he phrase “the new normal” has been thrown around since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and as America struggles to define—and design—what that is exactly, colleges are paving the way for what it might look like.

After the chaos and uncertainty of 2020, colleges and universities throughout the Baltimore region began to find their groove as they moved into the 2021-2022 school year. Coronavirus safety committees had been erected, new mandates put in place, safety protocols implemented—everything from vaccine requirements to temperature checks to quarantine procedures and wastewater testing that can pinpoint a COVID infection before anyone is symptomatic.

By some counts, colleges may very well be the safest places to live and work.

“Just following simple rules of wearing face masks and social distancing, using wastewater management and testing when we need to, we have, in many ways, been able to return to normal life,” says Goucher College President Kent Devereaux. “Full athletics, student clubs, dining in the dining hall, use of the library—everything that you’d normally have, we’ve been able to return to.”

Despite the challenges and anxieties faced by students, staff, and faculty alike, some unexpected silver linings have emerged.

“It’s just incredible to watch how it’s grown into the vision that we, as a group of students, had.”

The widespread adoption of technology across college campuses has proven to provide more flexibility, efficiency, and innovation—and even accessibility, in some cases. Counseling sessions, for example, began to be conducted remotely during the pandemic and many students found that they preferred it to in-person sessions. Students who cannot, for whatever reason, make it to an in-person class can now study from anywhere.

Challenging times, combined with advances in technology and the general acceptance of it, have also brought more cooperation and collaboration among schools. It’s becoming more common, for example, for schools that offer complementary programs to partner with one another to offer students an educational pathway to continue studies in their chosen areas. That may mean a discounted tuition rate, a transfer of class credits, or an internship through a partner school.

Maybe most importantly though, schools, at their best, foster an environment where students are supported, expand who they are, and connect with like-minded people. At a time when gathering together is not always safe, being in a community has become even more precious, and students have found new ways to connect.

OCA Mocha, a coffeehouse in Arbutus founded by University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) students, is one example of how effective a gathering place can be at a time when people are craving human connection. What started as a class assignment—to design a community center of some sort—has become a gathering place not just for UMBC students and alumni, but the Arbutus community at large.

“We’ve heard a lot of stories from people who are extremely grateful to have this space,” says Michael Berardi, UMBC class of 2019 and co-founder and general manager of OCA Mocha, which stands for Opportunities for Community Alliances. The coffee shop includes a stage, a community room, and an art gallery, employs UMBC students and alumni, and provides internship opportunities for current UMBC students.

“We have local groups and organizations that meet regularly in our community space and are grateful to not have to meet in someone’s living room or church basement,” says Berardi. “We see a lot of connections being made. It’s just incredible to watch how it’s grown into the vision that we, as a group of students, had.”

We checked in with colleges and universities throughout the region to find out what’s new and what campus life and classes look like, two years into the pandemic.

COPPIN STATE UNIVERSITY
A historically Black institution founded in 1900, Coppin State University is situated in the heart of Baltimore City in the Mondawmin neighborhood. Part of the University System of Maryland in Baltimore, the school offers 32 undergraduate and 11 graduate degrees, along with nine certificate programs and one doctorate degree. It’s been rated No. 4 Best HBCU in the Nation (College Consensus), the Top 5 Best Value Online Program (Online School Center), and No. 17 Best Value in the Nation (College Consensus).

In the summer of 2021, CSU announced its Student Debt Relief Initiative, which clears roughly $1 million in student balances and provided a $1,200 credit to every student enrolled in the fall 2021 semester. CSU also created the Freddie Gray Student Success Scholarship, which is available to graduates of Carver Vocational-Technical High School, where Gray was a student.

Coppin also takes esports (competitive video gaming) seriously. In the fall of 2021, Coppin became the first HBCU to open a building on campus exclusively devoted to esports. The Premier Esports Lab opened in September with a guest appearance from Grammy-nominated artist Cordae.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 2,383 undergraduates, 341 graduates
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 13:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $6,809 in-state, $13,334 out-of-state
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 40%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Nursing, Business, Biology, Education, and Criminal Justice, Rehabilitation Counseling

DICKINSON COLLEGE
Founded in 1783, Dickinson College is a liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, with a suburban campus that spans 144 acres. The school offers 41 undergraduate degrees within 17 fields of study.

