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The University of Maryland’s SGA will hold a special election during the fall 2026 semester, after its elections commission disqualified both tickets from this spring’s elections.

The special election will fill all seats left vacant by the disqualification of the RollTerps and JusticeUMD tickets, the Student Government Association’s election commission wrote in an email to undergraduate students Tuesday. All candidates who were part of previously disqualified tickets are ineligible to declare candidacy or become affiliates in the special election.

The governing body’s current administration will stay in office until the end of its final spring general body meeting on May 6. The inaugural and transitional meetings will be announced after the special election.

The email outlines several measures the elections commission will implement to maintain transparency amongst the student body amid “unprecedented circumstances” surrounding the election.

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The University of Maryland’s chapter of United Academics of Maryland filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Monday afternoon, challenging the administration’s recent executive order targeting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in federal contracting.

UAM-UMD, an affiliate of the national American Association of University Professors, is part of a coalition of federal contractors and subcontractors, nonprofit organizations and university professors that filed the suit against the order. The group is seeking an injunction to block the order’s implementation.

The March 26 executive order prohibits federal contractors from partaking in “racially discriminatory DEI activities,” including in educational opportunities and leadership development programs. It also bars them from invoking diversity, equity and inclusion guidelines when hiring, allocating department resources and deciding on promotions and contracts.

Federal contractors and subcontractors are at the risk of being permanently blacklisted or losing their contracts if they fail to comply with the administration’s requirements, according to national legal organization Democracy Forward. 

In an email sent to its mailing list of faculty and supporters Monday, UAM-UMD wrote that students and faculty have a right to learn about the history and current reality of racial injustices. The president’s order is an attempt to stifle free speech his administration doesn’t agree with, the email read.

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Several Maryland public officials, including Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, gathered Tuesday in the University of Maryland’s Discovery District to celebrate the groundbreaking for the Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security’s new $65 million headquarters.

The facility’s construction is part of Maryland’s “Capital of Quantum” initiative, which provides investments to make the state a leader in quantum technology.

“The future of job growth is quantum. The future of wealth creation is quantum. The future of economic prosperity is quantum,” Moore said. “And that is why I want the state of Maryland to be the global capital of quantum computing.”

About 150 people attended Tuesday’s event, including University of Maryland president Darryll Pines, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) and Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy.

Read more here: https://dbknews.com/2026/04/16/new-facility-quantum-defense-technology-college-park/