Nixed Sports Could Return to UMD

Sports cut last year over budget shortfalls could return once school joins Big Ten.

By Kelyn Soong COLLEGE PARK - University of Maryland officials said Monday they are considering bringing back some of the athletic teams eliminated last year because of a budget deficit. Members of a university commission that includes faculty, students and alumni studying the transition from the ACC to the Big Ten have been meeting since January and will make recommendations to university President Wallace Loh by June 30. The committee will “make recommendations on which, if any, teams that were eliminated should be restored and in what timeline and what order of priority,” Nan Ratner, one of the committee’s vice chairs, said Monday at a public forum to discuss the Big Ten transition. Seven athletic programs were cut last year to offset …

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Woman Robbed at Gunpoint on UMD Campus

The incident took place Thursday night near the Chemical/Nuclear Engineering Building.

Authorities say a woman was robbed at gunpoint Thursday night near the University of Maryland's Chemical/Nuclear Engineering Building. According to University of Maryland police, the victim was walking through parking lot around 10:40 p.m. when she was approached by an unknown male. The suspect reportedly pulled out a handgun and demanded the woman's valuables. She complied, handing over cash, gift cards, and other personal items.  The man then fled the area on Paint Branch Drive, police said. He was described as wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt, baggy jeans, and a covering on his face. Prince Geroge's County police attempted to locate the suspect using a K-9 unit but were unsuccessful. The incident comes less than three days after a …

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Cal Ripken to Deliver 2013 UMD Commencement Address

Baseball's 'Iron Man' will speak to nearly 7,000 graduates at the May 19 ceremony.

Baseball legend Cal Ripken, Jr. will deliver the 2013 commencement address for the University of Maryland, administrators announced Tuesday. The "Iron Man"—best known for playing a record 2,632 consecutive games with the Baltimore Orioles—will speak to nearly 7,000 graduates plus family and friends at the May 19 ceremony. “I hope that my life experience allows me to impart some wisdom and give [graduates] a message that will serve them as they start their careers," Ripken said in a statement. "While I never attended college, opting to pursue my baseball career after high school, I have great respect for higher education and the great value it brings to young people," he added. Ripken, who was raised in Aberdeen, MD, played shortstop and …

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How Would Proposed Hike in Maryland's Minimum Wage Affect Local Businesses?

Local grocery store manager and an economics professor weigh in on topic.

As reported by Germantown Patch on Tuesday, a Maryland lawmaker is introducing legislation seeking to raise the state's minimum wage from its current rate of $7.25 per hour to $10.00 per hour by 2015. When the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare, was passed by Congress, a number of business leaders, including Papa John's CEO John Schnatter expressed concerns over the negative financial effect the law would have on business. Curt Grimm, professor at Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland College Park, said that he expects there to be a "big outcry from the business community—they have to protect their own interests" but is not sure it will rise to the level of resistance to Obamacare. …

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PGCPS and University of Maryland Offer Spanish Workshop

The workshop runs on Feb. 2.

The Prince George’s County Public Schools International Student Counseling Office is collaborating with the University of Maryland to host a free college workshop in Spanish for students in Grades 6-12 and their parents. The workshop will be on Feb. 2 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Stamp Student Union at the University of Maryland. The program will include the following grade-level workshops facilitated by counselors: The workshop is geared towards Latino students and their families in grades 6-12, but it is open to all families in Prince George’s County. For more information, call 301-445-8460 or visit www.pgcps.org.

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PGPD Chief: Post Editorial on Student Beating 'Misleading'

In a letter to the Washington Post, Mark Magaw argues that a recent editorial exaggerated the facts of a 2010 UMD beating case.

Last month's Washington Post editorial criticizing the Prince George's County Police Department for its handling of a 2010 student beating case was "exaggerated and misleading," Police Chief Mark Magaw wrote in a letter published Sunday. Magaw's submission came in response to a Dec. 28 piece ("Prince George’s police get away with a beating") in which the editorial board condemned two officers caught on tape hitting University of Maryland student John J. McKenna in College Park. The incident occurred during the unruly aftermath of a victory over Duke by the UMD men's basketball team. But the board reserved its harshest criticism for those who oversaw the official response to the incident, accusing the PGPD of engaging "in a conspiracy of …

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Missing University of Maryland Student Found Dead

Detectives are investigating the death as a suicide

Missing University of Maryland Student Found Dead

Detectives are investigating the death as a suicide.

Prince George's County Police said they found the body of a missing University of Maryland student Friday night. David Johnathan Scherr, 20, a Pikesville native, was unresponsive in a 2013 Ford Escape parked in a lot near Route 197 and Route 450, according to Prince George's County Police. Detectives are investigating the death as a suicide. Scherr had been missing since Dec. 19.

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