News & Blog

One of the fantastic things about UCF is the wide range of cultures and ethnicities of our students, staff, and faculty. We come from all over. We’re just as proud of where we are from as we are of where we are now and where we will be heading in future. Diversity Week, an Office of Diversity and Inclusion initiative, is the way we celebrate this.

Between October 15 – 19, UCF will celebrate our diverse community and provide opportunities to explore topics across the broad range of human identity, experience, and interaction. Diversity Week activities are intended to stimulate our campus and move us to a more inclusive culture. The theme for 2018 is A New Day Dawns.

As part of the UCF Libraries’ enthusiastic support of maintaining an inclusive space in the UCF community, we are offering many workshops and activities through the week. The workshops include a

• Zine Workshop
• a presentation on the DIVerse Families Bibliography
• two fiber art demonstrations
• henna art
• an open mic
• multiple days of film screenings
• how to start a family search.

The first of our additional activities is just inside the entrance to the library where students can add a sticky note saying what they hope tomorrow brings. The second activity is a map on the 3rd floor where faculty, staff, and students can place a pin in the area where they and their families have lived. The UCF community can also stop by the Curriculum Materials Center library in the Education Complex to view a display on the DIVerse Families Bibliography.

For more detailed information about the UCF Libraries Diversity Week events visit: guides.ucf.edu/diversityweek

Have you ever read Bridge to Terabithia or The Hunger Games? Then you’ve read a book banned for its religious viewpoint.

What about And Tango Makes Three or I Am Jazz? They were banned for having LGBTQ+ characters.

Banned Books Week is September 23 – 29.

Join UCF Libraries for our Read Stricted: The Dilemmas Surrounding Reading, Censorship, & Challenged Books discussion on Thursday, September 27, 2018 1:30 in LIB-223 about banned books and what books are on the ALAs list of Top 10 Challenged Books in 2017.

See what redacted books you can check out from our display on the John C. Hitt and Curriculum Materials Center Circulation desks.

The roads we travel in life are interesting and varied. One of the more complicated aspects happens at the intersection of Religion and Sexuality. Join UCF Libraries and the Religion & Cultural Studies Program for a series of films that examine what happens when religion and sexuality meet from the perspective of three different traditions.

“Undressing Israel: Gay Men in the Promised Land”
Discussion facilitated by Kayla Symonds

Tuesday, September 25
2:30 – 4:30 pm
John C. Hitt Library 223

When many people think of Israel, it is often in terms of modern war or ancient religion. But there is much more to the Jewish state then missiles and prayers. In his debut as a documentary filmmaker, adult-film entrepreneur and political columnist Michael Lucas examines a side of Israel that is too often overlooked: its thriving gay community. Undressing Israel features interviews with a diverse range of local men, including a gay member of Israel’s parliament, a trainer who served openly in the army, a young Arab-Israeli journalist, and a pair of dads raising their kids. Lucas also visits Tel Aviv’s vibrant nightlife scene-and a same-sex wedding-in this guided tour to a country that emerged as a pioneer for gay integration and equality.

“A Jihad for Love”
Discussion facilitated by Dr. Michael Muhammad Knight and Dr. Cyrus Zargar

Tuesday, October 9
2:30 – 4:30 pm
John C. Hitt Library 223

Fourteen centuries after the revelation of the holy Qur’an to the Prophet Muhammad, Islam today is the world’s second largest and fastest growing religion. Muslim gay filmmaker Parvez Sharma travels the many worlds of this dynamic faith, discovering the stories of its most unlikely storytellers: lesbian and gay Muslims.

“Fish Out of Water”
Discussion facilitated by Dr. Jeanine Viau

Tuesday, October 30
2:30 – 4:30 pm
John C. Hitt Library 223

Inspired by the experience of coming out as a lesbian to her sorority sisters during her senior year at Vanderbilt, filmmaker Ky Dickens explores the Biblical passages used to condemn homosexuality in this informative yet entertaining documentary. Interweaving whimsical animation with enlightening interviews from both within the lesbian and gay community and as well with theologians from across the country, Fish Out of Water breaks down seven key passages from the Old and New Testaments – from Adam and Eve to Sodom and Gomorrah and the Purity Codes – while confronting the debate over translation and historical context that affect today’s interpretations of the Bible.

Man on Mars: Mission to the Red Planet
Friday, August 24th
1:00 pm
John C. Hitt Library Room 223

Horizon goes behind the scenes at NASA to discover how it is preparing for its most ambitious and daring mission: to land men – and possibly women – on the surface of Mars. It’s over 40 years since Neil Armstrong made the first human footprint on the moon. But getting to the red planet would involve a journey of at least three years.

Horizon meets the scientists and engineers who are designing new rockets and space suits, and finding ways to help astronauts survive the perils of this long voyage. It turns out that having the ‘right stuff’ for a mission to Mars might not be quite what you expect.

Discussion immediately following the film led by Dr. Kevin Cannon, our own UCF Mars expert, on the topic of “Why Does Mars Exist, and Why Should We Go There?”

Mars, the small frozen desert planet, is the way it is and couldn’t be any other way…right? But what if we look back with billions of years worth of hindsight, and apply a bit of chance and probability. If we do so, we will find that Mars very easily might not have formed at all, or could have ballooned to the size of the Earth and evolved quite differently than it did. The discovery of thousands of exoplanets allows us to see how those alternate realities did play out around distant stars, and gives insight into our own red planet. But should we go to Mars? Is it worth the cost and risk, especially with so many pressing problems back here on Earth? The potential rewards are immense: a sustained human-led science campaign at Mars is the best chance we have of answering fundamental questions about the origin of life in the solar system, and determining how rare life is in the universe as a whole. The challenges and accomplishments associated with sending humans to Mars may also inject a bit of hope and existential meaning into a society that increasing needs it.

Knights Under The Stars Viewing Mars
Friday, August 24, 2018
8:30 – 10:30 pm
Memory Mall

All are welcome to drop by Memory Mall to take in a telescopic view of Mars during its wonderful viewing season, the best since 2003. We will set up several telescopes to give everyone a chance to see what’s going on on the surface of Mars. We will also have telescopes trained on Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn as well, for a multi-planet viewing bonanza. Some things to note:

• There is no need to stay for the whole two hours, nor any need to come right at 8:30. In fact, the wait times will probably be shorter later in the session.
• The event is on Memory Mall, not at the observatory itself.
• This observing session is weather-dependent, and we will announce on our website, Facebook, and Twitter about whether the clouds will allow us to hold the event.

Check out our guide for additional resources on Mars: guides.ucf.edu/mars

The Summer Knights Reading Challenge ended on August 1, 2018.

189 UCF students, faculty, and staff participated in the challenge.

A total of 543,014 pages were read.

1^st Place: Amazon Kindle Voyage (courtesy of UCF Tech Product Center) was awarded to Katie Kirwan

2^nd Place: 6” Amazon Kindle (courtesy of UCF Tech Product Center) was awarded to Meena Roberts

3^rd Place: $50 Starbucks gift card (courtesy of Starbucks located at 895 N. Alafaya Trail) was awarded to Taylor Shepard

4^th Place: $25 Longhorn Steakhouse gift card (courtesy of UCF Libraries) was awarded to Shawn Livermore

Thanks to all of the participants in the Summer Knights Reading Challenge!