At 31 years old and 61 days, he also became the oldest competitor to do so, according to a statement from USA Gymnastics.

Whittenburg attended Edgewood High School in Harford County and trained at the Timonium facility, Rebounders Gymnastics. With his love of gymnastics beginning in Baltimore, The Baltimore Sun asked the athlete some questions about his hometown and journey through gymnastics.

How are you feeling after breaking records for both the United States and your age group at the World Gymnastics Championship, and what did it take to get to this point?

I would say the overall experience feels great. It definitely shows the testament to my longevity … It’s never too late to really pursue something as long as you want it bad enough, and I feel like I represented that cause pretty well.

Where did you grow up in Baltimore, and how did you get involved in gymnastics here?

I pretty much grew up in East Baltimore. My mother put me in [gymnastics] to basically teach me how to fall correctly because I was already doing back handsprings and handstands at my house and at school, and she just wanted to put me in a safe space to hone my skills.

Has the city had any influence on your career as a gymnast?

I would say it played a big role. Growing up there really builds character, and that’s something I feel like I can take away from living there…and then kind of taking those to my later destinations, once I got older.

Do you still have family in Baltimore? How has your family impacted your gymnastics career?

The majority of my family still lives in Baltimore. They impacted tremendously just kind of being there for me as I try to pursue anything that I honestly want to pursue. They showed tremendous support [for] anything that I would like to do, even if it’s not gymnastics. Just having that…kind of just takes the edge off, knowing that it doesn’t matter what you do, you’ll always be loved by your family. So it’s really nice to have that comfort every time I go home.

Do you have a favorite apparatus as a gymnast? You recently won gold in still rings, but is that your favorite discipline or something else?

Weirdly enough, for gymnasts, usually with my body type, we tend to struggle on the pommel horse, but that’s actually my favorite event. I think it’s less taxing on the body, and I think it’s safer. … I like pommel horse, it’s one of the very particular events where you just have to be very sure of yourself each and every time.

You’re training in Florida right now, but do you have any plans to return to Baltimore?

Probably going to go there for the holidays, but kind of just right now I just take it one day at a time, not really thinking ahead that far. But I would definitely like to go back at some point.

Do you plan on passing any skills on to the next generation, such as working with kids interested in gymnastics?

That’s definitely an option. I kind of was thinking about possibly going into a coaching role, just really trying to give my insight and my experiences to the next generation of gymnasts coming up. It’s only gonna get harder from here on out, and you want all the young ones to know that it’s not really as big as you think. You kind of just take one day at a time and really trust your training and trust the whole process as a whole, and everything should work out in your favor.

Do you have any message to Baltimoreans who have been inspired by your achievements?

I feel like I’m the type of person that has to go through a lot of trial and error, and finally having something like this happen just shows that as long as you keep trying, you can never fail.

So, just keep going for whatever you believe in, and never stop.

How does it feel to make history like fellow Baltimore native Dominique Dawes, who also broke many records as a gymnast from Baltimore?

I think it’s very cool that I’m actually being somewhat compared to Dominique Dawes. I mean, she’s a legend in Baltimore, so just overall grateful I was able to do something that I didn’t even think was possible.

Overall, this is just like a stepping stone and my ultimate goal, so it’s very nice to reflect on it and realize that you actually did do something pretty extraordinary. It took a little bit of time, but I think it finally kind of set in exactly what I did and how many people I impacted, so I’m just grateful.

What’s next for you? Are there any more records you’re trying to break?

Honestly, before those ones, I didn’t even know that I was in the hunt to break those records.

For me, it’s not about the accolades, honestly, just about doing the best that I can at the end of the day.

My team going into the world championships, we just keep everything normal, so don’t get too high or don’t get too low, just be you in all aspects, and just keep going.

Have a news tip? Contact Ela Jalil at ejalil@baltsun.com. 

Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle wrote in a LinkedIn post on Thursday that passengers should buy a ticket on another airline if they have an immediate event to attend.

“If you are headed to a wedding, funeral or something you must be somewhere for in the next few days — given the risk of flights cancelling I would suggest passengers buy a backup ticket on another carrier that departs after the first ticket,” Biffle wrote.

“This will be necessary until the government shutdown is ended to ensure safety for all travelers given reduced staffing levels with ATC [Air Traffic Control],” Biffle wrote.

According to the website of the Denver-based airline, Frontier customers whose flights are cancelled or delayed for more than three hours domestically or more than six hours for international flights are eligible for a refund or a rebooked flight.

Frontier is not the only airline that is facing cancelled flights this week. On Friday, Southwest had 18 cancelled flights through BWI Marshall Airport, according to FlightAware, a global flight tracking system.

When asked how Federal Aviation Administration cuts are impacting their customers, Frontier referred to the statement on its website and Southwest Airlines did not respond.

Amanda Krumholtz, the CEO of Parkville-based Radiant Destinations & Travel, said she has already helped a client change her travel plans to a cruise because she was worried about flight availability. Krumholtz said customers should leave plenty of time for travel to airports, and not leave the house until they are certain their flight is departing.

