Unfounded rumors have been circulating about the possibility of eliminating the media studies program from USM’s curriculum. These rumors began with an administrative question that morphed into an exploration of possibilities to strengthen the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), which houses both the communications department and the media studies program.
Bike lanes encourage enviro-friendly commute
Some members of the USM community have found an environmentally friendly alternative for travelling to and from the Portland campus: they’re riding bicycles.
Soccer team plays with deflated ball
The men’s soccer team played Plymouth State last Wednesday. The highlights of the game were violent outbursts that, if nothing else, indicated the USM team was breathing. A few punches were thrown and many penalties called. In the end though, even the brutality aspect seemed to have been taken over by Plymouth, leaving us losers on all fronts.
Women’s tennis defeats all odds
The lady Huskies were an underdog going into the Little East Conference tennis tournament on Saturday, Oct 12. Their regular season record was a mediocre five wins, six losses and Plymouth State and Rhode Island both appeared to be strong favorites.
Weekly sports update
Sports scores and schedule
Health Beat – Influenza is Serious!
Nearly every year “the flu” spreads to people of all ages, causing serious epidemics worldwide. An influenza-infected person is contagious from the day before symptoms start until about five days after they begin. That gives the disease six days to spread to anyone the infected person comes in contact with. Influenza can last for days – and sometimes weeks. The most common complaints are: fever, muscle aches, headache, cough, sore throat, fatigue and runny nose.
Meet Joe Student
Meet P.J. Obermeier, bio-science major and non-traditional USM student.
Skydiving with Sean
A couple dozen wild and crazy USM students, including myself, recently spent a Saturday jumping out of an airplane and slicing through the crisp autumn air at speeds of up to 120mph-before our parachutes opened up. Our death-defying fun was sponsored by the Southern Maine Outing Club.
Hong Kong action trash
The Hong Kong action film has been imitated so much in the past 10 years that the novelty of its beautiful choreography and stylish storytelling has now become clich?. Action filmmakers have found themselves in a creative rut after utilizing (and then exhausting) the techniques of John Woo, Ringo Lam and Woo-Ping Yuen; and must now find new ways to thrill audiences.
The Starving Artist quickly learns the art of chopsticks at Fuji
What happens when you are seated at a table and don’t know how to use any of the utensils? You quickly learn how to use what you get, whether it is the chopsticks provided or even your hands in a really quick emergency (although this is, of course, your last option in a crowded restaurant). What if you don’t know what anything on the menu is? That’s easy to solve: pick something with at least one word you can recognize, for example, chicken.
“After Hours” Faculty and Staff let loose on the dance floor
What makes a person interesting or unique? Is it that hidden talent that only comes out after hours, once the clock is punched? The talents of the faculty and staff came out during “After Hours,” A faculty art and talent show.
Employees throughout the university put away their suits and syllabi in return for jazz shoes and sequins.
Count me OUT
I have three lives: a mother, a student, and a lesbian. These three aspects do not smoothly intersect. In my family there were many bitten tongues when I announced that my daughter would be appearing in the Pride Parade as the Princess of Pride.
Letters to the editor…
Response to last week’s staffer editorial regarding fraternity rushes on campus.
Look out for Tom Brokaw
Halloween is almost here. I feel pretty good about it, like the holiday will hit pretty close to my heart, the hearts of our nation. Everyone is stricken with paranoia, and Bush has a neurotic obsession with the word evil. Why not then? Let’s have big Halloween bashes to celebrate all of this madness.
Letters from the Editor
I am going to go into that little curtained booth next week, and I am going to use that felt-tipped marker to complete the arrow for the candidate that I choose for the office in question. It is my civic duty and damned but do I feel accomplished when that zamboni-looking machine sucks up my ballot and the little old man manning it smiles, and says, “Thank you!”
In a world of viruses, do you practice safe computing?
USM’s network is part of a fiber-optic backbone that connects all seven University of Maine System campuses and satellite locations. The resident halls in Gorham, by way of University-owned fiber-optic cable, enjoy very high download speeds. The irony is that this very speed makes residents’ computers tempting to hackers. Though it is rare for any computer to be pinpointed, viruses are prolific.
Drug, alcohol abuse rates down on campus
So many times students are told by their friends, family, and community that all college students do is drink and party. Almost never is the public reminded of the fact that at least 20 percent of all college students never touches alcohol.
USM student runs for District 32 seat
Josh Dolby is not a believer in self-promotion. Instead, he is interested in people’s involvement in politics. He likes to hear what everybody has to say and he likes to read as much as he possibly can. Dolby is a candidate in District 32 for the Maine House of Representatives and a USM student. The district is the City of Portland, and he is running as a Green independent in the general election.
Who’s running for office, and how do we want to spend this money?
Election Day is creeping up as the candidates hustle to win votes. Are you informed about the candidates and the issues they’re willing to fight for? Don’t be in the dark on Nov. 5. Read on to find out who is who and what they plan to contribute to the state of Maine if elected.
Look for the Little Red Bus…
In January students who usually park on campus will have no choice but to seek alternatives due to the temporary shortage of spaces. The construction of the parking garage will take away 400 of the existing 584 spaces on the Bedford Street lot and the Marginal Way lot can hold up to 300 cars. Currently, it is estimated no more than 75 cars park at Marginal Way.
Bomb scare at LAC
Lewiston-Auburn College shut down last Wednesday after threatening phone calls were placed to the University. At 9 a.m., the first call made reference and said “you people support terrorists,” reported Bob Caswell, executive director, media & community relations.
WMPG Fall Begathon yields over $25,000
WMPG serves the USM and Greater Portland Community, Maine and the even the entire nation through the World Wide Web. As a community radio station, it thrives on listener support. The station depends on its on-air fundraiser for a quarter of its annual operating budget as well as portions coming from the student activity fee; underwriting and grants, said Tom Flynn, development director at WMPG.
The road to the Blaine House
Peter Cianchette’s experience as a businessman and how that can be translated into economic government is one of the key factors in his campaign for governor of Maine.
Chancellor suggests UMS, tech schools merge
University of Maine System Chancellor Joseph Westphal is percolating a plan that might combine Maine’s higher education systems into one board of trustees. If this were implemented, USM and Southern Maine Technical College (SMTC) would be governed under one board of trustees.