Off the battlefield, drone technology helps out
Posted on October 23, 2013 by USM Free Press in The Pickle Jar
Unarmed Aerial Vehicles, more commonly known as unmanned drones, have become an integral part of the U.S. military. Their use dates back to U.S involvement in Bosnia and Kosovo, where they were strictly used as a surveillance tool for gathering important intelligence about what was happening on the ground. While drone technology is rapidly evolving, […]
Kidder: USM works hard to reach carbon neutrality
Posted on October 23, 2013 by USM Free Press in Sustainability and ME
Here at USM, we signed on to the President’s Climate Commitment in 2007, which is an agreement to actively reduce the carbon emissions of our campus and operations, signed by college and university presidents around the country. USM has committed to being carbon neutral, or having no net greenhouse gas emissions, by 2040. Five years […]
Our opinion: online classes a positive force
Posted on October 23, 2013 by USM Free Press in Perspectives
The Babson Research group found that nationally there was a 10.1 percent increase in online class enrollment from 2010 to 2011, despite an unparalleled 0.2 percent drop in total college enrollment. This means that online enrollment has grown a massive 10.3 percent ahead of national enrollment rates, with no sign of slowing. When things change […]
From the president: it’s time to move forward
Posted on October 09, 2013 by USM Free Press in Perspectives
Your reactions to the Sept. 23 launch of our process to set strategic directions for this university were heard and have resulted in an improved and more clearly defined path forward. “What are the meaningful specifics about actions?” asked one member of the campus community. “We need to change but no clear direction given for […]
Arel: On the Direction Package, invest in STEM, don’t dismantle it
Posted on October 09, 2013 by USM Free Press in Perspectives
The president and provost presented a new ‘direction package’ for USM last month. These are my concerns with what they said. 1. Calling physics a “low enrollment department” The administration keeps making this claim as if saying it often enough will make it true. The claim that the USM physics major is “low enrollment,” or […]
Chann: On the Direction Package, it’s time to move for a shared vision
Posted on October 09, 2013 by USM Free Press in Perspectives
There is no doubt that the road ahead is uncertain and it is foolish to think that the future is anything but, a reality that is made clearer and clearer each day given the economic times in which we live. But even beyond the prevailing economic trends, USM’s primary pool of prospective students is shrinking […]
Lajoie: The media got it wrong, speculating Maine Somalians terrorists
Posted on October 09, 2013 by USM Free Press in Perspectives, The Pickle Jar
Late last month though, when a Twitter account deemed fake connected the deadly terrorist attacks in Nairobi, Kenya to Somalians living in Maine, journalists across the state began to openly speculate in their stories, blogs and columns about terrorist recruiting right here in Maine. In the process they demonized an entire community that already […]
Lajoie: Dear GOP, you’ve made your bed, now lie in it
Posted on October 09, 2013 by USM Free Press in Perspectives, The Pickle Jar
It didn’t seem like anyone expected Congress to push the U.S. into a dangerous shutdown of the federal government, but with help from Ted Cruz in the Senate, ultra-conservatives in the House of Representatives followed through on their promise. So, let them drive us over the edge. And then let their party and extremist ideology […]
Shelley: USM as a corporation, decoding the Direction Package
Posted on October 09, 2013 by pshelley in Perspectives
What is a “direction package”? If you are a student or faculty at USM, you might be forgiven for not being familiar with the phrase, which comes from a discourse foreign to the academy, namely, the discourse of the business world, of the corporation. I attended the first presentation of the USM’s new Direction Package […]
