The University of Southern Maine took back two controversial pay increases to top administrators following backlash from the USM community member as well as members of the public.
Author: USM
A new take on the old craft of printmaking
The texture of paper, the smell of ink, the crank of the press. For printmakers, these are more than just sensations. The act of printmaking is a multifaceted experience: one that ties the body and the mind. In Portland, a community of printmakers is working to bypass conventions of the art form. Amy McIntire, a…
Chapin: Know your loans to avoid drowning in student debt
By Justin Chapin A most crucial, rudimentary feature of student loans can seem like the hardest for us to actually grasp: the money must eventually be paid back. In fact, the bills will start rolling in six months from the moment you’re no longer enrolled full time. The FSA awards subsidized and unsubsidized loans. Subsidized…
USM students help give Somalis a voice in project for Al Jazeera
Mohammed Dini remembers the war-torn situation of Somalia when he left with his family in 1997. Conditions were so bad, people carried around white cotton cloths every day to cover their own bodies if they were killed — a preparation necessary to follow traditional funeral rites.
Jeff Beam steps away from the Union for ‘Be Your Own Mirror’
Jeff Beam is one of those Portland staples who is difficult to not notice. You have seen him walking down Congress Street with the lanky stride of John Lennon crossing Abbey Road, perhaps you have even caught him pulling off a Hendrix-influenced solo at various bars around town. Chiseling away for years at his own artistic vision,…
A&C Recommends: Haru Bangs and Captain Hollow at Port City Music Hall
This Tuesday, two of Portland’s most volume-fixated acts will be co-headlining Port City Music Hall, as the noise-pop trio Haru Bangs will be joined by Ryan Higgins, Kyle Mallory-Macdonald, Patric Cunningham and Jakob Battick — better known as the newest line-up for Captain Hollow, for a show that comes just in time to snap you out of…
Kelchner: New book sells hope with cheap words
On March 13, New York Times Op-Ed columnist, Thomas Friedman recently reviewed the book “Power, Inc.,” by David Rothkopf, in what can only be described as gushing praise. The book examines the increasing privatization of power by way of the rise of trans-national corporations whose revenues now dwarf the GDP of many nations. Rothkopf’s credentials…
A&C Recommends: ‘All in: The Poker Movie’ at the Portland Museum of Art
A game or job? Since the dawn of its days in underground clubs in New York and on Mississippi riverboats, poker has been a symbol of the pursuit of the American Dream and the journey and risks it takes to achieve it. The Portland Museum of Art will be featuring a screening of All in: The Poker Movie,…
Somewhere between Sonic Youth genius and Xtina, Lee Ranaldo falls short
For fans of Sonic Youth, Lee Ranaldo’s ninth studio album Between the Times and the Tides will be very familiar territory. Don’t look here for an ultra-modern update of the hyper-loud and noise-ridden experimentation of the Daydream Nation days. Instead what you will find is Ranaldo wandering through his comfort zones with ten assemblages of hazy noise and sappy love-rock standards….
A&C Recommends: Jeff Beam, Tanner Smith and Billy Carr at Poland Street
This Friday, the D.I.Y music venue Poland St. will host an evening featuring Portland’s finest young talent. Your weekend will be sure to start off with a bang as Jeff Beam Boombox, Tanner Smith, Billy Carr and Boston natives Holiday Mountain take the stage at 26 Poland St. Prolifically creative psychedelic-indie rocker Jeff Beam will…
Springsteen comes to the frontline the 17th time around
Bruce Springsteen has always spoken for America’s unheard voices, from the love-torn rock operas in 1975’s Born to Run, to the American Dream-turned-broken nightmare of 1984’s Born in the U.S.A. After witnessing and retelling the effects of a wayward nation for decades, The Boss now assumes the roles of judge and jury to accuse “all them fat cats” with…
Play about women in Iran showing at USM Friday
“The Poets and the Assassin,” an original play examining the history and contemporary lives of women in Iran, will be showing Friday in the Talbot Lecture Hall on the Portland Campus. Written by University of Southern Maine Coordinator of Multicultural Affairs Reza Jalali, the performance is in celebration of International Women’s History Month. The play…
The Free Press has an immediate job opening as multimedia editor
The Free Press is currently hiring a new Multimedia Editor for this semester. This is an awesome opportunity for someone interested in photo and video to expand his or her portfolio and get some great experience. The editor is paid a stipend every two weeks, and you don’t need work-study funds.
