Category: News

Women in management conference

Gorham Police Department asked USM Police to go off-campus to help with a school bus full of fighting teenagers. An ambulance was called for someone with a head injury. A domestic disturbance was reported in Portland Hall….

Neighborhoods surrounding the USM campus in Portland had strong feelings when they heard about USM’s plan to build a 1,150-space garage on campus. They knew something needed to be done about the parking situation, but they feared the garage would leave surrounding neighbors staring at a big, ugly chunk of cement.

Before wireless installation is complete on both campuses, the University will have to upgrade some of its older equipment. Though some buildings are already equipped with the necessary technology to support wireless connections, older buildings require some revamping before access points can be installed.

It may not surprise anyone that young people are still not going to the polls to vote. The percentage of voters in the 18 to 24 year-old age category has been steadily declining since the 1970s. Chris Brown of Bull Moose Music wants to do something about poor voter turnout among young people.

The Free Press won seven awards from The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), a nearly 100 year old organization dedicated to the continuation of a free press.

The Mark of Excellence awards are distributed yearly to college newspapers and magazines.

Stevenson Munro, USM nursing major from Portland, is frustrated about the lack of public transportation in the city. “Portland is … just the right size, everything is mostly within walking distance. But the public transportation is so bad that you need to have a car.”

The same sex marriage teach in on Thursday April 8, 2004 gave the University and community an opportunity to learn more about the issue of same sex marriage.

A student in Portland Hall told the police he was threatened….

The right side of a car parked in Gorham was found kicked in….

Police were called to Dickey Hall on suspicion of marijuana use….

A proposal from President Bush’s administration to reallocate federal student funding threatens to severely deplete financial aid funding for New England schools, especially here in Maine.

At USM students seemed to greet the news of a planned merger with UMaine at Augusta with a mixture of surprise and mild approval.

USM would absorb the University of Maine at Augusta under a new University of Maine System strategic plan recently submitted for public comment. The plan would also merge the Machias, Presque Isle and Fort Kent campuses to create the University of Northern Maine.

The first sign of spring in Portland has happened, and no, it is not the arrival of the robin. It is WMPG’s Spring Begathon. The Begathon started March 29 and ended on April 4. As of March 31 everything was on track to meet the goal of $25,000.

Blunt Youth Radio raised over $650 in a spaghetti dinner fundraiser last Saturday, according to students and supervisors who organized the event. The Blunt crew is currently fundraising so they can send nine students and three chaperones to the annual National Youth and Training Project Conference, which will be held in Albuquerque, NM this year.

The Student Senate has signed up for a trial run of the New York Times’ “Knowledge Network,” which will distribute copies of that and other papers throughout the Portland and Gorham campuses free of charge.

2004 marks the 20th anniversary of the murder of Charlie Howard. In July 1984 the 23-year old man was murdered in Bangor because he was gay. USM’s Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity and Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence held a conference…

On Thursday, April 8, 2004 the University of Southern Maine will host a teach-in about the campaign for same-sex marriage, sponsored by the Center for Sexualities and Gender Diversity, Intercultural Development and Women’s Studies program. The keynote address by Mary Bonauto, Civil Rights Project director of GLAD (Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders)will take place from 12:30 to 2:00 P.

By 2010, the University of Southern Maine will be a completely different school, according to “Transforming USM”, a six-year action plan for the university.

The two referenda questions on the recent Student Senate elections both passed easily, meaning incremental hikes in everyone’s tuition starting in the fall 2004 semester. The amount paid to the Student Activity Fee depends on how many credit hours the student is taking, and the Sustainability Fund will be the same flat rate for all students.

20 seventh- and eighth-graders put their hands up, but the room still wasn’t quiet. “When I see your hands up, that tells me that you’re being quiet, you’re listening to Mr. Hale, and you’re ready to have a party.” So began the first annual year end celebration of USM’s Students In Free Enterprise’s (SIFE) work at King Middle School.

In brief…

March 5 Flowers were left at the president’s home. A guest refused to sign in at Upton Hastings Hall. Two full cans of beer were thrown from the fourth floor of Upton Hall onto the windshield of a car below. No damage was done to the car. March 6 A summons was issued for trafficking dangerous knives, possession of drug paraphrenalia, and criminal trespassing.

Tension surrounding the issue of gay marriage is currently coursing through the nation. The Center for Sexualities and Gender Diversity (formerly GLBTQA) will sponsor a teach-in on April 8 to address these issues, featuring USM faculty speakers and representatives from varying religious organizations.

USM’s department of Women’s Studies has organized a number of events to celebrate women in history, highlighted my Ms. Marcia Freedman’s speech entitled “Women, Peace and Political Action: The Israeli Experience,” which addresses problems surrounding issues with women’s rights.