Episode 47: Constitution Day 2023 w/ Delegate Mark S. Chang (UMBC '99)

4:34PM Oct 13, 2023

Speakers:

Dr. Ian Anson

Jean Kim

Delegate Mark S. Chang

Diana

Dr. William Blake

Veronica

Audience Member

Keywords:

umbc

maryland

maryland general assembly

serve

state

types

constitution

students

committee

process

chang

members

helping

work

delegate

delegates

bill

marylanders

anne arundel

house

Hello and welcome to Retrieving the Social Sciences, a production of the Center for Social Science Scholarship. I'm your host, Ian Anson, Associate Professor of Political Science here at UMBC. On today's show, as always, we'll be hearing from UMBC faculty, students, visiting speakers, and community partners about the social science research they've been performing in recent times. Qualitative, quantitative, applied, empirical, normative. On Retrieving the Social Sciences we bring the best of you UMBC's social science community to you.

It's that time again, everyone. Get out your red, white and blue clothing. Fire up the grill. Put your John Philip Sousa records on and of course head across the Pennsylvania State Line and purchase a truckload of high powered fireworks. No, it's not the Fourth of July. In fact, the weather suddenly turning much cooler here in Maryland and our sweltering midsummer festivities are all good memories. But it is no less of an occasion to celebrate. Because by an act of Congress and a presidential proclamation, we very recently celebrated our nation's annual Constitution Day. While celebratory fireworks and bombastic barbecues are all well and good, Constitution Day provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the design of our nation's foundational document in perhaps a more thoughtful manner. Our Constitution is after all, a political document, and one that sets up a government that places a heavy burden of responsibility on citizens to engage in the political process. We elect representatives who serve the public interest, and our continued connection to those representatives allows for the complex machinery envisioned by our national and state constitutions to springs to life.

What better way to find out about these connections than by hearing from Maryland delegate Mark S. Chang, who serves the 32nd district within Anne Arundel County. Not only is Delegate Chang an experienced lawmaker who has served in the House of Delegates since 2015, and on a variety of important committees from then until now,but Delegate Chang is also a proud UMBC Retriever, having received a BA in Psychology, cum laude in 1999. In our campus's Annual Constitution Day Lecture sponsored by CS3 and the Department of Political Science, we hear about Delegate Chang's personal history and pathways into politics, the role of the Delegate within Maryland's political process, and the ways in which Delegate Chang envisions the critical linkage between citizens and elected officials. We also hear from several awesome UMBC undergraduates who asked Delegate Chang questions in a brief q&a session. I'm delighted to bring you all this great content right now.

Thank you so much for being here. As was mentioned, I'm a proud UMBC grad, class of 1999, psychology major, and I always treasure the opportunity be able to come back home. And I know the pulse of this community. I know UMBC very, very well, because I was a student here. And a lot has changed. But also a lot has remained the same. And I want to start off this afternoon with a story of a UMBC student who reflects the biography of many of the students who are currently at UMBC right now. In 1970, a married couple immigrated to the United States from a country about 10,000 miles away from here. And they came over this country with a couple $100 in their pockets. They didn't have much resources, they lacked linguistical skills, cultural skills, a lot of the mainstream skills of being able to survive or succeed in this country. But they settled in Annapolis. And thye ended up having three children. And they went through a lot of what immigrant families go through. And this was during the 70s and 80s, when there was even more racism, discrimination, and those types of factors that were involved. Well, the family they end up growing and I want to talk about one of the children, who's the oldest child in there and the oldest child when that child was 11 years old, the mother passed away suddenly and the father raising three children on his own. And the father had a small carry out business serving chicken wings and sodas and trying to see what he could do to make a living and this child ended up going into the public school system, and there were times where, especially right now we're aproaching holidays. The child didn't have a lot of gifts during the holidays and there were times when the child go to school and didn't have the appropriate lunch money to be able to buy lunch, and was food insecure, and would come home, sometimes to a dark house because the family couldn't pay the BGE bill. Or that there wasn't any food in the refrigerator. Fortunately, because of the community, because of friends, because of the great state that we live in, that the student was able to matriculate and graduate from high school, and come to UMBC. And that student though was lost, completely lost. Didn't know what the student was going to do, and almost didn't make it, but because of the culture of UMBC, because of the grit and greatness culture, because of the past president of UMBC, and the faculty and staff and student body helping to support that student, that student would be able to graduate honors. And then that students end up being in the public service, and in 2014, was elected to the Maryland General Assembly. In 2018 was reelected and 22 was reelected. And he serves as the first Asian American to be elected from Anne Arundel County in the Maryland General Assembly. And he now serves as the Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Committee overseeing a $60 billion operating budget and $10 billion capital budget. And a lot of that goes to UMBC. And that's why it's such a great honor to be here today to share my story. And that's why I'm so thankful to UMBC Department of Political Science for inviting me. Because anytime I can come back and share my story, which is a story of UMBC Retrievers, it's always the opportune time to come back and reinvest in our current students because we as UMBC Retrievers have so much offer. I just want to thank you so much for allowing me to share my story as we open up the conversation, and I look forward to our dialogue. Thank you very much.