She also advised travelers to upgrade their plane tickets to be refundable to receive a credit or get their money back.

“If you buy basic, you’re out of luck at that point because you’re just buying the cheapest fare — but there’s no backup for it, right?”

The Sunday after Thanksgiving is usually the busiest day in airports, according to NerdWallet. Krumholtz said that Thanksgiving travel will likely be postponed if flight reductions continue, and that more people will be driving to their destinations.

Although the Trump Administration has been ordered by the courts to use contingency funds to cover 100% of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, this week it said it will release just 50% of the funds necessary. Meanwhile, even with the state stepping up, food banks across the state told The Baltimore Sun they are struggling to keep up with demand.

“Year-end gifts are really critical for us, and more critical this year than ever,” Babylon said, citing the government shutdown and its “ricocheting effects.”

The Westminster Rescue Mission, another Carroll County nonprofit, acts as a “food hub” for the county, providing food to 28 partners to stock pantries across the area. Its partner pantries request food at the end of each week, and CEO  Stephanie Halley has seen orders “skyrocket” this week, she said.

Her organization has also received a surge in calls asking where to locate food.

“Right now we are in such a time of nobody knows what’s happening, and it changes by the moment,” Halley said. “Everyone’s worried because they don’t know if they’re going to have food or not.”

SNAP provides food assistance to almost 42 million Americans per month, according to a Johns Hopkins school of public health article. The program is funded by the federal government, and states distribute it to eligible residents. To qualify for SNAP, a household must be at least 130% below the federal poverty line.

Last week, after the courts ordered the Trump Administration to fund the food assistance program, Gov. Wes Moore announced the state will allocate $62 million from the state’s Fiscal Responsibility Fund to ensure full November SNAP benefits for Marylanders.

However, none of the Carroll or Howard County organizations that The Sun contacted have received the state funding yet.

According to previous reporting by The Sun, August 2025 data from the Maryland Department of Human Services showed that 8,919 Carroll County residents receive SNAP benefits. On the state level, 680,000 people receive SNAP benefits, including nearly 270,000 children.

In Howard County, the Community Action Council operates the Howard County Food Bank, along with other programs aimed at combating poverty. Just last week, the food bank hit a record number of 137 families visiting the food bank in one day, the Community Action Council’s president Tracy Broccolino said.

Luckily, Volunteers are stepping up, food banks told The Sun.

The Community Action Council plans to create a volunteer position to manage the amount of traffic coming in and out of the food bank, as they expect the number of people in need to increase. The food bank has now made it so residents showing their SNAP EBT card can receive aid from the food bank. Broccolino said that local food banks are a critical resource.

“Food is the very first thing people are going to give up so that they can pay their rent,” Broccolino said.

Some food banks in Baltimore City are wrestling with increased need for their services, while others are preparing for what they fear will be a significant need.

At Nonprofit City of Refuge Baltimore, located in the Brooklyn neighborhood, data manager Seth Humphrey said he’s taken more calls than normal over the last month inquiring about its services. A few miles away in Pigtown, nonprofit Paul’s Place provides food assistance and medical care, among other services. Although the organization has not yet seen an increase in clients, Paul’s Place is gearing up for when more people lose their SNAP benefits, director of development and communication Chris Benzing said.

“We aren’t drowning yet,” Benzing said, “But we’re going to be.”

If you or your family need food assistance or would like to donate to a food bank or pantry, click on the following links for information about organizations in your area:

• Baltimore City community resources
• Baltimore County food pantry locator
• Carroll County food bank locations
• Howard County food pantries
• The Maryland Food Bank has locations to all food banks near a resident

Have a news tip? Contact Ela Jalil at ejalil@baltsun.com. 

“I personally felt that when I went through what I went through as a little girl — I didn’t think anyone else was going through that,” she said. Still, she always held on to her faith. “I believed that God had more for me.”

Now she is the CEO and founder of a nonprofit, motivational speaker, licensed minister, certified life coach, author and philanthropist. She wants her nonprofit to empower girls who feel the same way she did as a child. Her organization hosts the Girls Matter Empowerment Conference, which is visiting all 50 states. She is halfway through the tour, which arrived today in the Baltimore area.

“I’m excited about coming down to Baltimore and bringing what we like to call ‘an empowerment moment’ for the girls,” she said in a phone interview. The conference was held at the O.W.E. Center in Woodlawn, a facility for outreach, worship and education.

Wade-Johnson, 48, started America’s Big Sister Foundation eight years ago. The name is significant to her since being a big sister is a central part of her identity. Her mother, Jolinda Wade, went to prison while Wade-Johnson was in high school, and her father’s presence was “in and out.” Consequently, she picked up the slack.

“I had to be a parent and help raise my little brother,” she said. She was “really upset” about the role she reluctantly took on.

But now she embraces her big-sister persona. “I have two older [half] sisters who would all say I’m their big sister,” she said, laughing. The wife and stepmother of two also has three younger stepbrothers. “I’m grateful to be the one that our family depends on. … I always call it an opportunity that God trusted me with this position.”