It’s been rated as one of the best schools in the country for its sustainability efforts, which include an 80-acre, USDA-certified organic farm. Princeton Review rated it No. 2 in the Top 50 Green Colleges, and it was rated No. 2 in Overall Top Performers among baccalaureate institutions in the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s “Sustainable Campus Index” in 2019 and 2020.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 2,345
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 9:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $58,708
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 52%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: International Business, Economics, Political Science & Government, International Relations & National Security, General Psychology

GETTYSBURG COLLEGE
Gettysburg College, a private, liberal arts school, sits on 225 acres adjacent to the historical Gettysburg Battlefield in Pennsylvania. Many of the buildings on campus are historically significant, so it’s no wonder that it draws students interested in studying history.

The school offers 65 academic programs, more than 120 campus clubs and organizations, and 800 events on campus each year, plus more than 100 study-abroad opportunities open to students.

Its Majestic Theater serves as a venue for the greater Gettysburg community, hosting national acts as well as performances by the school’s Sunderman Conservatory of Music students.

It’s ranked No. 12 for “students who study the most” by the Princeton Review, which also ranked Gettysburg College’s dining hall No. 9 in the country for best campus food.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 2,600
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 10:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $59,960
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 56%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Political Science, Economics, Health Sciences, Organization and Management Studies, History, Psychology

GOUCHER COLLEGE
A private, liberal arts college in Towson, Goucher College prides itself on its close-knit community.

Goucher was extremely proactive when it came to COVID-19 precautions, being the first in the state to implement wastewater testing, which is able to isolate COVID infections by dorm.

Also of note: The college recently opened two new residence halls as part of the school’s First-Year Village. One hundred percent of Goucher students study abroad, and the school is committed to sustainability.

Most recently, Goucher has begun exciting partnerships with other schools, such as Johns Hopkins University, Loyola University, and more to come, to provide a pathway for students to continue their education beyond Goucher. For instance, their 4+1 MBA Program allows students to earn an advanced business degree through Loyola via a “Fast Track” admission process, and at a 15% discount on tuition.

SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 1,100
STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 9:1
ANNUAL TUITION: $48,000
ACCEPTANCE RATE: 79%
POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Psychology, International Relations, Economics, Political Science, Business Administration

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
Johns Hopkins University (JHU) offers nine academic divisions and hundreds of courses of study, with campuses spread throughout Baltimore, including the Peabody Institute, a music and dance conservatory in Mount Vernon. Its main Homewood campus is located on North Charles Street.

The prestigious, world-renowned university has a strong reputation for its public health and medical studies and has been compared to Ivy League schools.

One of its points of pride is its financial aid program, which covers 100% of calculated need for every admitted student, without loans. This means JHU works with families to calculate what they can afford to contribute toward the total cost of attendance—including meals, books, travel, and other expenses—and JHU covers the rest with grants that don’t need to be repaid.

This school year, JHU added two new minors: Latin American Studies and Writing Seminars.

It also announced new efforts this year to move toward a broader, more flexible undergraduate educational experience that will include a required first-year seminar and the streamlining of major requirements to allow for greater intellectual exploration.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 6,333 undergraduates, 22,559 graduates
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 6:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $56,313 for Peabody Institute, $58,720 for the School of Engineering and the School of Arts and Sciences
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 9%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Computer Science, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Neuroscience, Economics, Public Health Studies, International Studies

LOYOLA UNIVERSITY
This private, Jesuit institution offers undergraduate and graduate programs on a beautiful urban campus in northern Baltimore City. Education at Loyola is based in the Jesuit tradition of scholarship cura personalis, or care for the whole person. Loyola is known for its academic rigor while helping students lead purposeful lives. Seventy percent of students study abroad. It currently ranks fourth in best universities in the North region according to U.S. News & World Report.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 3,787 undergraduates, 1,353 graduates
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 12:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $53,430
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 80%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Business, Management, Marketing, Journalism, Social Sciences, Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Psychology, English Language and Literature, Engineering and Education.