Thank you so much for sharing that moving story. Could you tell us a little bit more about your career and how this led to your current role at the House of Delegates?

Sure, after I graduated from UMBC, was a psych major, I worked in the nonprofit sector, helping individuals with developmental disabilities, and then ended up working for Anne Arundel County government for several years. Loved that role, because it really gave me a sound solid foundation of local government, and how local government works with state governments and the federal government and really helping people on a regular basis, and really was just year by year and just working in opportunities to be able to help develop my public service skills, and also build a network and build relationships, and also understand about how I can be effective in serving others through this role of being a public servant. And that's kind of how it evolved. But I would say that, you know, when I was in high school, I did have this little bit of a passion in me, I did serve in my Student Government Association, and then also served as a class officer. And I've been able to have a conversation with some of the students here. And I definitely feel that there's that bug, there's that seed that was planted. And I would say that as those seeds, and there's planted, those seeds continue to flourish within you, to not ignore them. That those passions that you have inside of you, to utilize those and there are opportunities and you're gonna have setbacks. Let's be real here. There's gonna be setbacks in life. But I would say to continue to remember who you are, and the principles that you have, and to be able to work through those because through those obstacles, through those setbacks, it makes you a stronger person, and it makes you, I think, a better person to be able to serve others.

Thank you so much (Diana). Now, let me jump in with a little follow up. We're lucky to have Dr. Stokan in the audience with us who teaches an excellent course on state and local politics. But I know that some of you in this audience have not had a chance yet to take that course. So Delegate Chang, for those of us who aren't experts on state politics, can you talk a little bit about how the Maryland General Assembly works?

Sure. The Maryland General Assembly is a 90 day session, it goes from January to April. And typically during that 90 day session, there's about 3000 bills that are introduced. And those subject matters vary from social justice, to fiscal issues, to environmental issues, health issues, and then there's different committees in both the House and the Senate. And what happens is those bills that get introduced, it goes through these different sub subject matter committees, and then they get a hearing. This is a way for people like yourselves or students or the community or advocates, to get involved in the political process and the democratic process and to get engaged and then there's hearings on the bills and then if a bill gets out of committee, then it goes to the chamber it started in. So for example, it started in the House of Delegates, the bill, the bill comes out of committee and it goes into the House Chamber and if it succeeds out of there, then it goes over to the Senate. And then it goes through the same committee process and then work its way through the Senate chamber. And then after that, it goes to the Governor for either a signature, or if the governor doesn't sign it, it comes becomes into law or the governor could veto it. And then there's the veto procedures that happen where the legislature can override those vetoes that the governor had produced. But there are different ways also, where prior to the legislative session that there's ways for the residents of Marylanders, and also different advocacy groups to get engaged in the process by reaching out to the members of the legislature and letting them know, what are their priorities, what's important to them and utilize UMBC, for example, as an example, that, you know, we always, me personally, and because I love the school, we I often hear about the needs of the school, how we can do more, whether it be helping the students with different support resources, or building needs. And as those preparations are being made prior to the session that we helped to formulate those different policies, what sort of programs or different fiscal packages to help with regards to, for example, UMBC, or the other types of issues that we are advocating for. But again, it's, it's, it's a very busy time, January to April is when the legislative session occurs. So about 3000 bills go in there. And it's really a lot of moving parts. And but I think, as a legislature, as a state, that we're doing a better job and a lot better job too, in that it's a lot of transparency. For example, if there's an important bill, that you really are passionate about or care about, you could track that bill. And then there's also notifications to let you know where those bills are going, for example, if it passed out of committee, you'll be notified that it passed out of committee, and it's going to the chamber and then in all those different ways. So there's our so those are ways to be engaged. And also, with the pandemic, you know, obviously, we had a move into a virtual world and with Zoom, and now with Zoom, and that having that platform, it does make it a little bit easier for people all across Maryland to be more engaged in the process. For example, that, you know, typically the hearings in the afternoon on a weekday, and not, not a lot of people can get off of work sometimes and come down to Annapolis and testify. But because of the platform that we have with Zoom they are able to provide testimony virtually, and also these other new modes of communication that we have with technology, there's different ways to be able to provide that input. I would just definitely encourage you all to be part of that process, because it really is a very fluid and vibrant process and, and also UMBC alums and students, they're serving in state government right now. They're serving at all levels of government, but specifically Maryland General Assembly, we have a lot of great students who are career professionals or interns, or are also members of the legislature. And I do need to say this, on behalf of a very prominent UMBC graduate, Speaker of the House, Adrienne Jones, she sends her very best regards to you all. She's very, very proud of you all. And she's a, you know, she loves you all, is a champion in our state for the UMBC community.

