By River Plouffe Vogel, Sports Editor The bad weather at the USM women’s lacrosse game on Tuesday, April 4, didn’t stop the team from continuing their victory streak. By any standard is was a miserable day for outside sports being freezing cold, rainy and having occasional thunder throughout the day. Yet for some spring athletes,…
By Elizabeth Trudel, Staff Writer As stated on the University of Southern Maine website, “This year’s Convocation asks each member of our community to question ourselves, our society, our institutions and our leaders. As we interrogate our collective history, so we must also question the power structures that support and sustain the systems of oppression that…
By Jam Lewis, Contributor USM turns out to be home to highly knowledgeable skilled leaders. If you are a student leader, considering a leadership position or perhaps you are tired of asking your parents for advice, I encourage you to seek out a mentor from our faculty and administrative talent pool. For the sake of…
By Dalton Bouchles, Material Resources Eco-Rep USM generates approximately 600 tons of trash, recycling and food waste per year. USM’s recycling rate (which is calculated by dividing the total tons of recycling collected/ total tons of recycling + total tons of municipal solid waste – a.k.a. trash) is 55 percent. Although this rate is…
By Amy Hinshaw, UHCS NP Movie Date Ken experienced his first spring break this year…and what a time he had! You may have seen him on usmhealth’s Instagram page soaking up the rays. Back to Maine meant back to reality for Ken. Even though spring break may seem like a distant memory, it’s only been…
By: Margaret Brownlee, USM Student Employment Specialist As we enter into our celebration of Student Employee Appreciation Week, a national event that we are now celebrating here at USM, we would like to draw attention to our roughly 1,400 student employees. Students who hold on-campus jobs while juggling school, work, clubs and other activities. Our…
By James Fagan, Photojournalist The movie Bright is a social commentary about the state of society. The Netflix original movie that was released on December 22 of last year. Bright is set in a world where humans live alongside several mythical races such as orcs, elves, dwarves and fairies. While the humans in the Bright…
By Sam Margolin, Staff Writer In an article published by the New Yorker in December 2014, author Joshua Rothman investigated the definition and meaning of the word “culture.” It is a complicated word in that includes so many different aspects of life such as gender, race, place of birth and education. In the article Rothman writes,…
By Kate Rogers, Staff Writer USM’s Center for Sexualities and Gender Diversity (CSGD) and the Multicultural Student Affairs center hosted an all-gender all-culture free clothing swap in Woodbury on Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Starting with hundreds of pounds of clothing and ending up with less than half, the swap was a huge…
By River Plouffe Vogel, Sports Editor Sports fans everywhere are captivated by the magic of March Madness. The tournament embodies everything Americans love about college sports; the clash of titans like Duke and Kansas, upset wins, underdogs making incredible cinderella runs deep into tournament play and watching professional prospects on the biggest stage of their…
By Chelsea Malacara, Sustainability Education & Outreach Coordinator Upon the new year, most people decide that it is time to start fresh whether that means eating healthier, exercising more, or making a major change. Living in Maine, I find that the turn of the new year, which brings cold and snowy weather, does not inspire the…
By Anna Gardner, Collegiate Recovery Program Coordinator/ Clinical Counselor Substance use disorder (SUD) is the problematic use of substances. This disorder exists on a spectrum from mild to severe, and includes physiological and psychological dependence. While the physiological dependence on a substance often has very observable symptoms, psychological dependence may be less readily apparent. Causes of…
By Charlie Wheeler, Staff Writer As a college student, I find it difficult to keep up with the news. My parents are no longer around to play Fox News or NBC all day, and my dad isn’t here to tell me about what’s going on in my hometown each morning as I get ready. It would…
By Maverick Lynes, Staff Writer As an athlete, I have experienced first hand how sports can have a positive influence on someone’s life. The camaraderie I have experienced within the various teams I’ve been on have been a significant influence in my life. I have built long lasting friendships and have made amazing memories that are…
By Julie Pike, editor-in-chief Who knew that getting involved in your community could be as easy as checking your Facebook page. Nowadays you can find almost any group you can imagine, most often right in your local area. If you’re looking for ideas of stuff to do outside of USM, here are just a few…
By Jam Lewis, Contributor It was sabado gigante for the top spellers in the 2018 Maine State Spelling Bee held at USM Abromson Educational Center, Saturday March 24. Emerging as first place winner was Colin Aponte, a 13-year old Mainer attending Downeast Homeschool Cooperative in Hancock County. Aponte won when he correctly spelled the word…
By Emily Norman, Staff Writer With USM’s 18th Annual Drag show just behind us, I found it fitting to rewatch and review one of my all-time favorite documentaries, Paris is Burning. This 1990 film directed by Jennie Livingston chronicles the lives of the community of people involved in drag balls in New York City in the…
By Nora Ibrahim, Staff Writer Although Portland may not be a large and a modern city, it has the best landmarks in the state. Miss Portland Diner, located at 140 Marginal Way, is a recognizable landmark that is known for its vibrant blue bus-like cart with a golden logo, as well as its breakfast and lunch…
By Mary Ellen Aldrich, Arts & Culture Editor When presented with the word ‘identity’ nearly everyone will think of something different. The definition of ‘identity’ according to the English Oxford dictionary is, “the fact of being who or what a person or thing is.” Identity, however, can go deeper than that and is frequently more…
By Liz Trudel, Staff Writer For inquisitive individuals ages 50 plus with a passion for the joy of learning, there is a close-knit community of 2,000 plus like-minded senior learners who are students of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at USM. The OLLI is located in the Wishcamper building on the Portland campus at…
Emily Adams, Staff Writer Colleges across the country face catastrophe from the possible ramifications of President Trump’s proposed budget cuts. On February 12, 2018, President Trump’s administration released the 2019 Fiscal Year’s Budget to Congress, which can be found on the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE) website. Part of the proposed budget is an overall…
By Sarah O’Connor, Staff Writer The Safe Zone stickers on office doors, desk spaces or dorm rooms do not only suggest support to the LGBTQ community but it shows that the people behind these doors have been educated through the Safe Zone orientation program. Last week, volunteers underwent a 1.5 to 2 hour orientation to be…
By River Plouffe Vogel, Sports Editor Although the ground is still covered in snow and it looks and feels more like February than March, springtime has officially arrived and with it a new season of USM athletics. The spring season often feels like it comes and goes in the blink of an eye, but rest assured…
By Jayden Colby, Environmental Health Eco-Rep Traditional cleaning products contain chemicals that are harmful to both human and ecological health. Some of the common chemicals that humans are exposed to through traditional cleaning products include ammonia, formaldehyde and hydrochloric acid. These chemicals can lead to a variety of health problems including worsening asthma, respiratory irritation, birth…