By: Max Lorber, Arts and Culture Editor Creative Portland is spearheading an initiative to adorn bus shelters in the greater Portland area with art installations designed by local creatives. The intention of the project is to use artwork to honor the racial and ethnic diversity within Maine, according to Creative Portland. The foreign-born population in…
By: Garrick Hoffman, Guest Editorial “Polls and rentals reflect popularity, but don't explain why people value ‘Shawshank’ so fervently. Maybe it plays more like a spiritual experience than a movie.” So went the words of the famed film critic Roger Ebert in his review of The Shawshank Redemption. Who could have ever predicted that such…
By: Chelsea Marquis, Staff Writer A former tanning salon is now home to a wide musical lineup from rock to indie. Ian Smith and Cecil Gardner founded Sun Tiki Studios in the fall of 2017. The space had been vacant for a number of years. “I had been toying with the idea of a music…
By: Jenasa Staples, Staff Writer A Family for ME program works to bring awareness to the need for families willing to care for children in foster care. A Family for ME is a contracted program with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) that has been active for the past twenty years throughout the…
By: Kate Rogers, News Editor The fourth Maine Women’s Summit on Economic Security was held in Augusta on Wednesday, October 2. The Maine Women’s Lobby collaborated with the Me Too Movement to focus on sexual assault and it’s impact on the overall economy of our country and of Maine. Commissioner of the Maine Department of…
By: Sarah Knox, Staff Writer This spring, the Campus Safety Project will begin implementing Green Dot Bystander Intervention Training to students. The Green Dot Strategy, developed by self-described “social accelerator” Alteristic Inc. in 2006, is based on the principle of “mobilizing communities by harnessing the power of individuals” in order to create “a safe and…
By: Troy Daly, Abby Nelson & Amelia Bodge, Staff Writers On September 24th of this year, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi announced the House’s decision to begin an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. According to the Washington Post, the reasoning behind this decision was because, “The actions taken to date by…
By: Cullen McIntyre, Sports Editor On October 5th, USM athletics hosted Domestic Violence Awareness games. The Department of Athletics and Campus Safety Project collaborated to bring awareness to the issues of domestic, dating, and relationship violence and abuse. Student-athletes, as well as those attending games, took part by wearing purple to the games hosted by…
By: Amelia Bodge, Staff Writer Last week most functions that were previously housed in the Woodbury Campus Center were relocated and meal alternatives were made available. The food pantry has been moved to 147 Luther Bonney and will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The University Bookstore has been relocated to the first-floor…
By: Paige Riddell, Staff Writer Maine leads New England in wind power, but Governor Janet Mills hopes to put us in the lead for the United States. Mills has made climate change her top priority, making claims of reducing carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. Governor Mills shocked everyone when she…
By: Alyson Peabody, Editor-in-Chief Every person who works on the Free Press staff benefits from the dedication of those who came before us. Writers, photographers, designers and editors alike have invested themselves into their roles as journalists covering the USM community for generations. The Free Press has birthed leaders whose strides continue to be celebrated…
By: Connor Blake, Staff Writer Tracy Edwards, player on the Women’s tennis team and senior majoring in Health Sciences from Cranston, Rhode Island has played an integral role both on and off the tennis court this season. On the court she has been a steady contributor for both doubles and singles tennis. So far this…
By: Cullen McIntyre, Sports Editor The beautiful game may be on its way to Portland, according to the Portland Press Herald. Professional soccer has not made an appearance in Portland before, though GPS Portland Phoenix currently plays in the United Soccer League 2, a pre-professional development league. The club talks of coming to Portland, would…
By: Zoe Bernardi, Community Editor Over the summer, four students started an ongoing project with testing local beer and its chemical content when new ingredients were added into the recipe. This internship allowed Kristi Hanscom, Scott Eugley, Zach Rohman and Gabby Hamm to work closely with the Maine Brewers Guild and the USM Quality Control…
By: Lillian Lema, Staff Writer The student body and faculty walks around with their smartphones in hand and laptops in their backpacks. They ride the elevator. They drink out of the water fountain. All of these tools are a part of everyday life. Most don’t think of how these objects are made, but an engineer…
By: Zoe Bernardi, Community Editor Imagine working three jobs, being a triple major in mechanical engineering, physics, and pure mathematics, attending 18 hours of ballet practice plus doing homework, eating three meals and sleeping the correct amount of hours a week. Seems almost impossible to do. However, Kallee Gallant a sophomore at USM manages to…
By Ryan Farrell, Staff Writer This weekend marked the release of the Netflix original film Between Two Ferns: The Movie. Zach Galifianakis certainly carries the film and makes it stand out from other comedy’s. While this purposefully uncomfortable comedy can be consistent with its web-series, its basic story prevents it from being great. Between Two…
By: Max Lorber, Arts and Culture Editor The Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance is breathing life back into the Maine Chapbook Series. The series is set to be published in the spring or early summer of 2020, marking the first Maine Chapbook in 20 years. It will contain a selection of poems written by a…
By: Ryan Farrell, Staff Writer Director and short film producer, Stephen Bennett, doesn’t have a need for expensive equipment. He is a practical filmmaker with complex visions. After transferring from Connecticut College last year, Bennett found that video projects have helped him make friends with people who share his passion for film. Bennet is a…
By: Max Lorber, Arts and Culture Editor Flanked by rows of books on the fifth floor of the Glickman Library, the eclectic Barbara Morris Goodbody collection of photography is on display. This wide-ranging assembly was created by several photographers from around the world. The artwork is being presented by the Maine Museum of Photographic Arts…
By: Kate Rogers, News Editor This week, the House of Representatives issued their first subpoena for an impeachment investigation led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on President Trump. The investigation is taking place after the White House released a record of his phone call with Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, according to the Washington Post. If…
By: Alyson Peabody, Editor-in-Chief Professor Michael Shaughnessy has taught sculpture, design and drawing at USM for 32 years. He served as a Department Chair for 10 years and has served on the Faculty Senate. During his time on the Faculty Senate, he created the first ever degree in Art and Entrepreneurship. Now, artist, sculptor, and…
By: Jenasa Staples, Staff Writer Earlier this year, the University of Maine board of trustees decided to separate Maine Law and USM starting in 2022. Maine Law is the only law school in Maine and is known for being the second institution in the nation that provides privacy certificates, a now growing field. 75% of…
By: Kate Rogers, News Editor Dr. Robert Sanford, the Chair of the Environmental Science & Policy Department at USM, was nominated and chosen by Governor Janet Mills for the Maine Board of Environmental Protection in July of this year. He hopes to promote a focus on research and environmental facts over opinions in his time…