Jet Lag Flying across multiple time zones in a short period of time causes jet lag for many people. Typical symptoms include fatigue, anxiety, insomnia, headache, irritability and inability to concentrate. Some travelers also report upset stomach, diarrhea, constipation, swollen ankles and aching joints. The problem starts when our normal day-to-night schedule changes suddenly, along…
Author: USM
Meet Joe student
What’s your name? Peter Sofronas Where is your hometown? I reside right now in Portland, Maine. But originally I am from Massachusetts. I lived there for 18 years before I moved here. What year are you at USM? I’m a second-semester junior. I’m a media studies major with a writing concentration. Why did you decide…
Senate Update
Writer: Meghan Conley Slug: 22Senate Budget approval In a brief meeting on Friday, the 29th Student Senate voted to approve next year’s budget, which totaled approximately $280,000 dollars. Senate Treasurer Justin Laberge noted that the vote went smoothly with no amendments. Leadership Cruise A funding request for the Senate’s annual Leadership Cruise was moved from…
Meet the 2001-2002 Free Press staff
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce next year’s Free Press staff. Nine are returning staff, seven having just completed their rookie year. With little or no experience, they helped win nine awards for the paper, in such categories as design, news writing, first person experience, and overall quality. Coming back with a…
Students need final say
To the Editor: How much does USM really do to insure that students’ needs, opinions, and values are a part of decision-making processes? The USM Art Department’s Web page states, “Students are expected to think and work creatively, expressing their own points of view and to be able to defend them with an informed and…
Politically correctness out of hand
To the Editor: The world of being politically correct in every sentence and thought is getting a little irritating. No longer can a person simply write a letter to the editor and make a simple suggestion without anger and offending someone. In the April 26 Letters to the Editor, Amy Ouellette responds to my suggestion…
Individuals make a difference
Individuals Make A Difference To the Editor: Where did families and friends go during school vacation last week? The University of Southern Maine pulled off a fantastic and exciting Earth Day Celebration on the Portland campus on Saturday, April 21. Kids of all ages won great door prizes, attended cool workshops and witnessed the planting…
Parking Problems
To the Editor: In the past seven years I have attended USM while also working full-time, I have watched the parking situation deteriorate to organized anarchy. Five years ago, it was hard to find a space. Now, it is impossible. Why should a student buy a parking pass at whatever cost if parking is unavailable….
Goals met, for the most part
Drops: “We got a little bit ahead of our neighbors.” — Richard Pattenaude “It’s been a good year. We’ve got to wrestle with energy costs and health costs but we’re working on it very diligently.” — RP Heads: Pattenaude summarizes accomplishments Pattenaude cites the University’s accomplishments and the work that remains At a breakfast in…
Briefly
HOT PLATE A stolen Connecticut license plate was recovered from a car on the Gorham campus. USM Police Detective Sgt. Ron Saindon said the department received a phone call around 10:30 a.m. on April 24 from an individual in Brookfield, Conn. The caller told police the vehicle was possibly headed to USM’s campus. A USM…
The road to graduation part 3
Comments: Include editor’s note, “This is the last of a three-part series called “The road to graduation” which follows the emotions, expectations, and decisions of three graduating seniors. Staff Writer John McCarthy has followed these seniors since February. Matt Shardlow won’t be looking for a job after graduation. He’ll be getting rid of a couple….
Students’ privacy at risk
Memorizing one ID number for access to computers, grades and financial aid processing makes life easier for the average student. But USM’s regular use of social security numbers for IDs may put students at risk. In 1936 the federal government created social security numbers to administer the social security system. These nine digits have since…
Students privacy at risk
Memorizing one ID number for access to computers, grades and financial aid processing makes life easier for the average student. But USM’s regular use of social security numbers for IDs may put students at risk. In 1936 the federal government created social security numbers to administer the social security system. These nine digits have since…
Taking a closer look
The University Counseling Services’ offices are right there in Payson Smith Hall on the Portland Campus and Upton Hall in Gorham. The program is funded in part by the student health fee, and all students who pay the fee are entitled to 12 counseling sessions per semester. Yet a shroud of mystery seems to surround…
Surviving Pollen Season
Sheera LaBelle, R.N. University Health Services Seasonal allergic rhinitis, often referred to as “hay fever,” affects more than 3.5 million people in the United States. Substances called allergens cause these seasonal allergies. Airborne pollens and mold spores are outdoor allergens that commonly trigger symptoms during the spring and fall. During these times, depending on where…
Ken Ryder
What is your name? Ken Ryder What is your major? I’m a computer science major. I’m a transfer student going on my eighth year. When and why did you start wearing dresses? I’ve dressed this way on my own time for about 10 years. It’s only the last year that I started wearing them to…
Earth Day celebration
Last Thursday students in the Environmental Science and Policy Department staged an Earth Day event outside Corthell Hall on the Gorham campus. The students collaborated with the Department of Facilities Management and procured tents, food, and environmental specialists to educate students about such issues as composting and recycling. However, the initial attraction for students passing…
Where were you?
Maybe some of you are too young to remember Yo! MTV Raps. Maybe for some of you, hip-hop and house music just aren’t your thing. But I’m guessing the reason many of you USM students did not attend last weekend’s “Hip-Hop House Party” thrown by Student Activities and the Student Senate was because you left…
Words & Images flood the campus
Immersed in worn, dog-eared papyrus, Jonathan Lethem worked in a used bookstore for10 years. As a writer, he considered his workplace to be the ground level in the world of publishing. “I know a lot about the real life of books,” he said in a phone interview from his Manhattan home. “What it means to…
Media panel examines violence
People hoping to gain perspective on how the media handles violence against women may not have gotten the answers they were looking for at the Luther Bonney Auditorium last Tuesday night. “I think people left with more questions than answers and I’m happy about that, because this is a complex and challenging subject,” said Beth…
Portland Hall director ready for different role
You can’t live in Portland Hall without knowing Chris O’Connor. Or, at least, that’s the buzz in the building. O’Connor is the assistant director of Portland Student Life for Portland Hall, and has lived in the dorm at 645 Congress Street in downtown Portland for the past three years. Next semester he will be leaving…
Controversial speaker visits campus
Maine, recently pronounced the whitest state in the nation by the U.S. Census, was the last stop for a nationally-recognized leader in the fight against prejudice. Last week Multicultural Student Affairs and the Office of Campus Diversity brought Jane Elliott, a former teacher from a small town in Iowa, to the University. Her demonstration was…
04/23/01
Pornography revisited To the Editor: I read your article concerning your objections to a new law that will restrict the viewing of pornography on library computers. Your title, “New law is not really about pornography,” sounds good, so what is the law about? I do not feel you clarified this statement in your text. You…
Smoke your breakfast
And now . What the entire campus has been waiting for . The official “Smoke your breakfast”/USM “What I really want to know” survey results are in. Thank you everyone for the overwhelming response to my little survey, and to everyone who mailed it in and wasted 34 cents on postage . Way to go…