The long-awaited parking garage, with its 1,150 new spaces, is fully operational this semester. Aside from a few glitches in the garage’s layout and traffic signs, faculty, staff and students alike are responding with relief at a guaranteed parking spot on Bedford Street.
Why the Patriots will win the Super Bowl
I went to my first game in Foxboro on opening day in 1985. My beloved Patriots played the Green Bay Packers, and I was lucky enough to get down on the field with my father and meet some of the players. I remember being completely awe struck by the likes of Irving Fryar and Mosi Tatupu.
“Along Came Polly” is a washout
Universal’s new romantic comedy “Along Came Polly” starring Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston is not funny and hardly romantic. Its sub par acting and disappointing script make for a long ninety minutes.
In the movie, Rueben (Ben Stiller), a risk assessor for an insurance company, marries Lisa (Debra Messing), a real-estate saleswoman.
Staffer Speaks.
So the other day I was visiting my father and something didn’t seem quite right. He was quiet, inattentive and short-tempered. He had bags under his eyes and his skin was unusually pale. I took him out to dinner, just the two of us, to find out what was wrong.
Decision to change fee structure finalized
Members of a committee tasked with raising the Student Activity Fee (SAF) have expressed optimism with their plan after speaking with President Pattenaude last week. They have decided to index the fee to the inflation of the U.S. dollar. If all goes according to plan, the committee will bring the proposal to the senate for approval, and students will vote on the issue in March.
Health Beat
A Pap test or smear, is a screening that examines the cells of the cervix to detect abnormalities that could potentially lead to cancer. The test was named after Dr. Papanicolaou, who developed the test in 1940. Having a yearly Pap test has been shown to reduce the rates of cervical cancer by about 70 percent.
Punk band Billy Talent takes a unique approach
Once upon a time, music was original. Before the carbon-copy releases ushered in by MTV and radio conglomerates, there came the inspiration on which these popular sounds were based. With their new self-titled LP, Billy Talent harks back to those days by putting a new spin on punk rock music.
USM Footprint
Last summer I took my three-year old daughter strawberry picking at a nearby farm. It was a hot day and I didn’t think she’d last more than a half hour. She did. Looking at her fruit-smeared face, the checkout people joked that they should have weighed her before and after, and added the difference to our bill.
Size and impact of cuts unclear
Discussions are underway in Augusta to decide the fate of the University of Maine System’s current budget and annual state appropriation. Of the $34 million proposed in budget cuts for state agencies, the governor has earmarked $7 million of that to come from the University of Maine System.
USM Athletics Schedule, Results, Trivia, and Sports for the Layperson
Sports Schedule
Tuesday Jan. 27
Women’s Basketball vs. Plymouth State, 5:30 p.m.
Men’s Basketball vs. Plymouth State, 7:30 p.m.
(LIVE on WMPG 90.9 & 104.1FM and www.wmpg.org beginning at 7:15 p.m.)
Women’s Hockey vs. Bowdoin, 7 p.m.
Wednesday Jan.
Urgent News of the Past: 1967
“Urgent News of the Past” is a new column in the Free Press. Each week we will dig into our archives to bring you highlights from a different year. This week we feature news from 1967.
Down With Schlock and Awful
The President gave his State of the Union Address this past Tuesday. On most fronts he had only good things to say about the state of things in America. According to Bush, America has allies, the economy and employment rates are both strong and schools are improving thanks to his No Child Left Behind Act.
Briefly…
USM Action Plan
President Pattenaude busied himself responding to many questions and concerns from the faculty senate this past Friday after pitching his newest “USM Action Plan” entitled “Transforming USM.”
Included in the proposal are plans to implement new programs that could potentially include a BA in liberal studies, sports management and others.
Letters to the Editor
To the editor,
I have a question/comment for the free press –
I would expect a little more out of a college newspaper when it comes to opinions from both sides of the spectrum. The question of the week regarding the Mass. same sex marriage law lists 6 opinions.
You could win $10,000 in cash
This week saw a series of kick-off meetings for the third annual Student Business Plan Competition. The competition encourages students from all fields of study to design a feasible business plan with the idea of starting their own business. The competition is open to any team of at least two members with at least one student attending USM or Southern Maine Community College.
Crime on Campus
Dec. 28
USM Police found a car parked in the Sullivan Gym parking lot in Portland with a window smashed. Nothing was stolen from the car.
Dec. 30
A student reported a hit-and-run on their parked car in the Portland campus center’s parking lot. The car was parked and suffered a dent in a fender.
Question of the Week
Name: Mike Caggiano
Year: Senior
Major: Business
Answer: I was in Montreal and we ran into a dominatrix on the sidewalk and she got out a whip and started whipping a guy. Then she had a dry smoke container and she was whipping the guy and spraying it at the same time.
Jack Duffy
Women’s Basketball off to a great start.
The University of Southern Maine Women’s basketball team is off to another fast start holding a winning record of 5-1(prior to press time), and is currently ranked seventh in the nation. On December 6th, the Huskies defeated Eastern Connecticut, then ranked number one in the nation, 73-59 on the road in Willimantic, Conn.
Meet Joe Student
Where are you from?
I was born in Concord, MA, but I was raised in Sanford, ME.
What brought you to the area? What do you think of it?
My family moved here when I was four. I like Maine in the summer, but the winters could be a little shorter.
Why did you choose USM?
It’s close to home, has the major I wanted, and I could get in-state tuition.
Local dance show puts “The Nutcracker” over the top
When choreographer and 2002 USM graduate Brigitte Blose-Paulus danced in “The Nutcracker” during her years in Bangor’s Robinson Ballet Company, she and her fellow dancers would often liven up rehearsals by doing parodies of their parts. “People take [The Nutcracker] so seriously, and it just begs to be made fun of,” she said, while acknowledging that the elaborate ballet is the bread and butter of many dance companies.
Calander of events
December
Through Dec. 21
Portland Symphony Orchestra presents “The Magic of Christmas” at in Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle Street, Portland. Ticket prices range from $11 to $49. Call 842-0800 for times.
Through Dec. 24
Portland Stage Company presents “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens at 25A Forest Ave.
Letter from the Editor
My Grandfather sat in his recliner flicking through the channels as I approached. Raising his shaggy salt-and-pepper eyebrows he cracked his thin lips into a smile. “Sit down, sit down,” he urged with his soft raspy voice as I leaned over him for a kiss.
The Free Press is taking a break
We will return on January 26, 2004