She has even written an Amazon book called Big Sister, Big Heart that documents her journey.

And what a journey it has been. Wade-Johnson grew up in Chicago with her brother, the retired Miami Heat champion. Their parents, Dwyane Wade Sr. and Jolinda Wade, divorced after their mother became addicted to heroin. She battled her addiction for two decades. “She was incarcerated for a couple of years while I was in high school,” Wade-Johnson said. (Her mother is now a pastor who shares her story nationwide.)

“Those years were very tough for me,” she said. “I was sexually abused for about two years.” She tried to kill herself three times. She said she was saved, literally and figuratively, when she “learned about the Savior.”

“I came through the journey because someone told me about God. … I know that God pulled us out of that situation.”

After moving in with an aunt, Wade-Johnson graduated high school on time and went to college in California. “It was a culture shock … an amazing life change for me.”

She earned an associate degree in early childhood education from San Diego City College and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Chicago State University. “I’m innately a teacher,” she said. “I always knew that I was called to help the generation under me.”

She went on to co-found an organization with her brother while he was in the NBA called Wade’s World Foundation. “I took pain and turned it into purpose,” she said. She served as the executive director for just over a decade, until 2017. “For years, I was over my brother’s nonprofit, and it was all about boys,” she said. One day she decided to research organizations for girls.

She began a mentoring program for motherless girls and started a podcast, tapping into the negative emotions she experienced as a child. “We reached out to girls to help them through this difficult time.”

“This movement of empowering girls” evolved into America’s Big Sister Foundation. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit, formed in 2017, offers leadership development, educational resources and mentoring for young women. She organized a successful Chicago conference for girls that same year and another the following year. Then the COVID-19 pandemic happened.

“Afterward, people were afraid to come out,” she said. “I prayed next.” God told her to go to the girls, she said. So she reached out to women in different states to find partners who could help bring a conference to them. She eventually organized a 50-state tour. The All Girls Matter Empowerment Conference was born.

“That’s our goal … go there and empower these girls emotionally, mentally and spiritually.”

Wade-Johnson said girls ages 9-18 have changed post-Covid. “I’m finding that the girls are even more troubled.”

All Girls Matter Empowerment Conference attendees are preselected by local partners, who split the costs with her and undergo leadership training. “Tiffany Bethea handpicked 50 girls,” Wade-Johnson said, referring to the event’s Baltimore coordinator. “The girls do not have to pay a dime” and even receive swag bags.

The girls attend workshops on self-esteem and leadership, a panel discussion about careers, and interactive sessions about self-worth and mental health. “We tap into leadership, goal-setting and really push sisterhood,” Wade-Johnson said. “My goal is for them to see themselves and hear from women who have been in the same schools and the same places.”

She said the reactions from attendees have been “amazing.”

“They love to see other girls in the room who are experiencing some of the things that they are experiencing. It helps them to feel that they are not alone,” she said.

The day includes live entertainment and meals. Today’s event in Woodlawn concludes with a sneak peek of Sarah’s Oil, a movie opening in Maryland theaters Friday. The Kingdom Story film tells the true story of Sarah Rector, a Black girl born in Oklahoma Indian Territory in the early 1900s. After fending off greedy oil speculators targeting her land, Sarah became a millionaire at 11.

“My brother turned into a millionaire. He ended up a two-time Hall of Famer,” Wade-Johnson said. “And so when I talk about my journey, I want them [the girls] to see that resilience — that I kept fighting. But I also want them to see how God can turn some things around for you if you just keep believing. Believe in yourself, believe in your team — which is the people that God’s placed around you — and believe in God. That was my recipe.”

She encourages others experiencing challenges to view them instead as opportunities. “When we find ourselves going through tough times, I like to look as these places in our lives as training grounds for what God is going to place you in in the future,” Wade Johnson-said.

She and her brother are certainly examples of how winners can arise from even the toughest of beginnings.

“I’m a leader in every room you bring me in. It’s tough for me not to be.”

Have a news tip? Contact Ela Jalil at ejalil@baltsun.com. 

On Sept. 25, Stefan Gebhard was pushing Sweetpea, a maltipoo who was going blind, in a stroller for a walk along a service road, like he did most evenings, when a car hit them from behind.

Gebhard was thrown to the ground, hitting the pavement with his head and shoulder, and witness Peter Castelli said he thought Gebhard had died. Gebhard suffered only minor injuries, but when he came to, he rolled over to see Sweetpea beside him, dead.

The driver of the dark-colored Honda Civic that hit Gebhard sped off afterward, and the investigation is ongoing, the Montgomery County Police Department said. Montgomery County Police declined to tell The Baltimore Sun the percentage of hit-and-run cases it solves each year, instead directing a reporter to file a records request.

Although Gebhard has recovered physically, he can’t reconcile the fact that Sweetpea is dead and the person who killed her hasn’t faced justice.

“This is something that I just want to probe beyond the surface,” Gebhard said. “On the contrary, I want justice for the situation and I’m doing this for my little girl, who needs justice.”

