The University Student Judiciary works to impact the student body by educating students about the consequences of violation of student codes

The impact of an organization like the University of Maryland University Student Judiciary (USJ) is difficult to measure quantitatively and qualitatively not only because of its size but also because of its impact in many areas of student life.  The main purpose of the organization is to address violations of University Codes by students by providing a “fair process” wherein students can be held responsible by a “jury” of their peers – because members of USJ are students as well. The organization works to impact students by educating students about the consequences of Student Code violations to deter students from violating codes. This is done through the use of a morality system called I-C-E: Integrity-Character-Ethics.

The USJ uses a multi-faceted process to consider all possible violations of Student Codes and has seen a decrease in cases in last two years.

 When a violation of any of the student codes occurs, it is recommended that it be reported to the Office of Student Conduct (OSC). Any member of the University of Maryland community can report a violation through an online referral. The question now arises of how cases are brought to the USJ from the OSC for processing, after the initial violation. Although the process varies depending on the type of violation (whether it be of the Code of Academic Integrity, Student Conduct or Residence Halls), the general schematic is the same.

The beginning of an Academic Integrity case is typically a referral by a professor or a student and on occasion a self-report. Once a referral is filed, the office will go through the case and decide if there is probable cause, this includes considering pieces of submitted evidence including exams, assignments, police reports etc.

If the office finds probable cause for the violation, the office then contacts the accused student for a meeting with a faculty member. In the meeting, the accused will discuss their recollection of the incident and whether they are responsible or not responsible. If the student admits responsibility and chooses to accept the standard sanction, they get a 12-month XF (X indicating failure due to academic dishonesty), provided this is their first offense, on their transcript. However, if the student pleads not responsible or wants a different sanction – they have an go to an informal conference resolution with an OSC staff member where they can be found not responsible or get a lesser sanction.

If the student would prefer to present the case to their peers, they also have the option to take their case to the Student Honor Council. This is where the USJ comes into a play. Honor Boards typically consist of five people and one presiding officer (P.O). The P.O manages the hearing and the five people consist of two faculty members and three students, at least. These participants vary based on the code in question.

The hearing itself also follows a particular format wherein students get the opportunity to present their cases in front of the panel of students and faculty in hopes of receiving a lighter sanction or being found “not responsible.” If the student is found not responsible by the board, the case is dismissed. However, if the student is found responsible, the board then convenes to decide on an appropriate sanction, prior to which students have an opportunity to explain why they should receive a “lesser” or different sanction from the standard.  

In the last year, there has been a decrease in the number of new cases processed through the USJ, from 975 in the 2012-2013 school year to 931 in the 2013-2014 school year. However, this drop can be attributed to a variety of causes. Associate Director of the Office of Student Conduct James Bond expressed that part of the reason for the drop was likely the referral of an entire class (~30 students) to the office, as well as (possibly) the impact of widespread academic integrity tutorials. Through the Academic Integrity Tutorials, the organization and the Office of Student Conduct

Sanctions Imposed on Responsible Students are varied based on violations, however the purpose of sanctions are to teach, to provide deterrence, to rehabilitate and lastly to punish.

Sanctions are not limited to the code of Academic Integrity – students found responsible of any violation of any Code are subject to sanction, which varies based on the offense and it’s severity. However, in general, it seems that the organization is pushing to teach rather than to punish.

The idea of imposing a sanction upon a student by fellow students is a unique concept – and has an interesting impact. The United States Judicial System places punishments on guilty individuals for “justice” and to punish. The USJ approaches the issue differently. When asked to elaborate, Bond shared the four main reasons for sanctions: to educate students, to deter other students from repeating this behavior, rehabilitate, and to punish.  With the primary purposes being to encourage change, the USJ promotes self-improvement in order to better prepare students for their futures.

Possible sanctions can range from educational tutorials to recommended expulsion from the University. Every violation of code has an associated standard sanction – these include 12-month XFs on transcripts, suspensions or sometimes expulsion – however Office of Student Conduct data shows that the more severe sanctions are not often given out which reaffirms the lesser emphasis on punishment.