I wanted to ask you a question as a political science professor, because to political scientists, you know, this is a relatively rare occurrence. But in 2012, you switch political parties. And so I wanted to ask sort of what considerations went into that decision. And how were you received by the by the Democratic Party, the party, you're currently a member of.

Yeah sure, in the state of Maryland, you can register to vote at 17. And when I was 17 years old, we had the whole contract with American. Google if you don't know it, but the Republicans really, were reaching out to the voters. And they really did a really, in my estimation, really successful job in reaching out to the new voters. I was 17 years old. And all I know is I wanted to register vote. And I wanted to get involved in politics. And the first person approached me was the Republican Party. And they said, You know what, Mark, we got a voter registration form, just fill that out and sign it. I was like, Okay, I didn't, you know, I don't know any other way. And I will say this on the serious side, though, and this talks about how really, we need to be more engaging, both sides of the aisle, more engaging with our new immigrants, with the new voters that are out there. Because my experience was there was only one party that reached out to me. So I was like, Okay, well, there must the only ones who care about it. And as a Asian American, whose parents came over here, and they're just trying to put food on the table. They're not worried about politics. They're not worried about, you know, Democrat, Republican, or you know, what the House of Delegates is. They're just trying to provide their basic necessities, and I didn't have that knowlege back then, when I first registered to vote. And also and still exists, and I say it in a very loving way still exists, but in the Asian American community, in the 80s and 90s, there were three things you could be in life. You could be a doctor, you could be a lawyer, or you could be a failure. And I still, it's still just right now, Asian Americans did not have role models who were in public service at the time, during that when I was growing up. And so I had no idea. So I'm just kind of making, building it as I go. I'm like, I'm all I knew is I wanted to get involved in politics, I wanted to serve and, and so I end up getting, you know, signing up my voter registration initially as a Republican. And then as we all go through, we all mature, we all develop our thought process. And I found out that, you know, the Democratic Party is more of, in my estimation, we still have a lot of work to do, though, we still have a lot of work to do. That was more of a big tent, it's more inclusive. It's more about equality and inclusion. And I think that that's how I was able to, you know, my thought process and how I evolved as far as political parties go. But I will say this, though, that no matter where you are on the spectrum, on the political spectrum get involved, but as the major parties out there, both sides, all sides, and you do a better job of reaching out to our new voters out there.

So I want to switch gears and talk a little bit more about the work that you specifically do. What would you say your biggest legislative achievement to date has been?

