Gorham Initiative work hurt by budget cuts

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Kirsten Sylvain in News

A panoramic shot of the Gorham campus shows (left) the Costello Sports Complex, (Center) Dickey Wood Hall, (Right) Philippi Hall. The Dickey Wood and Philippi halls house residential USM students.

Faculty, staff and students have been working in one form or another since 1997 to improve the Gorham experience, but after $5 million in cuts this year, head of the Gorham Initiative and interim Dean for Graduate Studies Dahlia Lynn said that progress has been hindered. “Frankly, budget limitations brought some of that [progress] to [...]

Roya Hejabian prepares for commencement

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Nathan Mooney in News

Roya Hejabian sat down with The Free Press in front of Payson Smith Hall in Portland to discuss her experiences in Iran, Maine and at USM.

Roya Hejabian will be celebrating the completion of her third degree, a master’s in social work, when she speaks at USM’s afternoon commencement session this year. Hejabian was the first of her family to escape Iran as a religious refugee. After gaining U.S. citizenship years later, Hejabian’s mother and father were allowed to leave Iran [...]

Student presents six month’s of work at Thinking Matters conference

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Tom Collier in News

Matthew Dobson holds up a mask he designed, inspired by Christopher Marlowe’s play The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus.

At the edge of the gym floor at USM’s annual Thinking Matters conference, Matthew Dobson, a senior theater major, showed how he can make demons appear on stage. The Thinking Matters conference encourages students and faculty to display the work they’ve accomplished together over the year in research and scholarship. Hundreds of students, professors and [...]

USM community mourns Boston Marathon tragedy

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Tom Collier in News

Hundreds of USM community members across all three campuses held vigils Wednesday at noon for the victims and families affected by the Boston Marathon bombings, reflecting upon the tragedy and the startling reality of terrorism when it occurs so close to home. After two explosions at the Boston Marathon killed three people and injured over [...]

The role of the student body vice president is still unclear

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Jeremy Holden in News

Student Body President-elect Kelsea Dunham, a junior double-majoring in business and women and gender studies, is searching to fill the newly created student vice president seat, but the duties of the new position remain unclear to Student Government Association members. “I’m not sure what the vice president duties will be right now,” said Dunham, “because [...]

Student involvement sees a sharp increase

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Tom Collier in News

Chris O’Connor, the director of Portland Student Life, told The Free Press that student involvement this year is much greater than it has been in years past. Student Life is preparing to recognize students who have shown great leadership and involvement over the past year at the Student Involvement Recognition Gala on May 3, which [...]

Students still uneasy after Hammond talk

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Kirsten Sylvain in News

Counter panel attendees gathered to discuss LGBTQ equality in faith-based communities.

Coordinator of the Center for Sexualities and Gender Diversity Sarah Holmes organized a counter panel last week after minister Guy Hammond’s speech in Gorham left many LGBTQ students uneasy. The Christian student group Alpha Omega sponsored Hammond’s visit to campus last week in which he spoke to a largely Christian audience that stressed starting a [...]

Commencement moves this year from the Civic Center to Costello

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Nathan Mooney in News

USM is splitting its commencement into two ceremonies this year as a result of the ongoing renovations at the Cumberland County Civic Center. “We knew there was some chance the Civic Center would be available,” said Craig Hutchinson, chief student affairs officer at USM, but since the ongoing renovation schedule at the venue was tied [...]

Meeting Noah Hurowitz

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Nathan Mooney in News

Noah Hurowitz smiles at the prospect of speaking at commencement

Not all of the graduating student body will get to hear Noah Hurowitz’s commencement speech. This year graduation will be split into two ceremonies, which means that each session will only get to see one of this year’s two student commencement speakers. “Their loss,” said Hurowitz, chuckling. He said at one point that he was [...]

Campus Safety Project coordinator worries about the future of the project

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Jeremy Holden in News

Clara Porter, coordinator of the Campus Safety Project, is worried that the project may become less effective in meeting students’ needs once
overview is transferred to a group.

The coordinator of the Campus Safety Project, Clara Porter, is worried that the project will be threatened following the end of its 3-year grant funding at the close of the semester. “I’m concerned about the continuity of the project given all of these circumstances,” said Porter. “When you make changes fast and they have such [...]