Julie Pike, News Editor A trip to the beach means a day in the sun, laying in the sand, and looking out into the never ending ocean. With the Trump administration’s recent proposal to allow offshore drilling, the people of Maine may be looking out at a big yellow oil rig two miles out in…
By: Ben Theriault, Staff Writer At USM, many students are fortunate to often have access to small classroom environments. This creates an excellent opportunity for the student body and faculty to establish deeper connections than many universities. A strong student-professor relationship can drastically change one’s college experience. A wonderful example of a professor that embodies…
By: Julie Pike, News Editor In the last few months I’ve travelled to eight different countries, met a plethora of students from around the world, and had once in a lifetime experiences. This would not have happened without the study abroad program at USM. I attended the University of Winchester, in Winchester, England, a school I…
By: Jessica Pike, Staff Writer The Honors Program provides high-achieving students with a diverse & rigorous curriculum; a collaborative environment that emphasizes research, community engagement, leadership, social responsibility, international experience, and intellectual independence. Run by Rebecca Nisetich at USM, it is an exceptional program to help students along with their graduation from college. A great…
By: Kate Rogers, Staff Writer Professor James Napoli, retired journalist and adjunct faculty member, teaches just one class at USM: Intro to Journalism. As an aspiring journalist myself, this was the first class I signed up for. I wasn’t sure what to expect as a writer with no actual experience with news writing, but I…
By: Julie Pike, Staff Writer I am nearing the end of my semester abroad. Ninety days, eight countries, and almost no money left in my bank account. As lucky as I have been to be able to travel this extensively, I’m more than happy to come home. There’s less than three weeks left to go…
By: Kate Rogers, Staff Writer #MECAmade Showcase December 6 – 23, 10 p.m. – 5 p.m. Mon-Thurs, 10 – 7 Fri, 11 – 5 Sat. 522 Congress St, Portland #MECAmade is a temporary shop at the Maine College of Art. The shop features work from almost twenty students, and merchandise from MECA founded design company Might…
By: Jess Pike, Staff Writer Students at the University of Southern Maine may have noticed the presence of high school students in their classrooms this semester. High school students have begun taking college level classes and earning credits before graduation in order to jumpstart their college careers, which offers them unique exposure to university culture…
By: Ben Theriault, Staff Writer In the United States about 43,000 people take their own lives every year. This makes suicide the tenth leading cause of death and the second leading cause amongst people aged 15 to 24. Within the LGBTQ community the occurrence of suicidal ideation and action is statistically exponentially higher than it…
By: Julie Pike, Staff Writer After my trip this past weekend to Rome, I’ve realized that every time I travel something has to go wrong. I suppose that is just a part of travelling to a foreign country, but so far every trip I’ve taken has fallen in that pattern. Whether it be a delayed flight,…
By: Kate Rogers, Staff Writer Schools all over Maine were closed on Monday due to a storm that brought powerful winds and knocked out power for nearly half a million Mainers. The USM Lewiston campus lost power from around ten o’clock Wednesday morning until Thursday morning, while Portland and Gorham campuses did not have major…
By: Julie Pike, Staff Writer Today, November 1, 2017, officially marks the halfway point of my semester abroad. It feels like I have been here in England much longer than only a month and a half, and I have several more weeks to go. The month of November is going to be filled with trips to…
By: Jess Ward, Staff Writer When people find out that I moved to Maine from Colorado, one of the first questions that they usually ask is if I smoke weed. The association between the two is not unfounded, since Colorado was one of the first states to completely legalize recreational marijuana. Amendment 64, which proposed new…
By: Kate Rogers, Staff Writer Every spring, USM holds the Husky Day of Service, during which students and faculty participate in a myriad of community service projects. At the University of Maine in Orono, they do a similar event called Maine Day. In Orono, they host a concert on a weeknight and then have a community…
By: Jess Ward, News Editor The summer after my senior year of high school, I was raped. It was not the violent and graphic kind of rape that is often depicted in the mainstream; it was quiet, personal and violating. I spent the majority of my first semester at the University of Southern Maine trying to…
By: Julie Pike, Staff Writer One thing that I would highly recommend to all students who are hoping to travel is to get the experience of exploring a new place by yourself. I know that sounds like it may be boring or dangerous depending on where you go, but it is an eye opening experience…
By: Jess Ward, Staff Writer The Student Senate met this Friday, Oct. 27, to hear from guest speakers and discuss their budget, as well as to continue moving forward with various projects on campus. This week’s assembly featured guest speakers Andrew King, Director of Admissions for the University of Southern Maine, Justin Swift, Financial Manager…
By: Jess Ward, News Editor This semester, USM has been home to several incidents involving the right to free speech and its place on a college campus. With controversial speakers and a tumultuous political atmosphere, faculty members at USM have decided that there is a need for constructive conversation between students. In response to this need,…
By: Kate Rogers, Staff Writer “I think when students leave home there’s a false sense of security that someone’s looking out for them, but that’s not the case…You’re on your own, you gotta make sure your smoke alarms work, your exits are not blocked,” said Carol Schiller of Portland. With the anniversary of a tragic…
By: Dionne Smith, Community Editor The USM Multicultural Center is home to many students that use the space as an area to meet people who are like them, socialize and connect with each other. USM is continuously growing more diverse. People of different characters and backgrounds are mixing on campus every day and it’s good…
By: Julie Pike, Staff Writer On Monday October 16, 2017, one of the worst hurricanes that Ireland has ever seen swept across the country. Hurricane Ophelia caused major property damage, thousands of people lost power, and it took the lives of three people. The worst of the weather was seen in the southwest side of the…
By: Ben Theriault, Staff Writer Whether it be through festive food, favorite horror movies, or costumes, many people are embracing the Autumn spirit and preparing for Halloween. Amongst all of the sweets and parties it can be easy to ignore the origins of Halloween and what exactly is being commemorated through the festivities. Many of the…
By: Jess Ward, News Editor “No one has really addressed it.” This sentiment expressed by Molly Roberts, head of USM’s Queer-Straight Alliance (QSA), seems to be an overarching theme in recent campus administration response to controversial events on campus. An incident occurring approximately two weeks ago involving transphobic graffiti, as well as several other incidents on…
By: Jess Ward, News Editor Leading a discussion on Senate affairs and public relations, a woman stands in front of a seated crowd of men who are aptly listening and debating the issues at hand. The presence in the room is overwhelmingly male, but Muna Adan, Chair of the Student Senate, speaks with clear authority and…