Five students displaced by fire at Gorham House of Pizza
Posted on April 20, 2012 by Dylan Martin in News
A fire in the Gorham House of Pizza building last night displaced five students and three other tenants living above the pizzeria. No one was injured in the downtown Gorham fire, which began around 9:30 p.m. as a result of a bathroom ceiling fan between the second and third floors being left on for too long, according to the Gorham Fire Department.
Students and faculty discuss university’s direction in outside meeting
Posted on April 19, 2012 by Dylan Martin in News
About thirty students, alumni and faculty raised questions about the quality of online courses, the University of Southern Maine’s business imperatives and the lack of student involvement in an organized community discussion on the green behind Luther Bonney Thursday afternoon. Though the event was organized by Occupy USM — an offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement [...]
Between federal and state law, medical marijuana patients caught in vise on campus
Posted on April 13, 2012 by Dylan Martin in News
When Robyn Smith gets a migraine or feels a sharp pain in his neck, he is not allowed to take his medication on campus. University administration have told him there is no way around it. Because even though state law says medical marijuana is legal, which he uses on a daily basis, federal law still considers it a “dangerous drug” with no medical benefits.
USM students help give Somalis a voice in project for Al Jazeera
Posted on March 30, 2012 by Dylan Martin in News
Mohammed Dini remembers the war-torn situation of Somalia when he left with his family in 1997. Conditions were so bad, people carried around white cotton cloths every day to cover their own bodies if they were killed — a preparation necessary to follow traditional funeral rites.
Egyptian activist addresses USM — ‘revolution will prevail’
Posted on March 11, 2012 by Dylan Martin in News
Egyptian pro-democracy activist Wael Nawara visited the University of Southern Maine Friday to share his experience with the uprising against former President Mubarak’s 30 year regime to raise awareness about the effects of Egypt’s 2011 revolution. Nawara, who was one of the featured protesters in Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year: Protester” issue last year, spoke [...]
Refund checks allow one student to pay bills, car bling for another
Posted on March 10, 2012 by Dylan Martin in News
While the refund money is legally supposed to only cover a student’s cost of attendance — including room and board, transportation, books, supplies and miscellaneous costs like food and entertainment — it’s hard to know how students use the money, said Director of Financial Aid Keith Dubois.
New Occupy USM group seeks to engage students, staff and faculty
Posted on March 02, 2012 by Dylan Martin in News
In an effort to ignite student involvement with the Occupy Wall Street movement, two students and one alumnus from the University of Southern Maine have formed a new Occupy group centered around the university. Occupy USM’s founders said the group will also focus on issues concerning higher education and student debt, as well as the core [...]
Being a musician in Portland takes new forms with changing economy
Posted on February 27, 2012 by Dylan Martin in Arts & Culture
Barry Arvin Young didn’t plan on making a living on music in Maine. But after dropping out of college, Young found himself joining a band called Blitz. As he met new friends and role models, he joined other bands and toured continuously through New England during the late 1970s and 1980s, never stopping, never finding [...]
USM hiring new professor for African-American history and political science position
Posted on February 06, 2012 by Dylan Martin in News
The departments of history and political science at the University of Southern Maine are in the process of searching for a new professor specializing in African-American history following a five-year absence of any faculty position specifically dedicated to the subject. According to Assistant Professor of History Libby Bischof, the consolidation of the two disciplines into [...]
As college bookstores compete, high textbook prices remain an issue
Posted on February 06, 2012 by Dylan Martin in News
At the beginning of the school year, Chris Cunha stood outside of the Woodbury Campus Center to hand out coupons for his new employer, the Campus Bookstore. For nearly twenty years, the off-campus store has been the University of Southern Maine bookstore’s direct competitor — most notably, offering lower prices — and last May, it moved closer to the Portland campus. Some say a little too close.
