Author: USM

Weekly news briefs

The purpose of the student conduct code is to ensure students’ ability to be secure on campus and to excel in their studies. The case in Orono has evoked criticism of the effectiveness of the conduct code. Orono abides by the same set of conduct codes as USM and the entire University of Maine system.

This June Jerry Boivin, a 57-year-old gay man, was allegedly beat up on Congress Street. The assailants attacked Boivin and his partner for being gay. Two men attacked Boivin in broad daylight, screaming anti-gay remarks, as he lay helpless. This assault had such a profound effect on Gina Capra, a junior in the Women’s Studies program, she decided something had to be done about violence that stems from discrimination and ignorance.

Some people find the cloak of anonymity comforting. A program utilized by the University of Southern Maine Police Department now allows such people to report crimes while remaining unrecognized.

Update on the proceedings of the latest BSO meeting

Can a student on the UMaine Fort Kent campus get access to a class that is offered only on the USM Portland campus? As technology advances at the University of Maine, the answer is increasingly ‘Yes.’ A course developmental tool, Blackboard, has been implemented statewide in the UMS system.

The issue of overcrowding on the USM campuses is an ongoing problem. It is a predicament that is present on campuses big and small across the nation.

I try not to let it stop me from living my life as usual. So, as I do most weekdays, I went for a run through Rock Creek Park a few days ago. I told myself I’d be safe. That the sniper who’s been killing people in this area probably wouldn’t target a jogger in a wooded area. That it’d be too difficult to get off a clean shot. I told myself he seemed to prefer gas stations and shopping centers or middle schools and post offices.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 180,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. It is the second most common type of cancer in women, after skin cancer.

USM’s radio station WMPG is in danger of losing listeners within the coming months because of a noisy precursor to construction on the new parking facility. Pile-driving is scheduled to begin at the end of December, and the station is faced with the issue of constant noise polluting its airwaves and detracting attention from its programs. This will be just the start of the construction for the new parking lot on the Portland campus.

US Representative John Baldacci’s campaign for Maine governor focuses on improving Maine’s economic health, which links many of the other issues.

This week students at the University of Southern Maine responded to the current debate over resolutions with Iraq and the United Nations in varying ways.