By: Dylan Reynolds, Student Undergraduate Representative to the Board of Trustees
To my fellow students,
I am reaching out as one of your student representatives to the University of Maine System Board of Trustees to discuss Question 4 on the upcoming November ballot. Should Question 4 pass, a $49 million bond package will be issued to support critical infrastructure improvements across the University of Maine System. USM will receive $25.2 million from the bond which will be invested in the following projects:
• Build a new Student Career Services center and connect more students to local internships and jobs.
• Double the size of USM’s nursing simulation lab to increase enrollment.
• Expand engineering classrooms and labs.
• Spur private investment the Portland campus as part of the master plan that includes a performing arts center, student housing and a graduate and professional center.
Increasingly people are seeking ways to meaningfully engage as citizens regardless of party allegiances, voting represents the fundamental means of expressing our political views and values. The passage of Question 4 with the assistance of student voters illustrates a way that we can effect change through the electoral process. I encourage all of my fellow students to register and vote your conscience in this upcoming midterm election. I also urge students to consider the benefit that the bond revenue from Question 4 would bring to our university, community and to future students.