McDANIEL COLLEGE
McDaniel College sits in a bucolic setting near Westminster in Carroll County. The private, four-year liberal arts college offers more than 70 undergraduate programs of study and more than 20 graduate programs. McDaniel’s most recent addition to its curriculum is a National Security Fellows Program that provides students with knowledge, skills, and experience in national security as well as the ability to specialize in an area of interest, such as interstate conflict, intrastate political violence, cybersecurity, ethics, and human rights.

Also new this year, McDaniel appointed an inaugural associate provost for equity and belonging who provides vision and leadership to the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and works in collaboration with the provost to co-lead the college’s diversity, equity, and inclusion administrative committee, and guides the Bias Education Response Support Team.

The school also launched a new STEM Center to serve as a physical hub to support students studying the sciences. It hosts workshops and other events while also supplying online and hybrid support.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 1,757 undergraduates, 1,324 graduates
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 13:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $46,336
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 81%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Kinesiology, Business Administration, Psychology, Biology, Political Science, International Studies

MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
The largest of Maryland’s HBCU’s (Historically Black Colleges and Universities), Morgan is a public institution founded in 1867. It is situated in northeast Baltimore. As a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution, Morgan provides instruction to a multiethnic, multiracial, multinational student body and offers more than 140 academic programs at undergraduate and graduate levels. As Maryland’s Preeminent Public Urban Research University, Morgan fulfills its mission to address the needs and challenges of the modern urban environment through intense community level study and pioneering solutions.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 6,270 undergraduates, 1,364 graduates
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 15:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $8,008 for in-state and $18,480 for out-of-state
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 73%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Civil Engineering, Communications Engineering, Business Administration and Management, Social Work, Biology/Biological Sciences, Architecture, Finance, Psychology, Sociology

NOTRE DAME OF MARYLAND UNIVERSITY
A private, Catholic liberal arts university in northern Baltimore, Notre Dame of Maryland University offers programs from undergraduate through PhD, as well as Maryland’s only women’s college. It recently launched the first master’s of art degree in Art Therapy program in the state.
The beautiful, wooded campus is just steps from the bustling downtown Baltimore culture. With values rooted in Catholicism, the school focuses on service to others and social responsibility.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 783
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 7:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $39,675
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 88%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Nursing, Education, Biology, Art Therapy, Pharmacy

TOWSON UNIVERSITY
One of the largest public universities in the state, Towson University offers more than 60 undergraduate majors and continues to draw students from other states, though it remains part of the University System of Maryland.

Its campus continues to expand, with a huge new dining hall, a 23,000-foot recreation and fitness facility with an indoor swimming pool, and its 5,200-seat arena for sporting events and concerts. In 2021, it opened its new Science Complex, the largest academic building on campus at 320,000 square feet.

In September, Towson opened its StarTUp at the Armory, a space for startups and new businesses to engage with the broader community and larger businesses. It serves as a home to Towson’s entrepreneurship programs, as well as student competitions and events.

While Towson remains the largest supplier of medical professionals and educators in the state, the university has also built a strong reputation for its College of Fine Arts and Communication, as well as its Asian Arts & Culture Center, both of which bring students into the wider community and the Baltimore community to Towson for enriching performing arts, music, and visual art programs.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 17,907 undergraduates, 2,949 graduates
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 16:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $7,100 in-state, $22,152 out-of-state
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Business Administration, Education, Nursing, Exercise Science, Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology, Biology, Computer Science, Information Technology

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, BALTIMORE
University of Maryland, Baltimore is Maryland’s only public health, law, and human services university. Located in downtown Baltimore, it offers 86 degree and certificate programs through its six nationally ranked professional schools—dentistry, law, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and social work—and an interdisciplinary graduate school.

The school’s 14-acre BioPark is Baltimore’s biggest biotechnology cluster, employing 1,000 people, and remains on the cutting edge of new drugs, treatments, and medical devices.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 7,244
• ANNUAL TUITION: Varies by school
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Medicine, Law, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing, Social Work

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, BALTIMORE COUNTY
University of Maryland, Baltimore County educates a campus of more than 10,000 students in programs spanning the arts, engineering, information technology, humanities, sciences, preprofessional studies, and social sciences. Located on the edge of Baltimore County, it allows easy access into the city and all the conveniences of suburban life and housing. It also offers plenty of opportunities for study abroad.

