The president and provost presented a new ‘direction package’ for USM last month. These are my concerns with what they said. 1. Calling physics a “low enrollment department” The administration keeps making this claim as if saying it often enough will make it true. The claim that the USM physics major is “low enrollment,” or…
Author: USM
Chann: On the Direction Package, it’s time to move for a shared vision
There is no doubt that the road ahead is uncertain and it is foolish to think that the future is anything but, a reality that is made clearer and clearer each day given the economic times in which we live. But even beyond the prevailing economic trends, USM’s primary pool of prospective students is shrinking…
Lajoie: The media got it wrong, speculating Maine Somalians terrorists
Late last month though, when a Twitter account deemed fake connected the deadly terrorist attacks in Nairobi, Kenya to Somalians living in Maine, journalists across the state began to openly speculate in their stories, blogs and columns about terrorist recruiting right here in Maine. In the process they demonized an entire community that already…
Lajoie: Dear GOP, you’ve made your bed, now lie in it
It didn’t seem like anyone expected Congress to push the U.S. into a dangerous shutdown of the federal government, but with help from Ted Cruz in the Senate, ultra-conservatives in the House of Representatives followed through on their promise. So, let them drive us over the edge. And then let their party and extremist ideology…
Shelley: USM as a corporation, decoding the Direction Package
What is a “direction package”? If you are a student or faculty at USM, you might be forgiven for not being familiar with the phrase, which comes from a discourse foreign to the academy, namely, the discourse of the business world, of the corporation. I attended the first presentation of the USM’s new Direction Package…
Quick Hits:
Men’s Soccer Disappointing second half loss to UMF The USM men’s soccer team lost to University of Maine at Farmington 4-3 Wednesday to fall to 0-10-1 on the season. The loss was especially disappointing, as the Huskies were up 3-1 at one point during the second half. The team will next play Monday against the…
Planetarium hosts panel on the role of women in hard sciences
It used to be that men were the only ones allowed to call themselves scientists, in today’s world, gender structures are not so rigid. Even so, female scientists pursuing hard sciences has become a rarity, according to women and gender studies Professor Lucinda Cole. That is the subject of “Women, Science and the Night Sky:…
AFUM update: no agreement reached at Sept. renegotiation
The Associated Faculties of the University of Maine met again on Friday, Sept. 27 to renegotiate the full-time faculty contract that expired on June 30, 2011. However, no agreements were reached at that meeting. USM and AFUM are scheduled to meet again on Oct.18 to see if a compromise can be reached. “We all want…
From the student senate:
At Friday’s student senate meeting, student body Vice President Marpheen Chann announced an event in response to the direction package called, “Student Vision 2013.” Chief Student Success Officer Susan Campbell gave an informational presentation to the senate about searches for new positions at the university. One of the three positions that the university hopes to…
Faculty Commons opens to mixed reactions
Two weeks ago the Faculty Commons made its debut, a $30,000 project funded by donations and reallocated faculty development funds. According to Judith Spross, one of the faculty members spearheading this endeavor, Provost Michael Stevenson went back to old documents pointing to faculty interest in a space for shared ideas and cooperation—as the Faculty Commons…
Campus Safety Project still going strong
The Campus Safety Project has kicked off the fall semester with hopes of reaching out to students and the community of USM, even though the program faced management challenges after last year’s grant ran out and they were unable to secure funding. The change resulted in the loss of project coordinator Clara Porter. Despite that…
Late bus connects Gorham
Friday night, USM piloted a run of the new late night bus to First Friday Art Walk in an attempt to give students more to do on the weekend. The pilot will be the first of two test runs to determine whether the new bus will be a permanent addition to Gorham life. Student body…
President announces direction, then switches gears
Between the roll-out event of President Kalikow and Provost Stevenson’s plan for the university on Sept. 23 and the email Kalikow sent out on Oct. 3, something significant changed. That change caused Kalikow to switch plans in ten days from the process she and Stevenson said, on Sept. 23, they had been refining all summer….
Comic: Direction Package
Veteran student group gets funding for coyote hunt
The Board of Student Organizations approved funding requests for 15 proposals on Friday, including one from the Veteran’s Activity Group for $1,200 to fund a six-student coyote hunt in northern Maine. There was limited discussion before the proposal passed on Friday at the BSO’s weekly meeting, although several board members questioned the constitutionality of the…
USM professor brings Democracy Now! producer to speak on censorship
On Oct. 3, 2013 at the Space Gallery at 7:00 p.m., Nermeen Shaikh, news producer and co-anchor of DemocracyNOW!, a daily and independent global news hour, will speak with firsthand information on how the political process actually works. For funding for the event, Professor Dusan Bjelić of USM’s criminology department applied to the Maine Humanities…
University Politics 101: take it before they cut it
Physics not cut but still on the table Headlines across the state last week led with news that USM officials had announced a plan to cut its physics major, but the document that had led to public outcry from the community, faculty and students over the decision, Provost Michael Stevenson made clear, was never…
Huskies bite back at soapbox preachers
Gorham was the unsuspecting host of a religious group, Cross Country Evangelism on Thursday. The group came hoping to “spread, the Word” to students. Mike Stockwell, along with a handful of other ministry members who proclaimed the “gospel of Jesus Christ for the glory of God” came to USM as a part of a their…
Local Review: Change by Pallaso and The Mess
Change, released last Saturday by the Lewiston based rappers. Pallaso and The Mess, takes Ugandan influence and incorporates elements of popular American music. Pallaso, a Ugandan-raised rapper formerly known as Pius Lizard and Pius Mayanja, released several cuts in his home country and has shared the stage with the likes of Sean Paul and soca…
USM students look forward to fall flavors
By: Courtney Aldrich Everyone here in Maine knows what’s coming –– walking across campus or commuting to class will soon become unthinkable in the flurry of snow that will be waging war on our little New England world. So for now, it’s time to celebrate the fall. Smoothies are slowly going out of style. And…
Playlist: First day of Fall
We know music is an essential in your everyday life. Whether you’re jamming out in your dorm room, studying in the library, or drowning out other students on the bus, you’ve got your headphones in. Because we know how important good tunes are, we’re going to publish a playlist on Spotify at least once a…
Tweets of the week: 9/15-9/22
Every week we look through the tweets of known USM students and pick out our favorites. Here are some gems from last week: Kid is eating hard boiled eggs before class… What — Hillary Norwood (@ihmunssmd) September 19, 2013 This gum is coming in clutch so I can stay awake in my classes today. —…
Cram: Obama’s education reform will keep us from being buried by debt
With the increasing difficulties college students and their parents are facing, President Obama has come up with a new education reform plan according to recent White House reports and detailed on whitehouse.gov that is expected to help repair a failing plan intended to lower college costs for students,which would be appreciated by students across the…
USM panel aims to “change the game” for LGBTQA students in athletics
The conversation about LGBTQA students in collegiate and high school sports has not been common, but it should be, according to Sarah Holmes, coordinator for the Center of Sexualities and Gender Diversity. This week, the USM Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine will host “Changing the Game: A Panel Discussion on LGBT People in High…