This past school year saw changes that we will not see the results of until next semester and beyond. To borrow an overused metaphor, this semester was spent planting the seeds for the flowers that will bloom in the future. It was an interesting endeavor to sit back and watch all of these changes occur…
Category: Community
What’s Going On in Pop Culture
There is a lot “Popping” off in pop culture today, and don’t worry, I have tea. From Beyoncé’s extravagant Renaissance concert tickets costing a life savings, to AI being on the rise and creeping the entire population out with replications of their favorite artists’ voices, to the infamous festival called Coachella that all the known…
Letter From Our President – Spring ’23
This month marks one year since I was first announced as president of the University of Southern Maine. To say it has been one of the most exciting and fulfilling times of my life would be an understatement. My husband Michael and I have been so warmly welcomed. We are both humbled by the extraordinary…
One Cup at a Time
As an out-of-state student, during your first time in a new state you often spend a fair amount of time comparing and contrasting the differences between your home and your new surroundings. Being born and raised in Vermont with little knowledge of life in other states, the first things I noticed about USM were the…
Super Happy Fun Time Three
Singer, songwriter, and musician Bryan Bielanski has just released his third album, Bryan’s Super Happy Fun Time 3. He has been playing guitar and making music since he was a teenager. In his many years of being on tour he has been all over the world, traveling everywhere from Canada to China to Costa Rica….
The 23rd Annual Royal Majesty Drag Show
As part of the Queer-Straight Alliance’s (QSA) Week of Pride events in March, the Royal Majesty Drag Show took Hannaford Hall by storm on April 1. The Abromson Center was full of queer people and their allies, with colorful, pride-filled outfits and decorations in full view. Community resources for LGBTQ+ programming, such as the U=U…
Free Textbooks for Students
It’s easy to say college students spend too much money, from room and board for a dorm that’s too small, to a Sodexo meal plan where the salads sometimes have caterpillars and razor blades in them. Textbooks are some of the most regular and expensive purchases a student will make. Sometimes it’s for a class…
Russell Scholars and Kids’ Poems
On March 29, the Russell Scholars gathered together with Lisa Hibl, director of the Russell Scholars Program, and traveled to Hawkes Preserve in Gorham. The academic group was led through the trails by Brenna Crothers, who works for the Presumpscot Regional Land Trust and knows the trails well. The trails wind all the way along…
Number of Homeless People Growing as Asylum Seekers Arrive in Portland
Portland, Maine–a quaint city by the ocean with a population of just under 70,000 people. Like other cities, every avenue in Portland is unique. Some are home to stunning new apartment buildings and tall skyscrapers, while others contain some of Maine’s best restaurants and bars. There’s an ice rink at the intersection of Spring Street…
USM’s 13th Annual Book Arts Bazaar
Every year, USM’s Kate Cheney Chappell ‘83 Center for Book Arts holds their Book Arts Bazaar, which they have been hosting since 2011. It’s a craft fair like no other. On April 2nd, scattered throughout different rooms in Wishcamper Center on the Portland Campus, vendors were selling their various crafts, from sketchbooks, cards, prints, lampshades…
Perspectives From Biology
Thomas Grebouski, Contributor Despite being tasked with having a hand in saving the world, our peers in the sciences don’t wear capes. They wear pants, and they put them on one leg at a time like the rest of us. One difference is that sometimes those pants are waterproof waders, and we find our main…
Do You Want to Cut Back on Your Weed Intake?
By USM Health and Counseling Services As of August 2022, Maine’s adult-use retailers had sold nearly $98.3 million in cannabis, a 120% increase compared to the same eight-month period from the previous year. Not all cannabis products are created equal. Different products have varying concentrations of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and the route of administration–whether smoked/vaped, applied…
Community Support should be accessible. Supporting your community should be, too.
By The OCFP Like many of the offerings that can be found at The Oakhurst Campus Food Pantry (OCFP), the volunteer program that debuted this past fall was born in response to community need. Every semester, the pantry receives a handful of unique requests from across the University. Some of these requests come from individuals–primarily…
USM Department of Theatre runs Into the Woods
By Ben Reed, Arts + Culture Editor As a part of their 2023-2024 main stage program, USM’s Department of Theatre has produced their rendition of Into the Woods, a musical written by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine. The story intertwines several classic fairy tales, including Cinderella, Jack & the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, and…
Parallel Convergence
By Robin Davis – Copy Editor Visitors to the USM Art Gallery were greeted by a highly detailed and life-size pencil drawing of a rotary telephone. It hangs from the receiver, the loops of its cord stretched and irregular. Rendered in black and white, the drawing’s simplicity is heightened by the lively watercolors flanking it….
What’s Going On In Pop Culture?
By Kayla Hoggard – Staff Writer I know that we have all heard about what is going on in pop culture, right? If not, don’t worry. I got you covered! We have a lot on the docket today! From rapper Ice Spice’s career blowing up even BIGGER not only from the BOPS she’s making, to…
We’re Not Girls Anymore
With March being Women’s History Month, the Student Body President’s Office (SBPO) decided to host an event on March 3rd to celebrate women in sports. Justice Michaud, Vice President of the SBPO, says that she got the inspiration for the event from her mother Anais Aguirre, a USM alumnus who played on the softball team…
Remembering Arline Saturdayborn
Students in Sustainable Compassion Training (HIH 300) were notified on February 8 that their instructor, Arline Saturdayborn, had passed away. She was 81. “It is with such sadness that I share that Arline passed away yesterday afternoon. She will be forever remembered as the consummate compassionate. My heart is heavy,” the Brightspace announcement read. In…
Black Mental Health Matters
Everyone has to deal with mental health, no matter their skin color, gender identity or status. For some, resources are easy to find and accept. For others, it is hard to even comprehend the fact that we are struggling. People of color tend to struggle the most with this topic. Being a Black woman, I…
Budgeting: 101
You do not have to be a finance major or an accountant to make a budget, you just need to keep track of income and expenses. Learning to budget is a key to having good financial management and financial success. In budgeting, you need two things: an income and basic expenses. And who doesn’t have…
The Crack and I
Let me ask you a question. After a long day of classes and repetitive activities that only seem to be getting worse and worse, have you ever wanted to just grab food to go, return to your dorm, and relax? In dozens of college communities throughout the nation, this is a possibility and for some…
Opinion: The Call is Coming from Inside the House
It was around middle or high school when I first saw gay people on screen. For myself and many other people in our generation, those gay people in question were Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson from Glee (2009). As someone who was on the cusp of realizing they were queer, seeing gay people on screen…
Mardi Gras
On Tuesday, Feb. 21, WMGP radio hosted their Mardi Gras party on the Portland campus. This tradition started when the station’s DJs attended Mardi Gras down in Louisiana and were inspired by the traditional jazz and blues music to create their very own Mardi Gras celebration right here at USM. Mardi Gras is a carnival…
MovieTalk: Till
The tragic true story of the murder of Emmett Till and the pursuit of justice undertaken by his mother Mamie Till-Bradley is explored in Till, directed by Chinonye Chukwu. Emmett Till was a 14 year-old African American boy who traveled from his hometown of Chicago to visit relatives in Mississippi when he was kidnapped and…