Since my time in the Maryland General Assembly, I've served nine years on the House Appropriations Committee, and we deal with the budget. We deal with $60 billion in operating, $10 billion in capita. Capital is your brick and mortar. Right here, this library right here, AOK Library, thank you to the State of Maryland ,was able to support those types of brick and mortar structures. That's operat.. that's capital. Operating, is to be able to help with the classes that you have here and also keeping the lights on and keep the staffing and the salaries and all that. So that's all operating. And I enjoy it every day. I enjoyed it because I get to see firsthand how the dollars we allocate from the Budget Committee is really helping Marylanders. We got a lot more work to do. And at the start of the pandemic we were facing in the state about a billion dollar deficit. But because of different federal stimulus packages to the care of the Corona (virus) Relief Act Package, the American Rescue Plan. Through other types of stimulus packages, we were able to help recover. But now, as we've seen right now, with inflation, with the cost of things going up and you know, supply chain issues that we continue to are going through right now, different fiscal cliffs, whether they be with their transportation or other types of budgetary issues. But I would say that on a daily basis, I love being able to see how the dollars that we have in the state of Maryland, are helping the people in Maryland. And that's really what I would say is I'm really passionate about and in addition to that, coming from a fiscal mindset or fiscal committee, I was able to help shape legislation also in the policy arena and social justice. Prior to the pandemic, there was unfortunately a rash of, and it still exists, but hate symbols that were being spread all across our state. Whether it be Baltimore County, Baltimore City, Howard County, Anne Arundel. And there were hate symbols being put uup. And in my home county, In Anne Arundel, the judge, there was a court case that was being litigated where the state's attorney was trying to prosecute someone for putting up a hate symbol on a school property. But a judge ended up ruling that there was a loophole within state government that there wasn't any law to be able to punish the person for doing that. In 2019, I had sponsored a bill and 2020 sponsor bill, again, to strengthen our penalties against hate crimes, specifically, that if an individual places a hate symbol on a public property, that it is punishable by law, with imprisonment, and also with fines. And the message that we sent through that bill was, and that legislation that passed was, that there was no place for hate in the state of Maryland in any community. And that's probably one of my proudest legislation outside of fiscal issues that I was able to contribute and be part of, because I know what it's like to go through. Hey, when I was 10 years old, I remember coming out on a hot summer day, out of my house and my parents were, my family were all about to get in the car. And this may be a little graphic but need to be honest and vulnerable here if I may, that I came out of house. My parents came out of the house, my, my siblings, and we're about to get a car and then we see hanging from our fence post a deceased cat hanging from a noose. And we didn't know what to do. I mean, do you call the police? Do you call - who do you call? We don't we didn't know. But I still remember that traumatic incident that happened. And I wanted to make sure that no other kid experienced the same thing I did. So that's, I would say, is probably one of the most personal pieces of legislation that I put in.

Your a leader of the Maryland Legislative Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus. How diverse is the current General Assembly? And what impact does diversity play into the General Assembly's priorities?

Sure, within the Maryland General Assembly, there's 180 members in the Maryland General Assembly and as I mentioned earlier, Speaker of the House, Adrienne Jones, graduated UMBC. She's the first African American woman to be the presiding officer of the Maryland House delegates. So we all have a lot to be proud in that. She's definitely a reflection of the diversity that's ever increasing in the Maryland General Assembly. And within the Asian American Pacific Islander Caucus, we have eight members who are of Asian American Pacific Islander descent, and that spans from Howard County, Montgomery County, Anne Arundel, and Baltimore County. And that's out of 188. And it's at a start. It's at a start. We're at a start right now. And, and but I think what's really encouraging to see is that prior to Governor Moore, Governor Hogan was the governor of state of Maryland and his wife was Korean American, First Lady of Maryland was Asian American. And she really did a wonderful job in being an ambassador for the Asian American community, and, and I think that, from my perspective, I think that really helped open the floodgates for more Asian Americans to be inspired, or to get involved in state government and local government. Because I, I, at that time, during that window, I saw more Asian Americans getting into government and public, and serving as public servants, whether it be working as a staffer in the Maryland Department of Health, or being a sSecial Secretary of Business and Minority Affairs, or Deputy Secretary of the Maryland Department of Health or, you know, these other types of different agency positions. And I think that we are, as a General Assembly, are being more reflective of the constituents we represent. But I also think that state government is being more reflective of the people that we serve. And just looking in this room right here. Wow. I mean, you all are the future. And, you know, talk about myself 25 years ago, you know, talking about 25 year old self, you know, back then I would just try to pay it forward right now. And this, if anything, you know, want ot be an encouragement to you all, because you all will be the next generation of leaders in state government. In international government, or international relationships, or local government. And so you all are the future, so embrace it.

As you know, we live in very turbulent times going through political conflicts and constitutional crises. So what role do you envision Maryland and some other states playing to check the federal government when it takes actions that Marylanders would oppose?