A lifelong relationship

Although Gebhard initially wasn’t sure he wanted a dog when Andrea wanted to buy a Maltese-poodle mix 13 years ago, he said that Sweetpea lived up to her name. He fell in love with her, even going so far as to put her in a stroller on walks, once she went blind.

He wanted to keep her safe, he said.

Gebhard said he believed the stroller kept his injuries minor, but wishes he had been able to protect Sweetpea.

“My little girl was so precious to us, and she wouldn’t have hurt anybody,” Gebhard said. “For somebody to do this to us, to rip her from us like that and to not even say sorry or anything else… I think that’s what hurts the most.”

The injustice is made more painful by the fact that Gebhard works within eyeshot of the hit-and-run that left him injured and killed Sweetpea.

A produce clerk at Harris Teeter, he said he gets flashbacks when he looks through the automatic doors and happens to catch a glimpse of the part of the street where they were struck.

They’re more intense at night, he said.

Time froze for Gebhard after the accident, he said. Now, it’s just starting.

Law recognizes loss of property, not loss of life

Buddy’s law was put in place across Maryland starting Oct. 1, 2025, and allows a pet owner to receive higher compensatory damages when their pet is killed.

Now, instead of a limit of $10,000 in damages, a pet owner can be awarded upwards of $25,000. The statute does not make a difference between a killing or injury being due to an intentional act or due to negligence, principal for Towson-based law firm Levin Gann PA, Lee Eidelberg said. The damages are based on the fair market price of the animal.

But domestic animals are still treated as property. There is no current legal recourse for the emotional damages a pet owner can experience from the undue loss of a pet.

Gebhard feels that the police aren’t taking this case as seriously as they would if a human had died.

“Every time I see a cop with their lights on going down the road, I just scream out to them and say, ‘Why don’t you go find the killer that killed my little girl?’” Gebhard said.

A spokesperson for the Montgomery County Police Department said that an individual would be charged if they intentionally killed an animal, but would not be charged for an accidental killing.

The Montgomery County Police Department referred further questions to the Animal Services department.

Despite Olney’s reputation as a sleepy, sweet town, Gebhard said it’s gotten more dangerous in recent years and “you get a lot of bad drivers out there.”

He said he suspects the driver blew through at least one stop sign before hitting him and Sweetpea, noting that several signs and bushes had been run over nearby, as well.

Gebhard said it took him ten minutes to sit up after the driver hit him. Then, he said, he just picked up her body, holding her close to his chest as he sat on the side of the road, waiting for his wife and the police to arrive.

Have a news tip? Contact Ela Jalil at ejalil@baltsun.com. 

Maryland has one of the largest federal workforces in the country, with around 230,000 federal workers, and the state has been disproportionately impacted by the most recent federal government shutdown. Once the shutdown went into effect, some Maryland restaurants began offering deals to ease food insecurity for furloughed workers.

With the government shutdown nearing a month, federal programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which offers food assistance to over 40 million Americans, are impacted, too. As of Nov. 1, SNAP benefits will not be sent out.

Read on for a list of eateries offering meals and deals to furloughed federal workers:

Blowfish Poke 

• Where: Clarksville and Marriottsville
• Cuisine: Hawaiian
• What to bring: Federal ID or any proof of employment to the federal government.

At Blowfish Poke, any furloughed worker can get a free bowl with chicken, crab salad or tofu with toppings until the shutdown ends. There’s no limit on the number of times furloughed workers can avail themselves of this offer, and community members also can donate a bowl to furloughed workers through the restaurant’s website.

After conversations with neighbors and friends that are furloughed workers, Blowfish owner Jennie Kwon knew that she wanted to help her community.

“It really hit me that people who are furloughed … they really don’t know where their next meal could be coming from,” Kwon said.

Ekiben 

• Where: Fells Point, Hampden, South Baltimore
• Cuisine: Asian-Ethiopian fusion
• What to bring: Need to come in-person and show government ID.

At Ekiben, any furloughed worker can get a free meal,  “no questions asked,” Ekiben co-founder Ephrem Abebe said in an Instagram reel.

“When people think of federal workers they think of D.C., but Maryland also has an incredible amount of federal workers and government employees, and we recognize a lot of them our, our customers and we think it’s important to help them out in their time of need,” Ekiben co-founder Steve Chu told The Baltimore Sun.

Rasa 

• Where: Rockville as well as D.C. and Virginia
• Cuisine: Fast-casual Indian food
• What to bring: Government ID/Badge

Rasa is offering a “shutdown bowl” for only $10 at all of its locations. Furloughed workers can choose between a chicken and vegetarian bowl as long as the shutdown goes on.

“We’re going to be looking out for our community, and we can’t wait to see you soon,” Sahil Rahman co-founder of Rasa said in an Instagram reel.

Eataliano Market and Deli

• Where: Columbia
• Cuisine: Italian
• What to bring: Government ID

Furloughed workers can show their government ID at checkout and receive a 20% discount on their meal. Eataliano

“When times get tough, community matters most,” Eataliano Market and Deli wrote in a Oct. 20 Facebook post.

honeygrow 

• Where: honeygrow has 14 locations across Maryland that can be found on its website.
• Cuisine: Stir-fry and salads
• What to bring: Government ID

Pick pay at register and show your government ID, and furloughed workers get 20% off their meal.

