GRR! Grandmothers for Reproductive Rights By Caydince Bumpus, Community Editor With the recent announcement of Donald Trump being the presidential elect, it is important to remember that there are still organizations and people that want to help the fight for reproductive rights to remain strong. And some of those people just happen to be involved…
Category: Uncategorized
Weekend Alumni Game
USM Welcomes Back Former Athletes By Amber Friend | Sports Editor The University of Southern Maine hosted three Alumni events this past homecoming weekend. Current teams faced off against their former teammates in fun and exciting games. Baseball, softball and women’s lacrosse were able to host the past players and reignite the inner husky…
Welcome Letter: Elizabeth Smith, Web Editor
Hello and Goodbye | By Elizabeth Smith, Web Editor Dear Huskies, As we convene and reconvene after the summer break, I wish you all a warm and heartfelt welcome. My name is Liz, and I’m in my fourth year and final semester here at USM. Upon graduation in December, I will have completed a communication…
Welcome Letter: Chris Tiner
Welcome Back Chris Tiner, Co Editor-in-Chief Welcome back everyone for the 2024-25 academic year. I would like to start by saying I hope that everyone has a great start to their school year and goes on to continue that great start throughout the whole year. Every individual who has a fresh slate in front of…
Welcome Letter: Cayley Bowman
A final USM summer Cayley Bowman, Co Editor-in-Chief. I always imagined that my last summer as a student enrolled at USM would be spent traveling and goofing off, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Going into my senior year, I wanted to gain experience in the field I wanted to pursue after graduating. I…
Portland’s Palestine Rally
By July Levvesque, Staff Writer On February 2nd, 2024 a pro-Palestine rally was held on the intersection of Franklin Street and Marginal Way at 1 PM. Around 200 people joined Maine’s Party for Socialism & Liberation (PSL) and members of the Maine Coalition for Palestine to protest and show support in calling for an immediate…
Letter From The Editor
Nine Lessons to Keep in Mind Deklin Fitzgerald, Editor-in-Chief Being a Sophomore in college is scary. Just over two years ago I was starting my senior year of high school. Counting down the days until graduation. Now I am two years from graduating college. My freshman year is as stereotypical as they come. Crappy…
USM MEN’S HOCKEY WELCOMES NEW COACH
New Coach Looks to Improve USM’S Men Hockey Program By Rhiannon McQuaide, Sports Editor After almost a decade of coaching men’s ice hockey at the University of Southern Maine, former head coach Ed Harding made the decision to resign from the position in early June. After two months of searching the country for a…
The Class of ‘24
An Instructive Guide to Finding a Career After Graduation Elizabeth Smith, Contributor On Friday, September 20, the Career Hub liaison Peter Hoffmann held a presentation for the graduating class of 2024 on some practical and important tips for pursuing a career after college. Hoffman’s debriefing addressed the reality of life after college and the…
We are queer and deserve to be here
By Editor-In-Chief Kelly Ledsworth There are so many different events, stressors and excitements this time of year. The last thing someone needs is to be worried about just being themselves, which is a constant worry for many individuals. Maine is a relatively safe state for folks overall and I am thankful to live here. In…
February 10th Student Senate Meeting
First on the meeting’s agenda was the election of a new student to the Student Senate. Riley Worth, a Sophomore and Political-Science and Economics double major, was unanimously elected. Referred to the position by the Representative to the Board of Trustees, Andrew Seile, Worth plans to bring his knowledge of economics and finance to help…
Iranian Women Demand Change
Though February is the shortest month of the year, it looms large in our hearts and minds because it marks several significant annual occurrences. For one, it is Black History Month, and it includes Valentine’s Day. February happens to be when the 1979 Iranian Revolution took place giving birth to the establishment of the Islamic…
Letter From The Editor 01/20
Welcome back everyone, the spring semester has arrived! I hope you all had a restful winter break and got to spend time with the people you care about. I did get to spend some time with friends I haven’t seen in awhile, as well as seeing bits of my family in Massachusetts. I’ve been thinking…
PSA from Health Services
AIDS Awareness On today, December 1, we marked World AIDS Day. Health Services encourages our USM community to protect themselves against HIV (the virus that causes AIDS), seek testing and know that there is treatment for the virus. We are a judgment-free zone and are here to support you. To that end, we humbly offer…
08/22/2022 Welcome Issue
08-22-22 Free Press Welcome Issue08-22-22 Free Press Welcome Issue
University of Maine System makes masking in non-classroom facilities optional regardless of vaccination status
By: Haley Hersey, News Editor On March 25, after more than two years of masking, the University of Maine System (UMS) and University of Southern Maine (USM) announced starting at midnight on March 26 masking on campus in non-classroom facilities would be optional, regardless of vaccination status indoors and outdoors. There are however, exceptions to the…
Women’s Basketball wins LEC Quarterfinal over Keene State Owls 55-45
By: Cullen McIntyre, Editor-in-Chief The fourth seeded Huskies hosted the sixth seeded Keene State Owls in a Little East Conference (LEC) Quarterfinal matchup Tuesday, winning 55-45. Graduate student Jackie Luckhardt capped off the night with a team leading 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals. Luckhardt’s performance saw her reach 1,000 points as…
FAFSA Event to be held on Gorham campus with pizza and scholarship opportunity
By: Meghan Carlisle, Staff Writer On February 15, the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME) will be partnering with the University of Southern Maine (USM)’s JMG program, the Promise Scholarship, TRIO College Programs, and the Financial Aid Office to help assist students in completing their 2022-2023 FAFSA. From 4-6 p.m., in room 332 in Bailey Hall on…
Strong Girls U
By: Cullen McIntyre, Editor-in-Chief A Division III National Champion in javelin, senior Sophia Slovenski is now championing a campaign to empower young girls in the community. Slovenski, a dual athlete on the Women’s Volleyball and Track & Field teams while majoring in health science, has been volunteering with the organization Strong Girls United and is…
University of Maine System updates COVID-19 vaccine requirements to include a booster shot
By: Haley Hersey, News Editor Effective Tuesday, February 1, students who have an in-person presence across the University of Maine System (UMS) will be required to have a COVID-19 booster, and will have to test weekly until they do. “All in-person students need to get a booster shot and upload their updated vaccination records,” read the…
New Dorm Policies Effective says Residential Life, but “Isolating” According to Some Students
By: Riley Mayes, Web Editor On January 12, 2022, Residential Life released an update on its dorm policies in light of the Omicron variant and increasing Covid-19 cases in the state of Maine. The Spring semester kicked off with a carefully constructed move-in plan: each student was allowed one helper to move them into their rooms…
Portland residential hall under development since 2017 to be a Passive House
By: Riley Mayes, Staff Writer Since the last campus update in May, a significant amount of changes have occurred on the Portland campus. Cranes have cleared the debris from the demolished Woodbury and Bedford buildings, and buildings have begun to rise from the ground. Multiple stories of steel beams have been erected, and soon construction…
USM President Glenn Cummings steps down as President
By Haley Hersey, News Editor In a press release on October 5, it was announced that “University of Southern Maine President Glenn Cummings has decided to step down as president at the end of June 2022 after the conclusion of the current academic year.” Cummings final day as President will be June 30, 2022. University…
Celebrating Maine during Earth Month – how Maine is affected by climate change
The month of April and specifically April 22, is used to celebrate the earth, however, we can all choose to celebrate Earth day each day. Climate change has affected the Earth in a multitude of ways, such as rising sea levels and an increase in carbon emissions. USM’s Environmental Science and Sustainability departments have been…