Student Body President Chris Camire drops out of race
Chris Camire has announced that he will not seek another term as student body president, all but handing the position to current Board of Student Organizations President TJ Williams, the only other candidate currently in the race. Camire said he dropped out of the race in part because he’s in the running for the student…
Everything you need to know about our redesign [VIDEO]
Last week we unveiled our print edition redesign. We’ve got a new nameplate — our “logo” at the top of the front page — along with new formatting for just about everything else. We changed our design for a few reasons. For one, we didn’t like our old nameplate. It took up too much space…
Local Top 5: Portland Bands to watch in 2012
1.) The Outfits: It’s hard to think of another band that covered as much ground and made as many fans as The Outfits did in 2011. In just a few months’ time, the bare-bones punk outfit (yeah we went there) went from scantly-watched grainy YouTube videos to playing a marathon set at the grand opening…
Thing of the Week: Kony 2012
You can say what you want about the Kony 2012 viral YouTube kickoff video. Or, as I did, sit there wordlessly flipping off your computer screen for 30 minutes. But it isn’t entirely off-base in its flowery introduction, where it stokes the ego of its largely Facebook-driven audience by waxing rhapsodic about the transformative power…
Kelchner: Moving up the dial
Intake is a new feature where members of the Free Press staff and USM community discuss their own media regimen. Did your parents ever remark how few channels they had on TV when they were “your age”? It’s a statement that really dates those poor Baby boomers. Or so we think. How many of us…
Henry: The naked truth about celebrity photo scandals
These days, celebrity nude photo leaks are as common as alliteration at a Kardashian family baby-naming brainstorm. We simply can’t get enough of them. But why? What’s so enthralling about a naked celebrity, anyway? I guess the question answers itself. It’s a naked celebrity, not an unclothed desk jockey at IBM. We have had an…
Chiu: Coffee drinkers, rejoice: Your cup of joe won’t kill you
Like many students, I’m addicted to coffee. Not only because of its unique aroma and taste, but because of its ability to cast a spell that temporarily ignites my motivation, concentration and productivity. So when I read that a nine-year study proved that coffee consumption does not link to any chronic diseases, I was filled with excitement and relief.
Student body president incumbent facing difficult opponent
If re-elected, Chris Camire will be the first student body president to serve more than one year. In fact, it’s the first time a student body president has even gotten a shot at re-election since they’re always been seniors.
Egyptian activist addresses USM — ‘revolution will prevail’
Egyptian pro-democracy activist Wael Nawara visited the University of Southern Maine Friday to share his experience with the uprising against former President Mubarak’s 30 year regime to raise awareness about the effects of Egypt’s 2011 revolution. Nawara, who was one of the featured protesters in Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year: Protester” issue last year, spoke…
Refund checks allow one student to pay bills, car bling for another
While the refund money is legally supposed to only cover a student’s cost of attendance — including room and board, transportation, books, supplies and miscellaneous costs like food and entertainment — it’s hard to know how students use the money, said Director of Financial Aid Keith Dubois.
College deans seek to minimize budget cuts’ impact on students
Despite slashing $1 million from each of the three major colleges at the University of Southern Maine, the three deans each assure the budget cuts will have minimal effects on students’ academic experience. “There’s always an impact when you’re reducing budgets,” said Andrew Anderson, dean of the College of Science, Technology and Health. “We’re simply…