In the fall of 2021, UMBC opened the Center for Well-Being, a new two-story complex that houses Retriever Integrated Health, Student Conduct and Community Standards, and i3b’s Gathering Space for Spiritual Well-Being. UMBC’s already significant NASA partnerships have continued to grow. In October, NASA announced a major award of $72 million over three years for the new Goddard Earth Sciences Technology and Research II center. UMBC is leading the national consortium and will receive over $38 million. The GESTAR II consortium will support over 120 researchers, creating extensive opportunities for breakthroughs in Earth and atmospheric science research, and providing major opportunities for students to conduct research and be mentored by NASA scientists and engineers.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 13,638
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 17:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $12,280 in-state, $28,470 out-of-state
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 81%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services, Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Social Sciences, Psychology, Visual and Performing Arts

Cited tuition costs exclude room and board and books.

ingle mom Megan Kelly, who lives in Ruxton, wanted something more than “just a daycare program” for her daughter Emerson, now four years old. “I wanted an engaging and stimulating preschool experience,” she explains, “something educational that would take advantage of Emerson’s sponge-like ability to learn and grow as a young child.”

A nurse at Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital, Kelly understood the importance of the preschool years. “The brain develops so much in the first years of life,” Kelly says.

“These years matter.”

A product of a Montessori preschool herself, Kelly knew that she wanted Emerson to attend a program based on the teachings of Maria Montessori, an Italian physician and educator in the early 20th century. “I loved learning and gravitated to the Montessori environment, where I could follow my curiosity and learn at my own pace,” Kelly says. “I knew Emerson would thrive in a place like that, too.”

In particular, Kelly liked the mixed-age classrooms offered at Montessori schools. Educating the whole child, instead of focusing only on academic goals like learning letters and numbers, was another appealing feature.

“As crazy as it sounds for a young child, I wanted Emerson to start learning how to be a helpful, empathetic member of society,” Kelly says, “and to be socialized with children from diverse nationalities and cultures.”

“Young children are capable of more than we give them credit for,” says Katie Rooney, director of early childhood education at Irvine Nature Center, which runs The Nature Preschool. “In our program, students spend the bulk of time in nature and learn to be stewards of the environment.” They even go home and nudge their families to do things like cut down on waste and live a greener lifestyle, Rooney says.

Aside from a well-rounded curriculum, other factors mattered to Kelly as she searched for a fit—cost, location, hours, safety measures, and even outdoor play space.

As a healthcare provider, Kelly cares a lot about safety. Although she enrolled Emerson before the coronavirus pandemic started, she trusted the school’s approach to safety from the beginning. Others attest to the importance of trusting your child’s early learning provider.

“First and foremost, parents need to feel comfortable with the health and well-being of their child,” says Ameka Smith, executive director of early childhood at the Y of Central Maryland, which operates five preschools in and around Baltimore. But comfort doesn’t come easily when parents can no longer tour programs in-person or drop by to observe.

“Before COVID, parents could go into a center and see firsthand how children engage with teachers,” Smith says. “That’s not possible with virtual tours.”

Smith advises parents to spend time during or after a virtual tour talking to the director and teachers. “Get a sense of who they are as people and how they run their program and classroom,” she says. Ask how they communicate with parents—and how often. “Open, ongoing communication is crucial because it eases the anxiety families feel from not being able to pop in the classroom,” Smith explains. “It also helps parents support and extend their child’s learning at home.”

Make sure the curriculum is both age-appropriate and designed to foster skills like creativity and problem-solving, she says. “Some parents want to see step-by-step crafts like the perfect-looking reindeer or bunny,” Smith shares. “More meaningful art projects are thought-provoking and less teacher-directed.”

Natasha Morton, preschool director of the Y Preschool at Weinberg, advises parents to look for programs that value hands-on learning and movement.

