By: Julie Pike, Editor-in-Chief In the past week the topic of ethical dilemmas has come up in not only my work at the Free Press, but in my courses and in my research for the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP). Whenever this topic comes up, it’s followed by a whole slew of questions, trying to…
Author: USM Free Press
Campus Kitchen Project brought to USM
By: Hailey Wood, Staff Writer Student Body President Katelyn Seavey, working together with Cheryl Laz, a sociology professor, brought the Campus Kitchens Project, which helps provide meals to those who are food insecure, to USM. Seavey was inspired to bring the project to USM after hearing Alex Moore speak at the Maine Hunger Dialogue in…
A few eerie Maine legends perfect for this Halloween season
By: Asha Tompkins, Community Editor As October comes to an end, we await the day of costumes, candy and terror—in that order. Trick-or-treaters may be collecting goodies, but little do they know their feet may be treading on haunted ground. At least, that’s what legend would say. In 1831, a man named William Willis published…
Public art projects connect campus and community
By: Zoe Bernardi, Staff Writer In the past few years public art projects from USM have explayed works of art across both campuses and the local community, from buoys painted to represent flags from every country that hangs in Woodbury food court, the tall table and chairs in Hannaford Hall to the large painted mural…
Halloween has returned
By: Cody Curtis, Staff Writer All Hallow’s Eve is only two days away. This begs the question, what movie should you see to fill your soul with as much dread and fun as possible? David Gordon Green, Danny McBride and Jamie Lee Curtis have come together to answer this very question. The Halloween franchise, which…
“On the Verge” opens at Creative Portland
By: Alyson Peabody, Staff Writer Over twenty local artists have been selected for Creative Portland’s third juried art exhibition, “On the Verge,” on display from Oct. 25 to mid-April, 2019. The group art show represents established and emerging artists in their 20s from Greater Portland, featuring paintings, photography, prints, drawings and mixed-media work. All artwork will…
Get to know the new Cheer Club at USM
By: Cullen McIntyre, Staff Writer Formerly an official sport at USM, Cheering has made its return to USM in the form of a new Cheer Club. USM has been without a cheering team for many years. The team has a deep history in the university, as the school was one called the Hilltoppers. This was…
What’s on the ballot
By: Melissa Fraser, Staff Writer All nonpartisan information within this article was sourced from the League of Women Voters of Maine and Ballotpedia. Question 1: Citizen Initiative “Do you want to create the Universal Home Care Program to provide home-based assistance to people with disabilities and senior citizens, regardless of income, funded by a new…
Letter from the editor: Get out and vote
By: Julie Pike, Editor-in-Chief Coming up Nov. 6, students across the country have a chance to participate in democracy. This midterm election we have the gubernatorial election, questions to improve Maine universities and community colleges and elections for an open seat on the Senate and two open seats for the House of Representatives. It’s our…
How to register to vote
By: Asha Tompkins, Community Editor It’s voting season here in Maine and voting calls for registration. If you’re not voting simply because the guidelines for registration resemble a text book about applied plant sciences from the 1800’s, fear not. Your eyes have come to the right place. First things first: If you’re younger than 17-years-old,…
University wide effort to encourage students to vote
By: Julie Pike, Editor-in-Chief Universities across the U.S., including USM, have been making efforts to encourage more of their students to become registered and vote in the upcoming midterm elections. For presidential election years, student voter turnout has been slowly increasing, from 45.1 percent in 2012 to 48.3 percent in 2016, according to a study…
Portland Stage’s Exclusive Offers for Rush35 Members
By: Alyson Peabody, Staff Writer Portland Stage is expanding its demographic with membership opportunities for anyone under the age of 35 with the Rush35 program. Members can purchase discounted tickets for $15 to see any mainstage show (does not apply to the studio theater productions). In addition, Rush35 members have access to exclusive parties on…
MovieTalk: Fairy Tales, The Brothers Grimm and Modern Horror
By: Cody Curtis, Staff Writer Since the beginning of October I have written about specific films in the horror genre. Before we press forward next week with another terrifying movie, it only seems right to discuss the genre of all evil things, and more specifically why these films are modern day versions of what Jacob…
School of Music presents 35mm exhibition
By: Zoe Bernardi, Staff Writer A new musical experience is about to hit USM, 35mm: A Musical Exhibition at the USM School of Music is a mixture of a concert, art exhibition, poetry jam and the performing arts. It brings photos and music together, creating photos that mirror songs, the exhibition is a collection filled with…
Daily life of a student athlete
By: Cullen McIntyre, Staff Writer Being a college student athlete means balancing a heavier workload of both school and sport responsibilities. After speaking to two student athletes, Alexandria Allain (First Year, Women’s Soccer) and Britney Evangelista (Fourth Year, Women’s Ice Hockey), I got a better understanding of the life of a student athlete. Allain, a…
Sobriety and the ‘college experience’
By: Cooper-John Trapp, Staff Writer Coming to college, I had two goals – to do well in my classes and to have the ‘college experience.’ For me, the college experience was inextricable from drinking. Parties were cool. Girls went to parties. Alcohol equaled liquid confidence. I feared that if I didn’t drink like a fish and do…
Random Snacks of Kindness
By: Alyson Peabody, Staff Writer “Random snacks of kindness” have been passed out to USM students over the past few weeks. This is part of an effort by the Service-Learning & Volunteering office to spread kindness on campus. The Service-Learning and Volunteer office at USM received its official title in the fall of the 2017-2018 school…
Portland ranked best college town in Maine
By: Nicholas Schleh, Staff Writer Portland has been ranked the best college town in the state of Maine by Reviews.org. With a natural splendor and a bustling port, Portland has topped 20 college and university towns in Maine. Using data from the United States Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics, Reviews.org found the most accessible…
Senior citizens pursue their love of learning
By: Melissa Fraser, Staff Writer Students of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at USM may sit in class each week, but they’re not doing homework, studying for tests, or working toward a degree. Students attend the OLLI simply due to their innate desire and love of learning. What began 20 years ago as a simple…
Letter from the editor: A paper’s identity
By: Julie Pike, Editor-in-Chief As of recently I’ve been tasked with the difficult question of how I would describe the identity of The Free Press. Every news publication has an identity, how they are perceived by their readers and also how they perceive themselves. For some, this identity is reflected in their stance on political…
The shortest distance between two points
By: Asha Tompkins, Community Editor During the season of pulling all-nighters in order to prepare for the next day, it’s likely that people have run late to a class or two on the Portland campus. However, these instances of running late may be due to the time they spend walking from their modes of transportation…
People of USM: Elizabeth Glaser
By: Melissa Fraser, Staff Writer Elizabeth Glaser is a successful entrepreneur, single mother and returning student to USM. As a woman over the age of thirty, she represents a modest percentage of the current undergraduate student demographic. As most adults returning to school after reaching a crossroads in their life or career, she is looking to…
MovieTalk: A twist on horror cliches
By: Cody Curtis, Staff Writer Two weeks ago, when writing about The Babadook, I said that the horror genre was a difficult subject to watch and talk about. You have probably noticed that there are not many good horror films out there. Why are there so many bad horror films, you may ask? Because, not only…
Daniel Minter’s “OTHERED, Displaced from Malaga”
By: Ben Theriault, Staff Writer Starting on October 4 and lasting until December 9, the USM art gallery on the Gorham campus will be showcasing an exhibit from artist in residence, Daniel Minter. The exhibit is a beautiful hybrid of history and art, melding perfectly together to create a powerful retelling of Maine’s Malaga Island community….