“Politics might be sticky — your noodz shouldn’t be,” honeygrow wrote in an Oct. 22 Facebook post.

Thompson Restaurants 

• Where: Thompson Restaurants have more than 70 locations and 14 brands across the DMV area, Ohio and South Florida, according to its website. Maryland locations include Matchbox and Milk and Honey.
• Cuisine: Varied
• What to bring: Government ID

All government employees will receive a 20% off discount on their in-store bill if they show their government ID. Alcohol is not included in this deal.

“This one is for you Government Employees, we are here to support you during this time,” Thompson Restaurants wrote in an Oct. 10 Instagram post.

Other resources

Across Baltimore emergency food resources are available to those facing food insecurity. The Bmore Community Food Network has 17 fridges around the city that volunteers regularly stock with food. There are also 66 locations across the Baltimore area that provide community resources for food insecurity.

Have a news tip? Contact Ela Jalil at ejalil@baltsun.com. 

“It’s kind of like they [are] trying to just take your money,” he said.

The Baltimore Sun found that many Maryland colleges and universities routinely issue more parking permits to students than they have parking spaces. But students like Nguyen say they can’t afford a permit in the first place, which can run around $400. Students said they can’t afford the tickets, either, which range from $12 to $300.

Last school year, campus police departments across Maryland issued 115,528 tickets to students, faculty, staff, and visitors for a total of $3,379,440. The Sun requested parking citation data for tickets issued during the 2024-2025 school year from the following Maryland schools:

• University of Maryland College Park (UMD)
• Towson University
• University of Maryland Eastern Shore
• Coppin State University
• Bowie State University
• Frostburg State University
• The University of Baltimore
• University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB)
• University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC)
• Morgan State University
• Salisbury University

Citations add up across universities

Universities say they offer plenty of parking spots, but students aren’t buying permits.

Most tickets were for “no valid permit,” costing students $12–$85 depending on the university. At Coppin State, 68% of all tickets issued were for failing to have a valid permit.

When Morgan State student Devin Winder received a parking ticket next to an academic building, he never parked there again. Now, he makes the trek from his off-campus apartment building to avoid any potential tickets and expensive permit fees.

The most expensive violation across the board is parking in a handicapped space, coming in at $300 at UMD. This violation accounted for less than 1 percent of tickets issued.

Unpaid parking fines can put a hold on a student’s account, Salisbury spokesperson Jason Rhodes said in an email to The Sun. That keeps Salisbury students from registering for classes or campus housing for the following semester, or graduating students from receiving their diplomas, he said.

The University System of Maryland deploys this tactic, as well. A student’s car could be towed if they have several unpaid parking citations. Students can appeal tickets to avoid paying the ticket, a university spokesperson said in an email.

But UMD rejected fewer than half of appeals, data showed, and students told The Sun they were unsure whether their appeals would be granted. As a result, some said they don’t even try to go through the appeals process.

When Morgan State student Makayla Davis received a ticket for parking in a garage she thought was free, she didn’t bother appealing it, instead paying the $30 fine.

Morgan State University said in an email that since January 2025, about “375 appeals have been submitted and reviewed by a committee consisting of representatives from the University Police Department and the Department of Parking and Transportation.”

Between July 2024 and June 2025, Morgan State voided 88 citations, a spokesperson said. “While the University cannot guarantee that every appeal will result in a waived citation or fee, we are confident in the fairness and integrity of our review process.”

UMD declined to answer questions from The Sun.

Overselling parking spaces

Schools routinely issued more parking permits than they had available parking spaces, data The Sun reviewed showed — earning hundreds of thousands or even millions from resulting tickets.

During the 2024-’25 school year, the UMD earned almost $1.8 million in revenue from parking citations issued to faculty, staff and visitors — as if each of the 41,725 students paid a $43 ticket.

That same year, UMD handed out 19,585 parking permits for around 16,000 parking spaces, or about 1.2 permits per space.

Of all schools surveyed, UMBC had the highest permit-to-spot ratio, at 1.47, awarding 10,586 permits for 7,200 spaces.

But there’s a good reason to oversell parking permits, Henry Grabar, a parking analyst, told The Sun. Grabar wrote a book on parking, called “Paved Paradise, How Parking Explains the World.”

Universities operate under the expectation that every permit holder will not all park at the same time every day, opening the door to selling more permits than there are spaces, Grabar said, and selling more permits than spaces is common practice.

“Are there in fact not enough parking spaces, or is it merely a case of people behaving badly and parking where they’re not supposed to?” Grabar said.

OperationsCommander, a Canada-based company that focuses on parking and security management, and works with colleges and universities across North America, says the industry standard is selling between 20% to 40% over available spaces.

Rhodes said he doesn’t believe adding more parking spaces would decrease parking citations, noting that many tickets are issued to people who don’t buy available parking passes.