“Preschoolers really should not be sitting down for more than 10 to 15 minutes straight for any kind of learning activity,” Morton says. “They need to be playing and interacting with their environment.”

Morton says parents sometimes misinterpret what it means for preschoolers to play. “Children learn all kinds of things through play,” she says, from social-emotional skills like sharing and taking turns to academic skills like naming colors and learning to count.

With countless preschools and childcare options in the Baltimore area, parents face a difficult decision and “ultimately need to figure out which one best fits your family,” says Morton, who has taught in or directed preschools for 29 years.

“Research has told us for a long time now that children learn best through play,” says Rooney of Irvine Nature Center. “Yet in our rushed lifestyles and inundation of information about what our kids should be doing—music lessons, art lessons, sports teams— unstructured play can get left out.”

The solution, Rooney says, is for teachers and parents to slow down and give kids time and space for unstructured, or free, play. “When we toss out our agendas and see the world through kids’ eyes, that’s when the deep learning, the magical stuff, happens.”

Starting Your Early Education Search

Here’s a list of selected schools and day care centers in the Baltimore area.

◆ Apple Ridge Montessori School
200 Ingleside Ave., Catonsville, MD 21228.
410-818-2000. appleridgemontessori.org.

◆ The Baltimore Montessori
Canton: 1001 S. Potomac St., Baltimore, MD 21224.
Locust Point: 1530 E. Fort Ave., Baltimore, MD 21230.
410-980-7449. thebaltimoremontessori.com.

◆ Beth El at Federal Hill
1530 Battery Ave., Baltimore, MD 21230.
410-528-6001. bethelbalto.com/beth-el-federal-hill.

◆ Beth Tfiolh
3300 Old Court Rd., Baltimore, MD. 21208.
410-486-1905. bethtfiloh.com/preschool.

◆ Bolton Hill Nursery School
204 W. Lanvale St., Baltimore, MD 21217.
410-728-0003. boltonhillnursery.org.

◆ Bright Horizons at Harbor Point
1201 Wills St., Baltimore, MD 21231.
877-624-4532. child-care-preschool.brighthorizons.com/md/baltimore/harborpoint.

◆ Calvert School
105 Tuscany Rd., Baltimore MD 21210.
410-243-6054. calvertschoolmd.org.

◆ Celebree Schools
1306 Bellona Ave., Lutherville, MD 21093 and other locations.
410-515-8650. celebree.com.

◆ Chapelgate Christian Academy
2600 Marriottsville Rd., Marriottsville, MD 21104.
410-442-5888. chapelgateacademy.org.

◆ A Child’s Place, Notre Dame of Maryland University
4701 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21210.
410-532-5399. ndm.edu/childs-place.

◆ Children’s Magnet and Children’s Manor Montessori Schools
7105 Dogwood Rd., Windsor Mill, MD 21244 and other locations.
childrensmagnet.com.

◆ Columbia Academy
Multiple locations.
410-312-5233. columbiaacademy.com.

◆ Downtown Baltimore Child Care
237 Arch St., Baltimore, MD 21201.
410-659-0515. dbcckids.org.

◆ Dulaney Day Preschool
6915 York Rd., Baltimore, MD 21212.
410-377-2702. dulaneydayschool.com.

◆ Emmanuel Methodist Preschool
10755 Scaggsville Rd., Laurel, MD 20723.
301-725-6600. emmanuelpreschool.com.

◆ Garrison Forest School
300 Garrison Forest Rd., Owings Mills, MD 21117.
410-363-1500. gfs.org.

◆ Gilman School
5407 Roland Ave., Baltimore, MD 21210.
410-323-3800. gilman.edu.

◆ The Goddard School (Canton)
1000 S. Highland Ave., Baltimore, MD 21224.
443-842-5300. goddardschool.com.

◆ Goldsmith Early Childhood Center of Chizuk Amuno Congregation
8100 Stevenson Rd., Baltimore, MD 21208.
410-486-8642. chizukamuno.org.

◆ Govans Presbyterian Preschool
5826 York Rd., Baltimore, MD 21212.
410-435-8189. govanspres.org.