So just the specific question, because we are so close to Washington, DC, we do actually are very symbiotic. There's a lot of, there's a strong connection. And then what happens 20 miles down the road, really, we're sensitive in the state of Maryland. And actually, in state of Maryland, we have more federal assets in our state than any other state in the Union. This shows that we're really reliant on the federal government, which can be good because during recessionary times or during times where there's economic turmoil, that we are really as sensitive as the rest of the country because we're so heavily reliant on the federal government, but also too that because we have that strong connection to federal government from a fiscal standpoint, we're able to benefit a lot in getting federal dollars to help out in this area. But also, shifting gears now over to the policy side, use for example of Dobbs vs Jackson, Roe vs Wade. When that happened, the state of Maryland, the Maryland General Assembly was very sensitive to it, and, with regards to reproductive rights. So during this past legislative session, the both chambers, the Senate and the House, passed and enshrined where the reproductive rights would be enshrined in the Constitution. And the governor did sign that. So on November 8, 2024, when you all go to vote, it's going to be giving the voters the opportunity to permanently have the reproductive rights enshrined in one of the articles within the Maryland Constitution. So that's how what we see in Washington, DC on the federal level, and affects what happens on the state level. And now other states, they're going in different directions. And that's a whole different type of conversation. But as far as the state goes, we've been looking at is with regards to reproductive rights as an example of how the Maryland constitution is, is in the process of being altered or revised because of what happened on the federal level.

So let's, let's go to the audience now. What other things about Maryland politics or Delegate Chang's career would you like to learn about?

How does the Maryland committee system work in the House of Delegates? Like how did you end up in the Appropriatins Committee?

I would say that you,what the Speaker does and leadership do, they take a look at what the different interests are of the different members. And, you know, fortunately, you know, I was able to serve, I'm able to serve on the Budget Committee, and I love it, because I'm a generalist, and it's really a way with the budget committee, you can touch everything. Health, public safety, infrastructure, environment, in a lot of different ways. And that's how the committee selections occur usually. But you know, the members, they can submit what their preferences are, and the Speaker of the House or on the speaker, on the House side, she makes decisions, and then the President of the Senate makes those decisions on the Senate side of where those different committee members, or how that you know, is selected. And then also too that there's different members that may start off, let's say on the Judiciary Committee, and then they may end up going to the Environment Transportation Committee, or there may be members who are serving an Appropriations Committee, who will end up going to Health and Government Operations Committee. So these are different, so it's very nimble is very agile. And I serve on other subcommittees too. I serve on the other subcommittees and committees, too. And also special committees. I serve on the Spending Affordability Committee, and that's a committee that is comprised of looking at what the forecasts are for state revenues, and then determining how much we're going to be able to spend within this coming fiscal year. And now I also serve on the Capital Debt Affordability. And again, that looks more on the, you know, as far as the bonds issuance and newer types of investments and how we're going to make those investments in a very fiscal prudent way. And then I also served on other types of special workgroups. For example, one of the things that we are really trying to do, and I think we're doing a really good job, as a state, but we're gonna do more, is helping our returning citizens. So those citizens, and those residents in Maryland who were incarcerated for a period of time, and but they're now getting back into returning to society, and, you know, helping them with the resources to be able to be successful, and avoid recidivism, and to be able to, help be, you know, good productive citizens. And that's, those are things that we are working on. And I think that, you know, those, but there's different, you know, interests and I also too, you know, they, you know, they, the members of legislature, they have a sense of what your passions are, and, and, you know, and and also, you know, the types of legislation that are being introduced, and sometimes, you know, for example, that, you know, if you're passionate about certain subject matter that, you know, there'll be legislation now, you know, you'll be able to take the lead on. And so that's, that's how that kind of that process works.

Yeah, Dr. Anson?

If no one else wants to go, I'd be happy to ask one. I'll ask a Constitution Day themed question, if you wouldn't mind. So, of course, in the Maryland constitution, right, there's a provision for the House of Delegates and the State Assembly, but there's also provisions in the Constitution that creates local governments (Del Change: Right). And I wondered if given your experience on both sides of this equation, if you would speak maybe to your current role or in history, the degree to which these governments interact. So I think it's a pedagogical question. Also, you know, some of my students are here, they're learning about constitutions for the first time (Del Chang: Yeah). It's very interesting to think about the levels of government and the way in which they interact specifically with Maryland.

