By: Ryan Farrell, Staff Writer It has been a consistent trend over the past couple of decades in which eastern practices and traditions cross over to the west and vise versa. Azam Ali and her group Niyaz have been growing in popularity in the west and recently came to Portland in order to share their…
By: Lydia Libby, Web Editor A dilemma many college students face is the question of “What am I going to do tonight?” Most activities cost money, and most students find themselves sitting at home or in their dorm with nothing to do. However, if students look hard enough, they may stumble across Blue, an intimate…
By Ryan Farrell, Staff Writer Over this past weekend, Academy Award winner Jordan Peele released his highly anticipated second film, Us. His first film Get Out was met with critical praise which is why it received multiple Academy Award nominations and won the award for best original screenplay. This came as a surprise to some…
By: Jess Ward, Staff Writer Esi Edguyan’s Washington Black offers a brutal and deeply rewarding story of a slave held at the Faith Plantation in the Barbados. Washington Black is a field slave, recounting to the reader his journey to freedom as he becomes a man of science and art. Black must survive everything from…
To help keep you safe on the road, we briefly explain the three different types of distracted driving and their various causes. While there’s a lot people get wrong about distracted driving, knowing the various types can make a big difference in the way you approach your time behind the wheel. Some of the examples that we discuss won’t…
By: Cullen McIntyre, Sports Editor News broke Sunday evening that the 29-year-old Patriots Tight End Rob (Robert) Gronkowski had retired from the National Football League after his ninth season. Best known as Gronk, had an illustrious career playing for the New England Patriots, winning three Super Bowls during the time he played. Gronkowski was drafted…
Getting your first credit card is an exciting step towards a promising financial future. Using one responsibly can help you build a good credit history and score. As a result, you will be able to get better rates on future loans and have a greater chance of being approved for rental houses and apartments. Additional…
By Cullen McIntyre, Sports Editor Just two years after failing to win a single regular season game, the Cleveland Browns have added one of the biggest names in the National Football League to their roster, Odell Beckham Jr. from the New York Giants. It’s happening. 
@obj pic.twitter.com/YUx5xgIHqz — NFL (@NFL) March 13, 2019 Beckham Jr.,…
Struggling to solidify your Spring Break travel plans? We can help make deciding on where to travel easier. While people will drive or fly to common destinations, such as Hawaii and LA, there a handful of hidden gems you probably haven’t heard much about. Here are five unique spring break destinations you and your crew…
By Cullen McIntyre, Sports Editor The Boston Celtics were labeled as the favorite in the Eastern Conference this year, and as the challenger to the unstoppable Golden State Warriors. But then the season started, and things didn’t particularly go the way experts predicted. The Boston Celtics started off the year with a 10-10 start, which…
By: Katie Letellier, Staff Writer Student journalists are storytellers. They strive to find the story and tell it in a thorough, accurate way. They dream of breaking the next Spotlight story. This was the case for me, who as a graduating senior, wanted to take on a story that dealt with corruption and allegations of…
By Cooper-John Trapp, Staff Writer What is counseling? Anna Gardner, a clinical counselor with University Health and Counseling Services (UHCS), outlined the counseling service provided to USM students in a recent interview. The process of therapy begins when a student recognizes an issue and decides to seek professional help. Counseling can help with issues of…
By: Gus Pignatello, Staff Writer USM’s Food Studies Program is hosting New England’s first Universities Fighting World Hunger Summit (UFWH). Director of Food Studies, Michael Hillard, lead the efforts to host UFWH after bringing a small group of food study majors to the University of Illinois summit last year. He wanted to create a dialogue…
Nick Schleh, Staff Writer The Student Senate is working to increase voter turnout for the next election. A history of low participation may see a change with new methods for getting students involved in the election process. Barrett Hess, the newly appointed elections commissioner, is working with the Public Relations Committee and the Student Government…
By Hailey Wood, Staff Writer Peace Jam is a global movement led by fourteen Nobel Peace laureates that have a Maine group started by USM Junior, Shaman Kirkland. Kirkland attended a Peace Jam summit in Costa Rica where was mentored by two Nobel Peace laureates, Oscar Arias and Jody Williams. “It was me and sixteen…
By Julie Pike, Editor-in-Chief An editor’s job doesn’t end at just getting out the paper, they also have to work to ensure that their staff has the ability to do their jobs independent from government oversight. With the Free Press, the latter has become more and more difficult. I’ve found myself having to repeatedly defend…
By: Alyson Peabody, News Editor Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, a Democrat from Allagash, is sponsoring a bill for Maine to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. In the article, “Debate swirls around bill to base Maine’s choice for president on popular vote,” published on Mar. 2 in the Portland Press Herald, Kevin Miller,…
By: Melissa Fraser, Staff Writer The U.S. Senate released a report last week criticizing the Confucius Institute (CI) at U.S. universities. Despite the global political controversy, USM’s relationship with the Chinese learning center remains intact. The report states that CIs are currently operating in over 100 U.S. universities and are largely staffed and funded by…
By: Hailey Wood and Max Lorber, Staff Writers Between Gorham and Portland there are many locations for college students to explore in their free time. From shops to restaurants, Westbrook, Scarborough, Portland and Gorham have a lot to offer. Beyond that, students find many creative things to do without going out or spending money. Amaya Carlin…
By: Kate Rogers, Community Editor Between on-campus and online classes, fall, spring, summer and winter sessions, USM offers roughly fifty undergraduate programs and twenty graduate programs, according to the 2017-18 academic catalog. With undergraduate majors alone requiring anywhere from 36-65 credit hours, and each class only 2-4 credits, that amounts to a lot of classes. Not…
By Ryan Farrell, Staff Writer Many of us, whether we like to admit it or not, are dealing with some sort of mental dilemma. While many choose to reveal their struggles behind closed doors, some feel that expressing these feelings in a public setting is most effective when learning to move on. In order to…
By: Asha Tompkins, Arts and Culture Editor A superhero with blue food-coloring as blood, Marvel Studios has outdone itself. After the release of Avengers: Infinity War last April, Captain Marvel was released Friday, March 8, with a break-the-box-office opening night of $61 million, according to Forbes.com. Throughout this two hour and four minute feature, Marvel provides…
By Asha Tompkins, Arts and Culture Editor A stream of people flow around the tables covered with aromatic pots of hearty food. Music from the heart of New Orleans drifts through the air. WMPG’s Cajun Cooking contest has visited the USM campus. To celebrate Mardi Gras and put on a mid-winter party for the communities that…