◆ Grace Preschool
5407 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21210.
410-532-2235. gracepreschoolbaltimore.com.

◆ Greenspring Montessori School
10807 Tony Dr., Lutherville-Timonium,
MD 21093. 410-321-8555. greenspringmontessori.org.

◆ Harford Day School
715 Moores Mill Rd., Bel Air, MD 21014.
410-838-4848. harfordday.org.

◆ JCC Early Learning Center
3506 Gwynnbrook Ave., Owings Mills 21117.
410-559-3589. jcc.org.

◆ Kiddie Academy of Locust Point
1215 East Fort Ave., Baltimore, MD 21230.
667-930-3677. kiddieacademy.com/academies/locust-point/

◆ La Petite Academy of Baltimore
2434A W. Belvedere Ave., Baltimore, MD 21215.
888-330-2878. lapetite.com.

◆ The Park School of Baltimore
2425 Old Court Rd., Baltimore, MD 21208.
410-339-7070. parkschool.net.

◆ Peabody Preparatory
21 E. Mount Vernon Place, Baltimore, MD 21202.
667-208-6640. peabody.jhu.edu/preparatory/ways-to-study/departments/earlychildhood

◆ Redeemer Parish Day School
5603 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21210.
410-435-9510. redeemerpds.org.

◆ St. Paul’s Schools
11152 Falls Rd., Brooklandville, MD 21093.
410-825-4400. stpaulsmd.org.

◆ Step By Step Children’s Learning Center
47 Loveton Cir., Sparks, MD 21152.
410-771-4151. stepbystepclc.com.

◆ Stoler Early Learning Center of the JCC of Greater Baltimore
3506 Gwynnbrook Ave., Owings Mills, MD 21117.
410-559-3554. jcc.org/elc.

◆ Towson Presbyterian Preschool
400 W. Chesapeake Ave., Towson, MD 21204.
410-337-2762. towsonprespreschool.org.

◆ Waldorf School
4801 Tamarind Rd., Baltimore, MD 21209.
410-367-6808. waldorfschoolofbaltimore.org.

◆ Woodbrook Early Education Center
25 Stevenson Ln., Baltimore, MD 21212.
410-377-8919. weecenter.net.

◆ Y of Central Maryland
Catonsville: 850 South Rolling Rd., Catonsville, MD 21228.
Towson: 301 W. Chesapeake Ave., Towson, MD 21204.
UMBC: 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250.
Weinberg: 900 East 33rd St., Baltimore, MD 21218.
Y Chipmunks Preschool: 2102 Old Westminster Pike, Finksburg, MD 21048.
ymaryland.org.

What if we played the game of Monopoly not as a top hat or a car, but as ourselves? If we factored in players’ race, gender, sexual orientation, faith, and class, how difficult would it be for them to afford properties such as Park Place?

These are the types of questions that Natalie Gillard seeks to answer with the board game Factuality, a simulated crash course on structural inequality. “As a black person, could I actually buy Boardwalk in real life?” Gillard says. “Or would I feel inclined to buy or rent property on the first quarters of the board?”

When Gillard was the director of student leadership and inclusion at Notre Dame of Maryland University in 2015, her frustration with a co-worker who expressed dissatisfaction with Gillard’s previous diversity trainings sparked the idea for a board game that would help people develop cultural competency. When she couldn’t find anything like it on the market, she created it herself.

Four years, two game boards, and about 10,000 participants later, Factuality has become a sought-after learning tool for its ability to unpack issues such as pay gaps and gentrification in a 90-minute session.

During a Factuality game, participants start by adopting a character whose identity doesn’t match their own and then, as they move around the board, they encounter fact-based advantages and limitations based on their characters’ identity.

On the Baltimore board, the properties range from Sandtown to the Inner Harbor and players learn about city-specific issues, such as redlining. After facilitating the game for thousands of people—ranging from a training at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum to conferences with the American Heart Association—this Northeast Baltimore resident says most people commit to their characters and gain a better understanding of their realities.

