The Table at UMB

Trans students are navigating the challenges of pursuing a higher education while also living in an increasingly hostile socio-political environment targeting trans people. So, what can colleges and universities do to affirm trans students and create spaces of safety and belonging?

In this episode, we invited Edgar Fields, MS, a recent graduate of the master's program at the University of Maryland School of Social Work, to discuss his lived experience as a trans student and to talk about how higher ed institutions can create supportive and inclusive spaces for trans students to thrive both personally and academically.

Trans people are being attacked across the country. In the past year alone, more than 480 bills have been introduced into legislative sessions, many of them targeting gender-affirming healthcare and LGBTQ+ educational materials in schools. However, some states like Maryland are increasing protections for trans and LGBQ+ people, including the most recent Trans Health Equity Act.

In this episode we discuss the specific legislation impacting the lives of trans people and the broader LGBQ+ community with Lauren Pruitt, J.D. the legal director of Free State Justice, which advocates for LGBTQ+ rights in the state of Maryland. 

What does it mean to be a Black man? We're opening season two by  unraveling the multitudes that exist in understanding Black masculinity, including the fears, pains, strengths, and joys expressed by our guests Dariel Vasquez, BA and Durante Barringer, MEd. You'll also hear about their work with Brothers@, an organization dedicated to supporting young men of Color as they pursue their academic and professional goals.

After the election of President Trump in 2016, students across the country organized and demanded that universities become sanctuary campuses to protect the rights of undocumented students and other vulnerable populations. The Intercultural Center at UMB is a direct result of this student advocacy.

We invited Laura Bohórquez García, M.Ed. to discuss her personal and professional journeys advocating for undocumented students and pushing back against dominant narratives about immigrants that are rooted in white supremacy and capitalism. Through her expertise, we hope this episode serves as a resource for undocumented and DACA students as well as for staff and faculty who are interested in supporting this student population. 

Joining us for this episode is Kinley Millett, a student at the University of Maryland School of Social Work and a leader of the Intersectional Feminism and Social Work student organization. 

In this episode Diane Forbes Berthoud, PhD, MA, UMB’s first chief equity, diversity, and inclusion officer and vice president (CEDIO/VP) joins us at the table. Together, we explore her journey to her current role, and her vision and philosophy for organizational change as it aligns with EDI. 

As the end of the year approaches, we may become more aware of the messages from the media, our families, or ourselves that are centered on losing weight. The pressure to lose weight can be tied to negative perceptions of fat as evidence of a person's lack of self-control, laziness, or failure to care for themselves. These negative perceptions are what many fat activists and scholars are naming as anti-fat bias. We're dedicating this episode to unpacking the history and present-day impacts of how anti-fat bias and weight stigma, not solely fat itself, harms and dehumanizes people who are deemed as "overweight" or "obese" in our society. 

In this episode, you'll hear from three guests, Tierra Major Kearney, the prevention and outreach program coordinator at the UMB Student Counseling Center (SCC), Chaia Grubbs, a licensed clinical social worker and senior counselor at the UMB SCC, and Ariana Meinster, a final year student at the University of Maryland School of Social Work. They'll share their experiences and suggestions for dismantling anti-fat bias. 

“You’re pretty for a dark-skinned girl” and “don’t play outside in the sun, you’ll get too dark” are comments that are sometimes overheard in Communities of Color. They highlight the issue of colorism, which is a form of prejudice and/or discrimination that values lighter skin tones over darker skin tones, specifically within the same racial and/or ethnic group.

In this episode you'll hear from three individuals who speak to their respective experiences with colorism within the Black, Asian, and Latinx communities, Lisa Nicholson, a healthcare manager, Reina Pomeroy, MSW, a certified coach at Reina + Co, and Ayda Gonzalez, MS, a recent graduate student from Emory University.