The organization reports that in the 2013-2014 year, only 3 students were expelled and 25 were suspended – compared to the large caseloads that pass through the office (931 this year), these numbers are small. The majority of students found responsible were given lighter sanctions with opportunities for learning. Many students with academic integrity violations received Academic Integrity Seminars; and those with alcohol or drug violations received other similar programs for drug and alcohol abuse. These sanctions may have been in conjunction with others, but this data isn’t provided by the OSC.

Liz14 answers some exciting questions!

Sandra56 on her final project

Telecom Behemoths Verizon and AT&T are Inserting Unique IDs into Smartphone Network Activity to Track Users Online Browsing and App Usage

It seems that we should be concerned with an interesting and perhaps somewhat concerning new tool used by major wireless carriers, shares Forbes staff member Kashmir Hill. Recently, Verizon and A&T have started implementing and are in the working stages of implementing the usage of short trackable codes into customer network activity in order to track web access to deliver appropriate and more fitting ads, respectively. This brings up a serious security and privacy concern, as privacy expert Jonathan Mayer shares, because this "cookie" cannot be removed and can be accessed by any party intercepting this information.

While sharing this enlightening tidbit of information, this article maintains a high caliber of information presentation with the use of the P-I-C-K model. The exposition of information is made engaging to most types of web users through explanatory and links, clear diagrams, and direct interviews.

By explaining vocabulary in a conversational manner and providing easy-to-comprehend interviews, the text is personalized and easily applicable to one's experience. 

The use of simplified vocabulary allows the information in the article to be more applicable to potential readers - "publicly broadcast" is explained as  something being accessible to the public. In addition as a follow-up to this explanation, the audience is provided with an example of what this could entail and why it might be important to note. The language used here is slightly formal, but not highly technical, making comprehension easier.


Furthermore, to get a perspective from the the companies behind the technology, an interview is provided which uses very short and explanatory language to put across the points. In addition, there is follow up provided to the claims made by companies by security consultant Kenn White who expresses his rebuttals through his own experiences with these codes - by using himself as an example, the text becomes more approachable to other smartphone users and their own concerns about the tracking of their web access.

To make the topic more accesible and interactive, readers are provided a link to check if they are being tracked by their mobile carriers. 
Even with clear explanations, the information about tracking can still seem "far off" and thus lacking a direct affect on the lives of a reader. To combat this potential issue, the article provides a link for users to see if they are being tracked by their mobile carriers.

The data provided by the link, albeit confusing to the average reader, has a short explanation detailing what the relevant information is and what it could mean as well as potential issues with this link - such as using a browser that blocks one from seeing if tracking is happening.


Graphics to explain how mobile carriers may be providing inaccurate information allows for contiguous viewing, but overall contiguity is limited by an awkwardly placed graphic.

For a general coherence between text and graphics, the article placed relevant graphics near relevant text so readers can see what they are reading as they read it - to reinforce information and allow for greater cognition.

The interview text from AT&T states that customers can opt out of tracking, but a disagreement from consultant Kenn White is shown through a image of a tweet wherein Kenn opted out of tracking but found that he was still being tracked - through an aforementioned link. Since the image of the tweet was clearly relevant to the interview responses - it allows for a coherent understanding of what the issues might be with AT&Ts supposed opt-out option, in relation to tracking of web access.




With regards to the "misplaced" graphic, while it provides a simple info graphic style layout of the process used by mobile carriers to track web browsing and transfer this information to advertising ages, it is placed in an inopportune location. Rather than being placed with it's related text, it introduces the subject which provides a potential source of confusion before the reader has even encountered text.


Functional links and the lack of pop-up adds cut down on potential kick-outs which could deter readers from the article.
When links do not work effectively, readers often get frustrated with the text and eventually giving up

This result is similar to that which occurs with several pop-up ads. The article properly employs functional links. In addition, the insertion of adds beyond the left and right boundaries of the text of the article, to the side, prevents them from being a large distraction to a reader, but still allows them to be noticed and easily accessible.

UMD Professor Vedran Lekic Receives Packard Fellowship to Study Geology

In recognition of his efforts to integrate computer science and geological studies, UMD Geology Professor Vedran Lekic joined the ranks of 17 other early career U.S. scientists and engineers who were awarded a Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering last week. Lekic is now one of five alumni faculty members who have received the award while at this university, and he will be given access to unrestricted funds of $875,000 over a five-year period to support his extensive research on Earth’s inner structure. 

