By: Jim Rand, Station Manager Hello USM community and especially to all new students! Greetings from WMPG Community Radio! WMPG is campus/community radio, on the air since 1973. WMPG is located at 92 Bedford Street on the Portland campus, broadcasting at 90.9 FM on the radio dial and streaming over the internet to anywhere in…
Author: USM
Get involved at USM & Active Student Organizations
By Alex Carrier, Coordinator of Student Activities Hello, Huskies! Whether this is your first semester at USM or your last, it is always the right time to seek out involvement opportunities and get engaged on campus. Involvement means different things to different people – for some, it’s being the leader of a student organization, but…
Welcome letter from Dean of Students
By Rodney Mondor, Dean of Students Dear Huskies, Welcome to the University of Southern Maine! Whether you are a new or continuing student, you are an essential part of our campus community. As Dean of Students, it is my honor to serve all students in our community and focus my energy on creating a healthy,…
Welcome to USM from President Cummings
By Glenn Cummings, USM President To our returning students, allow me to welcome you back to USM. And to our new students, welcome! You could not be arriving (or returning) to USM at a more exciting time. Just over the summer: We have launched the new Metro bus service, which not only will connect you…
USM students, faculty and staff share their stories of summer in Maine
By Valerie Kazarian, Staff Writer The dog days of summer are upon us and people in the USM community are finding a variety of ways to enjoy themselves. From unique foods to picturesque places, students, staff and faculty are taking advantage of some of Portland’s best features. The Free Press spoke to a number of…
Making a choice in our values of children
By Valerie Kazarian, Staff Writer In April, the New York Times reported that hundreds of children had been taken from adults claiming to be their parents at the U. S./Mexico border. Less than three weeks ago, 12 young Thai boys and their coach were trapped in a cave while on a field trip. And on July…
Sea Dogs Game a Must See in Portland
By Valerie Kazarian, Staff Writer The Portland Sea Dogs, the Double-A baseball affiliate (farm team) of the Boston Red Sox, plays regularly in Portland throughout July and August. The games are held at Hadlock Field on Park Avenue in Portland and the full schedule can be seen here. Ticket prices range from $9 for a general…
The Evolution Solution: Getting Along
By Valerie Kazarian, Staff Writer So much has happened in the news lately that makes me wonder why we just don’t seem to be able to get along these days. Whether it’s politics or social media or, as tonight, a shooting in Annapolis, we seem to go from calm to furious rage in an instant. I…
The Evolution Solution: A Tribute to Father’s Day
By Valerie Kazarian, Staff Writer With Father’s Day here, we tend to shop for cards, dust off the baseball equipment and hope the weather holds for the barbeque. And what to get for a gift? Every once in a while though, I think it’s time to stop and think and reflect, on the gifts our fathers…
What are USM students and faculty looking forward to this summer?
By Nora Ibrahim, Staff Writer
Student moderators raise tough questions to gubernatorial candidates
By Jamela Lewis, Staff Writer On Monday April 30, at Luther Bonney Talbott Hall six candidates for Governor of Maine gathered for the inaugural 2018 Spring Food Security Dialogue debate. The Food Studies Program at USM provided 24-year old student intern Kayla Buckley, with a professional gig as event planner and moderator. Buckley, an Economics major…
Sustainability & ME: Looking forward to a sustainable year
By Aaron Witham, Assistant Director for Sustainable Programs and Chelsea Malacara, Sustainability Education & Outreach Coordinator The Office of Sustainability is moving toward a more student-focused Surplus program in the fall. According to Assistant Director for Sustainable Programs, Aaron Witham, “The Surplus program has undergone significant changes this year for a variety of reasons, but…
Working on Wellness: new developments in Health and Counseling
Contributors: Lisa Belanger, Director of Health Services; Victoria Libby, Clinical Psychologist; Hilarie Fotter, School Psychology Intern and Suicide Prevention Graduate Assistant; Anna Gardener, Staff Counselor and Coordinator of the ROCC New Director of Counseling Services The search for a new Director of Counseling Services is underway! There are a number of promising applicants. The committee is…
Sports camps provide athletic learning for kids
By River Plouffe Vogel, Sports Editor With summer comes long days, early sunrises and late sunsets. It’s a time to relax, not think about school, work or anything else. However as so many of us might remember it was often packed full of sports camps. We’re talking afternoon clinics, day camps, overnight camps, in town,…
Elections to watch out for in June and Nov.
By Jessica Pike, Staff Writer The 2018 State general elections are coming up for the primary on November 6 for the Senate, House of Representatives, Governor and more. The closed primary elections will be held on June 12, which is when a voter must affiliate formally with a political party in advance of the election…
Redesign of communication and media studies
By Elizabeth Trudel, Staff Writer Starting in the Fall of 2018, USM’s Communication and Media Studies (CMS) department will be launching new and improved course curriculums. Students and faculty will experience the full effect of these major changes that the department has been undergoing and working toward for the past three years, in response…
Maine music and arts festivals expand culture
By Sam Margolin, Staff Writer Maine’s music and art scene have always kept up the pace with some of our larger, more populated neighboring states such as Massachusetts. The natural beauty and abundance of land in the northern part of the state combined with the socially progressive and culturally diverse regions of the southern parts make…
Developments in the Food Studies program
By Nora Ibrahim, Staff Writer An undergraduate minor is talking all about local food issues, national, and covering global matters and concerns in the food industry. USM’s Food Studies program offers students to learn more about what goes behind the scenes of food production. Many topics are covered such as abused farmers, hunger, social injustice, tourism…
Department of Theatre updates curriculum
By Maverick Lynes, Staff Writer The USM Department of Theatre have been working on updating their program, especially within the curriculum and a new audition process for participating in a school production. With the spring semester coming to a close shortly, the faculty in the theatre department look toward the start of another school year….
Psychology Institute honors Dr. William Gayton
By Mary Ellen Aldrich, Arts & Culture Editor Each year for the past 33 years USM has held the Child Psychopathology Institute. Dr. William Gayton established the collection of psychology institutes in 1985. He designed, maintained and ran each of the psychology institutes as well as presented at each one. Until a few years ago,…
Removal of six-meal plan upsets busy students
By Sarah O’Connor, Staff Writer Starting next fall, students with a meal plan will no longer have the option of the six-meal a week with $400 in flex cash, one that is commonly used by students with busy schedules. As a result of student and parent feedback, dining surveys and the Student Government tackling the issue,…
Dormitory upgrades coming to the Gorham campus
By Jam Lewis, Staff Writer At the culmination of the spring 2018 semester, USM Residential Life will step into action to follow through on a planned three project expansion to Philippi, Woodward and Anderson Hall. This entails beautification for dorms by the end of summer. The Director of Residential Life and Housing, Christina Lowery, provides…
Bus transportation changes hit USM next fall
By Sarah Tewksbury, Staff Writer During the 2016 summer, USM officials entered negotiations with Portland Metro to create a partnership between the university and the public transportation system called the Transit West expansion. In the fall of 2017 it was officially announced that USM would move towards an official business relationship with Metro once their…
Advising Advice: Leadership Lessons from a Veteran’s Perspective
By Camden Ege, Assistant Coordinator of USM’s Veterans Services Stepping foot on a college campus provides a variety of leadership opportunities for anyone. There are many different clubs and organizations, work-study positions and moments to shine. But leadership is also an ability that requires practice, and for many students this is their first opportunity. However,…