Photos by Stephanie S. Cordle
Via Maryland Today / By John Tucker
UMD Holds Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for Interactive Exhibit Inspiring Service
Some voices pose questions: What would you do if you had 24 hours to change the world?
Others tout achievements: We’ve cleaned millions of gallons of rainwater per year before it flows into the Anacostia and Potomac rivers.
The recorded messages from University of Maryland students, faculty, staff and alums now greet those who stroll through five towering ruby-red rings erected this summer in front of Thurgood Marshall Hall’s Do Good Plaza. Billed as an interactive audio art exhibit, the “Do Good Rings” feature built-in speakers and motion sensors triggered by pedestrians. Each message encourages passersby to, well, do good.
On Thursday, the university held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to make the rings official. Many of the attendees who strolled through them paused to take in the messages.
“This is amazing!” a woman said. “It’s very inspirational—you can almost feel the people’s feelings,” another remarked.
In addition to the voices, the 12-foot rings project soothing music, evocative of a retreat. Eventually, the blinking lights that line the rings’ interior will be customized for special occasions, like Pride Month, Independence Day and Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
In his address to the crowd, UMD President Darryll J. Pines said that doing good for society “has become a part of the Terrapin spirit.”
“Terps are ready to be the next generation of leaders for social impact and change,” he said, calling the rings an “entryway” to UMD’s do-good vision.
Indeed, the ringed walkway ushers pedestrians into a plaza already boasting an 8-foot aluminum sculpture of the words “Do Good,” illuminated with more than 300 LED modules. The plaza, which sits in front of the School of Public Policy (SPP), is the first stop on visitor tours.
“These rings embody our shared commitment to the values of compassion, leadership and social responsibility,” said Robert Orr, dean of the School of Public Policy.
In recent years, SPP’s Do Good Institute has helped spearhead a campuswide call to action. In addition to developing classes in nonprofit management and organizing volunteer opportunities, the institute sponsors the annual Do Good Challenge, in which students pitch social-impact ideas that often become launchpads for startups. Winners receive thousands of dollars in prize money.
Previous winners have formed organizations that have bettered society on a massive scale. One student-founded group has diverted 12 million pounds of usable food from dumpsters across nearly 200 college campuses, while another has distributed $8 million of donated, viable medication to people in Ukraine.
During Thursday’s ceremony, Armani McMillan who in 2021 earned a graduate certificate in SPP’s nonprofit management and leadership program, spoke of her nonprofit, IMPACTdmv, which serves high-achieving students from underserved communities. Since its launch, the Prince George’s County-based organization has helped 60 high school seniors receive more than $21 million in college scholarships, McMillan said.
McMillan challenged the crowd to follow her lead. “The new interactive rings installation serves as a beacon of inspiration, offering an accessible way for students to discover the stories of Terps doing good,” she said.