Now that a large fund has been granted to his work, he hopes to spend more time plotting the seismic information in graphs and models so that he may better understand the Earth, Lekic said. As a part of this work, Lekic and William McDonough, a colleague in the Geology Department, are attempting to harness that energy to create another way to build a model of the Earth. “We are both interested in the energy that moves the tectonic plates and creates the magnetic shield around the planet,” (geology professor William) McDonough said.

Lekic's Research Focuses on Seismic Waves and the Movement of the Earth's Crust

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Lekic’s research is based on ground vibration recordings, which he and his students use to detect the scattering of seismic waves across the North American tectonic plate. In conjunction with the National Science Foundation’s EarthScope Facility network, the data is collected from the 49 states and Puerto Rico and makes up about 3.8 million square miles, Lekic said. From this data, Lekic is creating a map that will not only cover all 48 contiguous states, Alaska and Puerto Rico, but also dive deep into the Earth’s crust and core. As an explanation for the resource he uses, Lekic said “EarthScope is kind of like our Apollo mission, but not as costly."

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 Lekic has already used the seismic information to investigate why and how the crust moves over the Earth’s mantle. As of now, the deepest any machine has been able to dig was about 12 kilometers into the Earth’s crust, a minuscle fracture of the roughly 6,730 kilometers it takes to get to the Earth’s core. Using the seismic information helps geologists see the shapes and sizes of the Earth’s layers. “What we do is comparable to how an ultrasound let’s us see through our bodies,” Lekic said. “But this lets us see through the Earth.”

Lekic has Significant Experience in Seismology and Other Fields of Geology

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Other than his seismology research contributions, Lekic is also a forerunner in the new geological field of neutrino geoscience. Neutrinos are a type of electrically neutral subatomic particle that are created during radioactive decay or some kinds of nuclear reactions. The particle, which was only discovered geologically in 2005 and physically detected for the first time last year, moves through every kind of object, McDonough, Lekic's collaborator, said. “It sounds magical; it’s like a particle that exists but you can’t really see,” Lekic said of neutrinos. 

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Ina addition, as a doctoral student at the University of California, Berkley, Lekic formulated higher-resolution images of the Earth’s mantle structure, stemming from his creation of a global seismic velocity model. Not only is the model able to give geologists a better understanding of plate tectonics, but it also helps explain the movement of continental plates and their evolution, Lekic said. Lekic has received several other early career awards besides the Packard Fellowship. 

The Fellowship is a Rare and Valuable Opportunity to Further Our Understanding of Sciences

As described on the Packard Fellowships website, we see that the Fellowship is awarded to allow early career scientists and engineer to go beyond boundaries and explore creative ideas without budgetary limits. The opportunity is quite rare but leads to extraordinary results.

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“If you look at the field of those who get it and try to figure out from their research summaries and letters which are the strongest candidate, it’s a difficult task,” said Franklin Orr, chairman of the Packard Fellowship panel. “We always run out of fellowships before we run out of wonderful people to give them too.” “The great thing about this fellowship is its flexibility to go chase a really good idea to wherever it leads,” continued Orr, a Stanford University professor. “It is an incredibly valuable fund and gives the researchers an opportunity to take off with a good idea instead of waiting a year or more for federal money.”

Study Shows that Exercise Regimens Can Help Reduce Student Anxiety

         With anxiety and depression on the rise teenagers, exercise has been found to act as a form of treatment for sufferers, with no significant differences in effectivity due to genders and types of exercise.
          In a study conducted, 54 male and female students were identified with high BDI scores (14-40) - BDI or Beck Depression Inventory is a self reporting survey that looks for the presence and the severity of symptoms of depression. The students were placed into two groups, separated by gender, of two forms of exercise - handball and a more intense physical regimen for 12 weeks.
        Students were tested before and after for anxiety using the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (SSTAI) which, similar to the BDI, is a self reporting inventory for identification of symptoms of anxiety. A higher score indicates greater anxiety. Anxiety is characterized as an unpleasant mood, caused by thoughts of worry and fear. It is often seen in conjunction with depression, although this isn't always.

Sandra56 defines what she sees as interactivity

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