Whether it be the US Constitution, the Maryland Constitution, or whatever state constitution out there that you know, it's fascinating to see the different articles and how, you know, those have changed over the years or how they can change over the years too. In the state of Maryland, a quick snapshot of state of Maryland: 6 million residents in the state of Maryland, 24 jurisdictions, and within that we have several hundred, excuse me, about 200 municipalities. And we really do work very well together. And there's different organizations, for example, in municipality level, we have the Maryland Municipality League, on a county level, we have the Maryland Association of Counties, and on the state level what we do is we meet with those different counties on an individual basis or collectively or those municipalities, again collectively or individually, and we hear those needs and, and for myself, for example, even though from Anne Arundel County, I represent Anne Arundel County, the voters of Anne Arundel County elect me, but serving on a house Appropriatins Committee, it's really cool for me. I mean, a kid from Glen Burnie who grew up poor couldn't even imagine the type of, you know, this opportunity. But I mean, we traveled all across the state. Go visit Cumberland, see the things that they're doing in Cumberland, Allegheny County, or going to down on Eastern Shore and seeing what they're doing Saulsbury. And we all work together very closely. And whether it be jointly, as there's associations, or individually, that there's ways for them to be engaged in the process. And it goes through, again, from the policy side to the fiscal matters. But it's, it's really a way where we all are able to work together pretty closely, because we do have that strong relationship and bond. And even when the elected officials change at the different levels, that there's still that infrastructure in place where there's relationships are established. And we can still pretty much continue government in a way that effectively serves the people all the way down to the neighborhood level. And I think that's something that I know, I know, that's something we can all be proud of. And we continue to do it in a way that is effective. And also with our federal delegation. Again, the state of Maryland being so close to Washington, the state, but all states have this, we have a, a Maryland office in Washington, DC, that keeps in very close contact with our federal delegation in Washington, DC and the White House, and we let them know what the needs are in Maryland. So it's a very fluid relationship we have. And I would say that because of that joint collaborative spirit that we do have, it's a way where we get things done. Like, you know, we all come from different cities. And I think the way that the potholes get repaired, the streetlights get repaired is because of that relationship that we do have.

Thank you for your coming here. Thank you for the great questions. And yeah, and let's one last time, please thank our special guests, and our alum, Del., Mark Chang.

Now it's time for Campus Connections, part of the podcast where we connect today's featured content to other work happening on UMBC's campus, and today we have a perfect connection because our production assistant, Jean, is the connection. Jean, if you don't mind, please tell us a bit about this connection. I think your fellow UMBC student listeners will be very interested in what you have to say.

Hey, Dr. Anson, I'm so excited to talk about today's connection. Last year I actually interned at the House of Delegates at the Maryland General Assembly, so for today's segment, I'll talk a bit about my experience and how to get involved if you're interested. So for the 2023 legislative session, I was an intern for Delegate Nick Allen of district eight. As someone who has aspirations to go to law school, I applied to the internship to get some hands on experience with policymaking and the legislative process. And I definitely did. Seeing how politicians legislative aides, lobbyists, and constituents all interacted in the process of creating laws was pretty inspirational and showed me how things actually got done. I definitely learned how to network and communicate on a professional level at Annapolis receptions. Also being able to sit in meetings, to strategize bill hearing testimonies, and aide in constituent communication show me the inner workings of how Maryland law is made. One of the coolest parts of the internship was that three of the bills we had proposed and worked on during the session actually got enacted into law. It was really eye opening to see how the laws that affect me and my community actually form and amazing to be part of such an impactful process. All in all, I learned so much from the experience. If you're interested, check out the Maryland General Assembly internship program page on UMBC's Department of Political Science website under internships. October 25 is the deadline for applications for this upcoming 2024 session, so you have a bit of time if you still want to apply. And that's all for today's Campus Connection back to you, Dr. Anson.

Thanks, Jean, for that connection and for explaining how UMBC students can get involved in the process of Maryland's government. I hope you enjoyed hearing about Delegate Chang's political career and his thoughts on the Constitution, and that it inspired you to think about the myriad ways that you can get involved in politics. And as we reflect on our vital role as citizens in this democracy, never forget to keep questioning.

Retrieving the Social Sciences is the production of the UMBC Center for Social Science Scholarship. Our director is Dr. Christine Mallinsonm our associate director is Dr. Felipe Filomeno, and our undergraduate production assistant is Jean Kim. Our theme music was composed and recorded by D'Juan Moreland. Find out more about CS3 and socialscience@umbc.edu and make sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, where you can find full video recordings of recent CS3 sponsored events. Until next time, keep questioning.