By River Plouffe Vogel, Sports Editor USM has a long standing tradition of athletic and academic excellence. College is no walk in the park; classes are long, course work is difficult and professors demand a lot of their students. And so many of the people that go here are much more than just students, they…
Author: USM
Sustainability & ME: Plant for Pollinators
By Asia DiBenedetti, USM Sustainable Food Eco-Rep Spring is here (hopefully!) and you may be thinking about your summer garden. While all those fruits and veggies are certainly something to look forward to, don’t forget to thank your pollinators by planting some pollinator friendly plants in or around your garden. Bees play a key role…
Working on Wellness: Prevention of tick borne illnesses
By Lynn G Howard, FNP-C Movie Night Ken is super excited that winter is over because he loves hiking. He knows to prepare by carrying plenty of water, sunscreen and snacks, but after reading some alarming news, he decided to better protect himself against tick-borne illnesses. Notice his light colored, tucked in clothing covering his…
A Canadian’s Perspective: Freedom of speech laws in Canada
By Maverick Lynes, Staff Writer As a Canadian, I have experienced some people’s surprised faces when I tell them “hate speech” is a legitimate law in Canada. Canada still provides freedom of speech, just to a different extent than America does. Many Canadian officials have been quoted saying that freedom of speech is an American…
MovieTalk: Environmental justice for all
By Emily Norman, Staff Writer On the evening of Thursday April 19th, the film Marathon for Justice was screened in the lecture room of Bailey Hall on the USM Gorham campus as a part of this year’s convocation. The Convocation theme this year is Race and Participatory Democracy. The film, produced by Empathy Works, details the…
Students create a Thoreau study room
By Nora Ibrahim, Staff Writer A study room in the library of the Gorham campus was transformed into an artistic space to celebrate the bicentennial of the famous essayist, Henry David Thoreau. A pop-up course called Thoreau 200, taught by Professor Lisa Giles, celebrated the opening ceremony of the new study space by students reciting works…
Bryan Waring’s guide through Dante’s Inferno
By Jamela Lewis, Staff Writer Picture yourself in a dark castle high upon the Scottish hillside, as you rest comfortably in a tall red velvet chair alongside Dracul-the Master of Ceremonies. Sounds gothic? Bryan Waring’s senior composition on Sunday, April 15, 2018 fulfilled a partial degree requirement for Bachelor of Music Performance. The eerie theatrical…
USM students engage in aquaponics research
By Elizabeth Trudel, Staff Writer The Department of Environmental Science and Policy has installed elaborate aquaponics systems in the basement greenhouse of Bailey Hall. This was created to promote sustainability and clean water research, while also engaging students in essential hands-on applied science. Robert Sanford, the head of the Environmental Science Department states, “The aquaponics…
Making college and science a reality for local children
By Cooper-John Trapp, Staff Writer The 4H STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Ambassadors is a program putting college students in classrooms to teach children about science in an engaging and inspiring manner. The program was started five years ago by Sarah Sparks, a science education professional at UMAINE Cooperative Extension, the program, which is…
Providing USM with an education in social justice
By Sam Margolin, Staff Writer Four USM professors worked together to bring a Social Justice minor to USM. It was just recently approved and will be available for students in the fall. The new program will be housed within the Geography-Anthropology Department. The four professors who created and organized the minor are: Lorrayne Carroll, Associate…
Baseball dominates April
By River Plouffe Vogel, Sports Editor Headlining a successful month for USM Athletics is the baseball team. They are 8-0 so far in the month of April, and doing so in a dominating fashion. They capped off this week by taking down the Western Connecticut State University Colonials in a double header this Friday , April…
Working on Wellness: Veterans transiting to civilian life
By Benjamin Wells, M.A. Sustained combat operations in Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom, OIF; Operation New Dawn, OND) and Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom, OEF) represent the longest military campaign in United States history. Spanning 17 years, these combined operations known as the Global War on Terror (GWOT), have resulted in 4.3 million veterans (US Census…