People expect free and accessible parking, Grabar said, but providing it is expensive, and universities don’t want to divert a large amount of resources to it.

Grabar said higher permit fees could lower overcrowding, and suggested schools scale parking fines to avoid issuing harsh, expensive fines right off the bat.

“The point of having a parking management system is not to take people’s money,” Grabar said. “It’s to ration out the access to this scarce resource that everybody wants a piece of.”

Even when permits are available, the hefty price tag has deterred students like Nguyen from purchasing them.

Christian Collins, a policy analyst for the Center for Law and Social Policy who focuses on post-secondary education, said that parking citations are just another financial barrier for students to overcome to get a degree.

Collins also noted that punishments like a hold on students’ accounts have a larger impact on low-income students who struggle to pay off their tickets, and warned against inequitable policies.

“If it’s coming at the cost of certain students effectively becoming barred from participating in education, educational opportunities and campus in general, then is it really the best design policy that you can offer?” Collins

“There’s no reason we have to keep paying hundreds of thousands of dollars just to go [to school ] here, and we have to worry about parking,” Morgan State student Davis said.

Where does the money go?

The money schools collect from student tickets often funds the departments that issue them.

UMD has the highest number of parking citations, but also the largest campus by student enrollment, with Towson, UMBC, Salisbury and Morgan State following close behind in citations issued.

Although Towson generates revenue from parking citations, a university spokesperson said they are primarily focused on ensuring “safe” use of the parking facilities.

Frostburg State had one of the lowest numbers of tickets issued among universities The Sun surveyed, giving out 2,424 tickets and receiving $59,000 in revenue. Frostburg State does not require students, faculty and staff to purchase annual parking permits, and offers multiple free off-campus parking locations. Its small campus makes the walk for free parking seem more appealing, a spokesperson for the university’s police said.

This story has been updated to correct Morgan State’s response to student concerns about the ticket appeals process.

Stella Canino-Quiñones contributed to this article. Have a news tip? Contact Ela Jalil at ejalil@baltsun.com. 

The Learning Experience, a Bel Air day care, has been using this program since its opening six years ago, and incorporates the language throughout the day. It cares for children ranging from 6 weeks old to 6 years old and is part of a larger franchise that has day cares across the country.

Melissa Vandergriff, who has been a program leader for three years and works with the infant classes, said she has seen reduced meltdowns as her students are now able to communicate their needs before they can speak.

“We all have feelings, we all want to be heard and we use sign language to give another way of saying this is what I need, this is what I want,” Vandergriff said.

On Friday morning, Vandergriff gathered her students around her in a circle to tell the story of Gibby Gibbon, an animated monkey who was born deaf and uses a cochlear implant, an electronic device that can be surgically implanted to allow deaf or hard-of-hearing people the ability to hear. She shook a rattle to grab the infants’ attention and show how the monkey can hear with the “magic” of the hearing device. Six infants watched Vandergriff as she sang and signed “The Itsy Bitsy Spider,” while the infants made signs, too, with their little hands. 

“Sign language allows us to connect with people within our community, and anything that brings us together is definitely promoted here,” Vandergriff said.

Over her three years at the daycare, Vandergriff has seen her former infants return to her classroom as pre-schoolers and continue to use sign language to communicate with the infants in her care. Many parents are also interested in continuing the ASL lessons at home, Vandergriff said.

Some of the words or phrases the children learn at the daycare are:

• Milk
• Dad
• Mom
• Please
• “Thank You”
• More
• Bottle
• “All done”

The school keeps parents up to date with lessons via a calendar that describes the “word of the month” along with instructions on how to sign the word if parents want to continue the practice at home. Each age group has a different word each month, assistant director of operations Sarah List said.

List has been with the daycare since it opened six years ago, and has seen how the focus on ASL at infancy has built a strong foundation as they continue through the program, she said. She also has three children who attend the program.

“For my family, a big focus is manners, so seeing my children use their manners along with sign language is huge,” List said.

All of the educators at The Learning Experience have a background in early childhood education, but are not necessarily trained in ASL. The curriculum accounts for this and gives explicit instructions on how to incorporate ASL within the classroom.

Students learn 12-50 age-appropriate signs throughout their time at the center. “Bottle,” “more” and “all done” are used throughout the infant classes, Vandergriff said.

Rachel Duncan, director of family engagement and operations at the daycare, describes children below the age of five as sponges.

“ASL is just like learning a foreign language. It teaches cognitive development and reasoning skills, and it also opens up different parts of the brain,” Duncan said.

Have a news tip? Contact Ela Jalil at ejalil@baltsun.com

Local coffee store owner Narayan Khakurel, 44, immigrated to Towson from Nepal. He called the violence and loss of life in his home country “heartbreaking.”

“I am hoping whatever we lost…will be a lesson for the leaders who probably did not keep their promise to serve the country. Overall, I am hoping for a good change,” he said.

Khakurel has family members in Nepal still, he said, including his parents. While they’re safe, he worries about them, and about Nepal.

Baltimore is the home to the fifth-largest Nepalese community in the United States, with nearly 5,000 people in the metropolitan area, according to the U.S. Census.