The gratifying result—for both Gillard and participants—is learning to empathize with strangers’ struggles. “The reward is scratching someone’s surface and seeing them recognize where we are as a city or society,” she says

Think about the main characters of films you recently viewed. How many of them were black women? How many had black female actresses as lead protagonists? How many were directed by black women? One or two may come to mind. Try to name 10. Are you having difficulty?

In response to the blatant inequity black women creatives face, filmmaker and writer Nia Hampton founded The Black Femme Supremacy Film Festival. The festival aims to promote dynamic cinematic efforts from Black female/femme identified filmmakers as well as “shake up the notoriously elitist culture of film festivals.”

This Sunday, January 20 at 5 p.m., the Creative Alliance will host “Taste Test: A Night of Short Films,” as a preview for the second installment of the festival, coming in the fall of 2019. Cinephiles can experience selections from Cuba, Brazil, South Africa, Canada and the United States that center “the black femme as a global protagonist.” A panel discussion with Hampton and some of the filmmakers will follow.

In 2018, the call for a more inclusive cinema grew too loud to ignore: more women and people of color as lead protagonists, directors, crew members, and writers. Hollywood’s decision to take heed proved to be incredibly profitable. Films like Black Panther, Mudbound, Bright, Moonlight, A Wrinkle in Time, If Beale Street Could Talk, and Get Out, among others, broke longstanding misconceptions about the earning potential of films with more people of color. The commercial success of those films set a new standard that has taken decades to acknowledge—national audiences will support great films even if they do not feature white male protagonists.

Despite these modest victories, inequitable casting and hiring of nonwhite actors and directors persists. UCLA’s recent research publication, 2018 Hollywood Diversity Report revealed that only one in 10 film directors are people of color and less than one out of 10 film directors are female. The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film concludes that, of the top films in 2017, just 16 percent of female characters were black and only 7 percent were LatinX. DataUSA confirmed that more than 80 percent of American producers and directors are white, an overwhelming majority are male and just 7.78 percent are black.

With these disparities in mind, we chatted with Hampton about the importance of black women filmmakers, how she defines femme, and her hopes for the evolution of the festival.

The Black Femme Supremacy Film Festival is a powerful title. How are you defining femme?
Femme is such a loaded term because we know that not all women have female genitalia and that not all women describe themselves as feminine or feminist. A femme person knows that they are femme regardless of how they look or how others may perceive them. But I’m also thinking about feminine boys who had to fight. I’m thinking about dark-skinned black women, who had to overcompensate to be seen. I’m thinking about naturally black women, who aren’t comfortable with the way people treat them.

[The films] are presenting characters who may be seen as femme. The directors are women, most are black, but the idea is that what you are watching on screen is a femme-identified person, their experiences, and what they are going through.

Why do you believe that it is important to present narratives that center black femmes?
When it comes to Hollywood, those films are not enough for me. When I was young, I got to see women be protagonists and femme-identified folks be feminists, but I think some things still need to be changed. I loved Black Panther and I love that it was made. Letitia Wright and Lupita Nyong’o, their roles were great, but I want to see films just about them. I’m looking for more femme heroes and protagonists to watch. I also know a lot of black female filmmakers but feel like, if I’m not in New York or in film school, I don’t get to see their work. Film is such a male-centric medium. It’s easy to go to a film festival and not see women making films. As a female filmmaker, I need to know that other people are doing this as well.

“Taste Test” will show short films from different countries. I made a short that I shot in Brazil. The shorts all cover different subjects, different genres. We will continue to center films by and about black women or folks who are femme-identified.

How do you hope the festival will evolve?
I want to create something that is operated by regular people. I would like to see my film festival accessible to black women who are not necessarily filmmakers. A lot of film festival culture is tied up in classism and elitism. You usually have to have enough money to make a film and then sell it and that kind of cuts out many black women from jump. I would like to host workshops and networking opportunities and really be a community for people. I really want to make a space where people are interacting and making films and really be a part of the process.

When Station North became the city—and state’s—first official arts district in 2002, the neighborhood’s blighted streets did not yet reflect the scrappy arts and music community that was brewing under the surface. At the time, creatives of all cloths were cutting their teeth in grassroots and underground venues, but in just a few years, that DIY scene would boil over and help put Baltimore’s art on the map.