Charter schools: The way of the future, or a Paul LePage pipedream?
Posted on April 08, 2013 by Spencer McBreairty in Perspectives
In recent months, several conservative governors in the U.S. – notably Chris Christie of New Jersey and Paul LePage of Maine – have come out strongly in favor of charter schools. In both cases, strong opposition has sprung up from the other side of the aisle. Under the current system, enacted in 2011, students choosing [...]
Our opinion: It’s time for the facts
Posted on April 08, 2013 by USM Free Press in Our Opinion, Perspectives
We’ve been arguing a lot here at The Free Press lately over, you guessed it, the recent budget cuts at USM. Trying to decide exactly what to write this editorial about, we decided that we couldn’t actually agree or come to a conclusion on any argument that related to the cuts. That pesky $5 million [...]
Things of the Week: Budget slashes & unnecessary student censorship
Posted on April 08, 2013 by Andrew Henry in Henry's Head, Perspectives
Unnecessary student censorship of the week Three weeks ago, art students Lydia Brown and Sarah McCullough received an administrative complaint about their mural that was displayed on the top floor of the New Science Building’s Ci2 lab in Portland, a complaint that resulted in the removal of the mural. The mural depicts a bare-breasted woman [...]
Who will defend academic values?
Posted on April 01, 2013 by pshelley in Perspectives
Last month I attended a public symposium on the future of the humanities at USM, where I asked President Kalikow what responsibility the academy has to hold the line against the encroachment of purely economic values on what was previously protected cultural space. Kalikow rolled her eyes at me as if to say, ‘Oh lord, [...]
Anti-abortion protesters need increased limits
Posted on March 26, 2013 by , and in Perspectives
A tunnel of protesters spew biblical rhetoric; stoney-faced children hold graphic signs of severed fetuses; a woman silently holds a plastic fetus. For the last several months, anti-abortion protester activity outside of the Portland Planned Parenthood of Northern New England health center has increased to an unprecedented level. The increase in protesters outside of the [...]
Letters & Comments: USM professor asks ‘What will your degree be worth?’
Posted on March 13, 2013 by Andrew Henry in Perspectives
To the Editors of the Free Press: Although I did not attend the forum sponsored by the Philosophy Department on the future of education, I was taken aback to see that, when asked what responsibilities the academy has “to hold the line in defense of non-economic values,” Interim President Kalikow replied what was described as [...]
Things of the Week: President Kalikow’s blog and an important medical breakthrough
Posted on March 13, 2013 by Andrew Henry in Henry's Head, Perspectives
Vague blog of the week USM President Theo Kalikow has started a bi-weekly online blog that she has titled “Theo’s Rants” where she sounds off on a question that “I sense is out there,” as she states in the introduction to her first post from Feb. 26. The bravely worded first question? –– “What the [...]
Things of the Week – Good politics, bad politics, and angry students
Posted on March 04, 2013 by Andrew Henry in Henry's Head, Perspectives
Disappointing state political decision of the week Like a kid holding their breath until they get what they want, Governor Paul LePage threatened on Friday to veto all proposed bills that come across his desk until his hospital debt plan is passed by lawmakers. LePage’s plan is to renegotiate the state of Maine’s contracts on [...]
Jonah Lehrer’s scandal sparks debate on how journalists should deal with plagiarizers
Posted on February 20, 2013 by Noah Hurowitz in Perspectives
“Purposeful plagiarism is one of the cardinal sins of journalism from which reporters can never recover their credibility,” wrote Al Hunt, then the Wall Street Journal D.C. bureau chief, in a 1991 editorial. “There is no statute of limitations on that judgement.” The issue of how to deal with plagiarizers seems to be a perennial [...]
Letter to the Editor: Response to Free Press work to rule coverage
Posted on February 11, 2013 by Andrew Henry in Perspectives
When I first started reading the opinion piece about how students should support faculty efforts in obtaining contracts with cost-of-living raises I was a little confused about who was even addressing me. The printed version of the article contains no byline (unlike the online version) and is listed under Our Opinion in the Perspectives section, [...]