Advising Advice: Informational interviewing
By Norrie Crocker, Career Advisor Whether you have a solid sense of your career path or your path is not fully focused, informational interviewing is a wonderful career exploration tool! You have career advisors in the Career & Employment Hub who are waiting for you to come and ask questions about this beneficial exploration…
Editorial: Making the choice to keep your Facebook account
By Dionne Smith, Community Editor When I first made my Facebook account, I was about nine years old. I was excited to finally join under the thought of connecting to my family, and any friends I had. Of course, I didn’t read the terms of agreement as my small little brain couldn’t possibly understand the…
Staff Perspective: A call for more parking on the Gorham campus
By Jessica Pike, Staff Writer A well known problem on the Gorham campus of USM is the limited student parking. It might not seem like an important problem, but a student being late for class due to being unable to find parking would disagree. I personally have been late to class because I was busy…
MovieTalk: More than just a horror film
By Emily Norman, Staff Writer Get Out recently made history at the Oscars on the night of Sunday, March 4, as the first horror film to earn the Best Original Screenplay award for Writer/Director Jordan Peele. This was a big win, beating out the predicted winner Guillermo del Toro for The Shape of Water –…
Screening and panel raise awareness
By Mary Ellen Aldrich, Arts & Culture Editor Stronger is a film about the marathon runner Jeff Bauman. He was injured during the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, resulting in both his legs being amputated above the knee. The film follows his journey of recovery, both physically and psychologically, as he works with the support of friends…
The survival of poetry in the digital age
By Nora Ibrahim, Staff Writer In celebration to this literary form of art, poetry, USM hosted an event to celebrate with an American poetry scholar and critic, Marjorie Perloff. Perloff has taught English at the University of South Carolina, University of Maryland and Stanford University. Perloff is a modernist critic that explores avant-garde poetry. Throughout…
Latinx Student Alliance connects to roots
By James Fagan, Photojournalist A few weeks ago a new organization was formed here at the USM. This new organization is the Latinx Student Alliance. According to the organizations president, Maria Escobar, the goal of the Latinx Student Alliance is “to bring together a community of students together who are interested in learning more…
Loretta J. Ross speaks on reproductive justice
By Jamela Lewis, Staff Writer Human rights activist and self-described Texas Southerner Loretta J. Ross, received two standing ovations from a diverse audience representing the Portland and USM communities. Ross took to the podium approximately 7 p.m. on the night of Friday the 13 in Hannaford Hall following the Women & Gender Studies (WGS)…
Foreign language classes to return to USM
By Sam Margolin, Staff Writer Starting in the fall of 2018, USM will again offer various degree programs in foreign language such as bachelor of arts in Linguistics, with French and Spanish Concentrations as well as minors in both Spanish and French. Other regularly offered courses that have been returned or strengthened include Latin, German, Italian…
Tension between USM student and ISO at event
By Elizabeth Trudel, Staff Writer The Portland chapter of the International Socialist Organization (ISO) received backlash from an event held last week surrounding the topic of the #MeToo movement and sexism. One USM student, Mariana Angelo, was asked to leave after she had allegedly violated their code of conduct by going over her time limit and…
New student run clinic benefits whole community
By Sarah O’Connor, Staff Writer The Lewiston-Auburn area has a new addition to their community that will benefit a myriad of individuals. Just last month a community clinic was opened on the USM Lewiston-Auburn (LAC) campus. Led by students and supported by faculty, the clinic provides pro bono occupational services to both children and adults. The…
Athlete of the Week: Aliza Jordan
By Maverick Lynes, Staff Writer This weeks athlete of the week goes to Junior Criminology major and Women’s Lacrosse player, Aliza Jordan. Jordan is a midfielder who is in her second year with the team. In a recent game n Apr. 2, Jordan had a career high of eight points in an 18-5 Huskies victory over…