Baltimore’s Nepalese community has grown dramatically in the last 25 years, as people were pushed out of their home country by a poor economy and a violent civil war. Still, most community members have strong ties to the country and family members back in Nepal.

The deaths shocked the nation and Nepalese people living abroad. Here, organizations cancelled cultural celebrations and gathered in vigils as Nepal observed a national day of mourning on Wednesday.

A look into the protests

Protests began in Nepal on Sept. 8, when students organized against the government’s recent decision to ban 26 social media apps like YouTube, Facebook and WhatsApp. The protests, called the “Gen Z Revolution,” soon swept the nation.

The protests unfolded as the government pursued a broader attempt to regulate social media with a bill aimed at ensuring the platforms are “properly managed, responsible and accountable.” The proposal has been widely criticized as a tool for censorship and for punishing government opponents who voice their protests online.

About two dozen social networks widely used in Nepal were repeatedly given notices to register their companies officially in the Himalayan nation, the government said. Those who failed to register were blocked.

The ban was the tipping point for long-held feelings of frustration against corruption and nepotism within the government. At the protest, the police used water cannons and rubber bullets on their own citizens, killing 19, according to Reuters,

Angered by the governmental violence, protestors burned government buildings, ousted the former prime minister, accused of corruption and installed an interim prime minister, Shushila Karki, the first woman to serve in the position in the nation’s history.

International events hit close to home

Thousands of miles away from his home country of Nepal, Towson University student Sameer Panta felt the pull of the “Gen Z Revolution.” After a family friend attended protests and witnessed police killing citizens, Panta became fearful and anxious for his family and friends back in Nepal.

Panta serves as the president of Towson University’s Nepalese Student Association, which focuses on bringing Nepalese students together and promoting Nepalese culture. When he first saw the news, he told The Baltimore Sun he stayed up until 4 a.m. drafting a letter of solidarity with the young people protesting in Nepal.

“Seeing blood on the streets of my home country while being so far away made me feel really helpless,” Panta said.

He said he would have joined the protests if he were back home, but is now putting that energy toward mobilizing the Baltimore Nepalese community.

Panta’s group collaborated with the Nepalese Student Association out of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, to host a candlelight vigil on Sept. 8. About 300 people attended, he estimated.

“Together we mourned, shared our pain,” Panta said.  “The world knew this was not just social media. It was a fight against corruption and for justice.”

Sorrow remains prevalent

When Salin Basnet’s 11-year-old son watched the news about violence against protestors, he couldn’t stop crying, he said.

The 35-year-old serves as the general secretary of the Baltimore Association of Nepalese in America, or BANA, an organization dedicated to maintaining Nepalese culture in America and offering resources to members of the community.

BANA planned to have a festival on Sept.14 that celebrated and shared Nepalese culture, but leadership cancelled it, saying in a post on Facebook that they couldn’t celebrate in a time of mourning.

“This situation is very terrible for the Nepali community in Nepal, and we don’t want to enjoy in this situation,” Basent said. “We are in a very deep sorrow moment.”

Despite the pain wracking the Nepalese community in Baltimore, Khakurel said, they take solace in caring for each other.

Khakurel, who owns Towson-based Coffee Talk, said his business has been a place to connect with others.

“Customers who are aware of this situation have asked about my family [and] expressed their worry,” he said.

It brought him some comfort.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

An earlier version of this incorrectly listed Salin Basnet’s title. His title is general secretary. The Sun regrets this error.

Have a news tip? Contact Ela Jalil at ejalil@baltsun.com 

Some school districts have enacted policies that allowed transgender or gender-nonconforming students to choose their pronouns, while also not informing the parents of their decisions.

Yet 32 of 74 school board candidates who responded to a Local News Network survey indicated that these policies go a step too far. Nineteen of those candidates are running for board seats in the 10 Maryland counties that have chapters of Moms for Liberty, a group that stresses parents’ rights.

“Parents should be fully informed about everything happening at school involving their child. There should NEVER be a situation where information is withheld from parents,” wrote Carroll County school board candidate Kristen Zihmer, who has been endorsed by Moms for Liberty.

A slightly smaller number of candidates, 29, said they prioritize creating a “safe and inclusive” environment for students, even if that requires withholding information from parents.

Anne Arundel County school board member Joanna Bache Tobin, who is seeking re-election, said students succeed in school when they have a sense of belonging.

“Enabling students to determine for themselves how they wish to be addressed and referred to is critical to that safe and inclusive environment, and therefore to student achievement,” said Tobin, a consultant and parent in the Anne Arundel County public school system.

Yet the issue remains sensitive. Thirteen candidates either refused to answer the LNN survey question about pronouns or did so in a way that did not take a stand on the issue.

The Biden administration recently made headlines when it rewrote regulations under Title IX, the federal ban on sex discrimination, to cover bias against gender identity or sexual orientation. This federal civil rights law prevents sex-based discrimination in any school that receives federal funding.

This rewrite would require that schools refer to students by the pronouns they choose to use. However, federal lawsuits have blocked the change at least temporarily in 26 Republican-led states.

