as well as racial, gender Senior staff writer and age discrimination while internANNAPOLIS — SGA members testified at a ing,” Luke Pinton, Student GovernHouse of Delegates committee hearing ment Association director of governyesterday in favor of a bill to grant mental affairs, testified at the House interns protection from workplace Health and Government Operations discrimination and sexual harassment. Committee hearing. This bill would allow interns the same Under the Civil Rights Act, eminternal remedies to discrimination and ployees are protected against disharassment offered to employees. If no crimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, age, national origin, internal remedies exist, they could file marital status, sexual orientation, a complaint with the Maryland Comgender identity or disability. But mission on Civil Rights. It would apply interns are temporary and often to both public and private employers unpaid employees, so they are fre- who have 15 or more employees.
Univ is still a top supplier for teaching program SGA representatives testify in favor of a bill to grant interns protection from workplace discrimination and harassment at a House of Delegates committee meeting yesterday. jon banister/for the diamondback A similar bill was debated last year but failed to make it out of committee, largely due to opposition from the state Chamber of Commerce and the business community, as businesses feared they would have to pay out damages as a result of the bill. This year’s bill, however, includes an amendment specifying that the protections offered to interns would not provide for lawsuits or mone-
tary damages. Instead, employers guilty of discrimination or harassment would be given cease and desist orders, which would send an important message, bill sponsor Del. Kathleen Dumais (DMontgomery) said. “It allows employers to understand that this is serious, that any See INTERNS, Page 3
so long, sigma chi ONLINE For more on the demolition, go to DBKNEWS.COM.
a demolition crew tears into a wall at the abandoned Sigma Chi fraternity chapter house on Norwich Road, which was knocked down yesterday after years of controversy. photo courtesy of regina catipon
Construction start planned for housing development The Boulevard project still waiting on permits By Holly Cuozzo @emperorcuozzco Staff writer After about a decade of planning, a mixed-use project will soon break ground on a 4.22-acre site at 9091 Baltimore Ave. The Metropolitan Development Group plans to begin construction in September on The Boulevard at 9091, a project that would bring residences and retail to the intersection of Route 1 and Cherokee Street by 2017. The developer is currently waiting on building and grading permits from Prince George’s County.
“There’s been a desire to see this project come to fruition for roughly a decade, so it will be great to see this property put back into a useful state,” Michael Stiefvater, College Park’s economic development coordinator, wrote in an email. “A major goal of the City and University is to increase homeownership in the community, so those units will be a positive step.” The space has been vacant since 2004, when Mandalay Restaurant & Cafe, a Burmese restaurant, moved to Silver Spring. After the closure, JPI Development Services initially began developing a similar mixed-use property, but the slowing economy stalled the plan. The Metropolitan Development Group later took over the project and sent a site plan to the College Park City Council in December 2013 after having the property for a few years, project manager Christian Cerria said. The Prince George’s County Planning Board approved the plan in May 2014, said Miriam Bader, the city’s See BOULEVARD, Page 3
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By Talia Richman @TaliRichman Senior staff writer When Sofia Vega-Ormeno was in high school, her physics teacher would call her mother to discuss her schoolwork in Spanish, her mother’s native language. Vega-Ormeno, who comes from a low-income neighborhood in Germantown, credits teachers like Mr. Gutierrez for getting her into college. Now, she said, she hopes to be the same kind of mentor for someone else as part of the Teach for America 2015 corps. “We serve disadvantaged communities where a lot of the students are African-American or Latino and do come from low-income backgrounds,” the senior family science and marketing major said. “The fact that I can go in and give them someone to look up to as a role model who has been where they are, I think that’s what really inspired me to join Teach for America.” But the number of people with a mindset like Vega-Ormeno’s is shrinking. Applications for the program, which sends college graduates to teach in disadvantaged public schools for two years, are down by about 10 percent from where they were during this time last year. This is the second consecutive year numbers have fallen, after about 15 years of growth. Nearly 36,000 people have applied this year, with the sixth and final application deadline coming March 6, according to Matt Kramer, a co-CEO for Teach for America. I n 2013 , m o re t h a n 5 7,0 0 0 people applied for the program, though that number fell to roughly 50,000 in 2014. It’s projected that this year’s applications will reach about 45,000. Dana Cronyn, a Teach for America spokeswoman, attributed this drop to the rebounding economy. “The economy getting better is absolutely great, but people who are See TEACH, Page 2
Researchers develop STEM alternate-reality game Futuristic game aims to help teens build skills By Morgan Eichensehr @MEichensehr Staff writer A recently created video game takes place after a meteor shower, when adults on Earth lose consciousness and teen scientists must work to find a way to reverse the apocalyptic event. T hat’s the prem ise beh i nd DUST, the alternate-reality game designed and developed by information studies college researchers Kari Kraus and June Ahn. The team behind the project released the game Jan. 26. “The dust disperses and all the adults have collapsed. That’s how the game opened,” Kraus said. “And that’s the mystery that players must now solve: What happened, are they asleep, are they in a coma, how can they be revived?”
JUNE AHN (LEFT) AND KARI KRAUS pose for a portrait yesterday in Hornbake Library. The team designed DUST, an alternate-reality game that teaches STEM skills and is aimed at teens. stephanie natoli/the diamondback DUST is a game designed to help teens ages 13 through 17 develop science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, Kraus said. Players interact with virtual characters, search for clues, post in conversations about game theories and questions and use the scientific inquiry process to solve a mystery. The game is a virtual seven-week
experience, but players can join the virtual reality whenever they want. Developed with the help of a $445,231 National Science Foundation grant, the game already has about 1,155 players. The game experience aims to gather data about the players and See DUST, Page 2
SPORTS
OPINION
TERPS SURVIVE FOR WIN OVER INDIANA
GALITSKY: This university’s racist past
The men’s basketball team earned another close victory at home by topping Indiana in a rematch of January’s blowout loss P. 8
We should address the painful history of facilities’ names P. 4 DIVERSIONS
Goin’ to the chapel and we’re gonna get married Taking a peek behind the scenes at the Memorial Chapel P. 6