In contrast, many counties in Maryland have embraced a progressive policy on pronouns. For the 2020-2021 school year, Montgomery County Public Schools drafted a guideline for student gender identity that encourages employees to make support plans for transgender and gender nonconforming students. This approach allows students to decide on their identity at school, whether it be their preferred name or pronouns.

“Prior to contacting a student’s parent/guardian, the principal or identified staff member should speak with the student to ascertain the level of support the student either receives or anticipates receiving from home,” the guideline reads.

That policy also prompted a federal lawsuit. Some parent groups argued the guidelines violate the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of due process under the law by restricting the parents’ ability to direct care and control education for their minor children. A group of three parents took their argument to court with the support of the National Legal Foundation.

A federal court dismissed the case in 2022, and a federal appeals court did the same the following year. The courts ruled that the parents didn’t have legal standing to have their case heard. The parents appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, and the high court dismissed the case again in May.

However, the parent group noted in its petition that similar lawsuits have been filed across the nation. And Frederick County candidate Jaime Brennan, the former chairwoman of the county’s Moms for Liberty chapter, argues that such policies remain in legal jeopardy.

“We are seeing districts across the country be sued for policies like this,” Brennan said. “I think it is only a matter of time before they are subject to huge judgments, not to mention the defense costs for these bad policies.”

Elena Brewer, a school board candidate from St. Mary’s County, said she believes that allowing the nontraditional usage of pronouns diminishes the rights of other students because it is “age-inappropriate” language. Her campaign issues consist of parental rights, education not indoctrination and age-appropriate curricula.

“Schools are for education, not sexualization,” said Brewer, one of 19 Maryland candidates endorsed this year by the 1776 Project PAC, a group that emphasizes parental rights and criticizes “woke” ideology.

For others, policies of nondisclosure undermine the relationship between parents and children.

“If we are not informing parents of students’ decisions about their preferred pronouns and maybe questions about their identity, what other aspects of their school life are we not informing parents?” said Ann O’Connor, a school board candidate from Talbot County, who also received a 1776 Project PAC endorsement.

This belief in parental rights stands at the center of a conservative movement that says it is trying to save public school students from liberal indoctrination.

Howard County school board candidate Trent Kittleman said that like, other conservative candidates, she strongly opposes policies that allow schools to withhold information from parents when a child chooses alternate pronouns.

“It is imperative to recognize that parents hold the ultimate responsibility for raising their children; attempts to undermine this fundamental role are both misguided and potentially harmful,” Kittleman said in response to the LNN candidate questionnaire.

Kittleman’s website says that she fought against progressive legislation for eight years in the Maryland legislature and that she believes in a system that prioritizes parental involvement.

The use of gender-neutral pronouns is increasingly common, with recent studies showing that 56% of Generation Z respondents know someone who uses gender neutral pronouns, a National Institutes of Health article said. Advocates of the approach say using an individual’s preferred pronouns can act as a sign of respect.

Allegany County school board candidate Max Green said it’s not the role of teachers to tell parents what pronouns students are using in school.

“Every student deserves to feel safe and supported in school, regardless of their identity,” Green said. “Using preferred pronouns fosters an inclusive environment and allows students to feel accepted. Importantly, this practice causes no harm to others — it simply reflects respect for the individual.”

Multiple candidates cited the importance of respecting pronouns for the safety and health of transgender or gender non-conforming students.

Montgomery County incumbent candidate Lynne Harris emphasized the vulnerability of LGBTQ+ youth to bullying or rejection from family.

“I am proud that Montgomery County Public Schools policy is to provide a welcoming and supportive space for students, to support them in expressing their gender identity, and to partner with families in supporting LGBTQ+ students EXCEPT when the student tells us they will not be safe if family are informed,” Harris said.

The Trevor Project, a nonprofit that works to prevent suicide among LGBTQ+ youths, found in a 2020 national survey that transgender and nonbinary individuals who had their pronouns respected by all or most people in their lives attempted suicide at half the rate of those that didn’t have their pronouns respected.

“If we can save lives by using preferred pronouns and names, then it is incumbent on us to do so,” said Jen Mallo, a Howard County Board of Education member who is running for re-election. “It is not only a good thing to do, but also the right thing to do.”

Several candidates also said it is OK for schools to not disclose a student’s preferred pronouns to parents. They said doing so makes school a safe space for students.

“Unfortunately, there are still situations where a child faces being kicked out of their home or ostracized for coming out to their family. Our duty as a school system is to support the child,” said Erica McFarland, a school board candidate from Anne Arundel County.

Despite the debate over pronouns, none of these candidates surveyed chose gender identity and pronouns as the most significant issue affecting schools today. In Carroll County — where school board members have voted to remove 21 books from library shelves — candidate Muri Lynn Dueppen said it’s time for the board to focus on something else.

“The focus of the board needs to return to academics instead of the deeply divisive culture wars,” Dueppen said.

Capital News Service is a student-powered news organization run by the University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism. The Local News Network at the Merrill College teams news outlets with student reporters.