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Issue Date 10|29|19

The Captain’s Cupboard's Sixth Year and Counting

by Jason Rogers, BSW Intern

he Captain’s Cupboard will celebrate six years of operations next month. Located on Southern Maine Community College’s South Portland campus, the Captain’s Cupboard provides students access to food and other resources that assist them in meeting their basic needs. In 2013, students in the Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society partnered with SMCC faculty to open the Captain’s Cupboard. The opening of the Cupboard was a response to research that showed 31.5% of students at SMCC did not have reliable access to nutritious food. This number is consistent with findings on college campuses across the country. According to recent studies, between 30-50% of college students experience some level of food insecurity. Food insecurity is linked with chronic physical and mental health conditions, poor academic performance and increased financial aid debt amongst college students. The goal of the Captain’s Cup-

board is to eliminate food insecurity and support student success here at SMCC. This goal can only be achieved if students are made aware of the Cupboard’s existence and the services it provides. Since the Cupboard’s inception, volunteers and board members have consistently thought of ways to improve outreach to students while providing them with reliable access to nutritious food. These volunteers and board members change with the passing of each academic year, but the mission of the Cupboard continues to attract the involvement of new students. With these new volunteers come new ideas for future projects. Recently, several culinary students have started putting together bags of common ingredients found in the Cupboard, along with recipe cards. These bags will be distributed to several faculty members to give to students

State of the Debates

by Chris Hedgpeth

s we pass the fourth Democratic debate for the 2020 presidential election, the field is beginning to winnow. After starting with a 20-something candidate field in June, we’re approaching the fifth debate in November with only nine qualifying contenders (a few more may qualify before then). A month after that, the sixth debate will begin to have much stricter requirements. To qualify in December, candidates will need to poll at 4% in four national or early-state polls or 6% in two early-state polls and reach 200,000 unique donors by December 12th. The four early states (Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina) hold their primaries in February, setting the tone for the rest of the nation. Lots of changes have happened in the past few weeks. Investment banker and billionaire Tom Steyer, who began running in July, appeared in his first debate on October 15th. Steyer has spent six

times more on advertisements than all the other Democratic candidates combined, totalling about $26 million. This is about a quarter of the $100 million he expects to spend of his personal funds before the 2020 election is over. Less than 5% of Steyer’s campaign funding came from small donors, compared to Andrew Yang’s 68%, Bernie Sanders’ 58%, and Elizabeth Warren’s 53%. During a podcast interview airing on October 17th, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (not in the race) made some disparaging comments about U.S. Representative and Hawaii National Guard Major Tulsi Gabbard. Clinton suggested Gabbard was being groomed by Russia to interfere with the 2020 election, implying Rep. Gabbard would run on a third party ticket to spoil the election for Democrats. Tulsi fired back in a series of tweets, criticizing Clinton for her involvement in the war in Iraq, referring to Hillary as the “queen of warmongers”. Clinton was one of 29 Democratic senators (including

"Steyer has spent six times more on advertisements than all the other Democratic candidates combined..."

along with information about the Captain’s Cupboard. These bags are just one way that the Board hopes to increase awareness about the services the Cupboard provides. The Cupboard has also been planning to open a welcome center that will provide a place for students to drink a cup of coffee and study. Board members and past volunteers have worked tirelessly to secure funds to equip this space with a Keurig machine, and also hope to be able to offer pastries for a quick snack from time to time. The Captain’s Cupboard is also always looking for new ways to reduce food waste on campus and in the community. Volunteers and board members have worked to continue the cupboard’s tradition of food recovery by offering leftover meals that are prepared weekly by culinary arts stu-

dents. The cupboard has also partnered with local businesses to offer day old bagels and bread, and is planning to expand food recovery to the dining hall. In addition, all food that is no longer safe for the Cupboard to distribute is composted through Garbage to Garden. Garbage to Garden in turn supplies compost to farmers and gardeners throughout Maine. With all the new projects the volunteers have been working on, the focus of the Captain’s Cupboard remains the same as it did when the doors first opened in 2013: to work hard to ameliorate food insecurity in the SMCC community. The Captain’s Cupboard is located in the Captain’s House at 126 McKernan Drive, South Portland, Maine. The Cupboard has recently increased hours on Tuesdays to be open until 3:00 pm. Please visit our Instagram and Facebook pages for frequent updates @captainscupboard.

Joe Biden) to vote for the authorization of military force in Iraq in 2003. Gabbard announced on October 25th that she will not seek another term in Congress, though she is continuing her presidential campaign. The Iowa Democratic Party is holding a massive Liberty and Justice Celebration on November 1st in Des Moines. A few hours prior to this event, candidate Andrew Yang is holding his own “Yangapalooza”, featuring a live perfor-

mance from Weezer and former Third Eye Blind guitarist Kevin Cadogan. Opening the event is Kyle Christensen, a musician who was recently forced to sell his musical equipment to pay for his mother’s cancer treatment. Kyle was chosen as one of the recipients of Yang’s Freedom Dividend UBI pilot program, where he will receive $1000 a month for the next year to improve his quality of continued on page 6

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRISTINA LEBEL

SMCC 2019 Halloween Dance

by Celina Simmons

MCC students gathered to celebrate this year's spooky season at the 2019 Halloween Dance. Since last year's dance, Activities Committee got a new DJ and photobooth. In the top image: Alissa Ford and Mary-Ellen White, the latest addition to the Care Bears, working the sign-in table. Bottom image from left to right: Sarah Maxsimic, Wadad Ramy, and Hunter, looking like pretty kitties. (sorry Hunter, we never caught your last name) PHOTO COURTESY OF JADE DENSMORE

Seeding a Symbol of Suffrage at SMCC

Daffodil Tribute by Celina Simmons

Managing Editor Celina Simmons Art Director Morgan Dyer Copy Editor Chris Hedgpeth Webmaster Molly Pooler Production Manager Michelle Kapschull Graphic Designers Timothy Randall Madeline Rheaume Celina Simmons Illustrators Dan Elliott Chris Hedgpeth Arden Goodwin Celina Simmons Contributing Writers Jessilyn Rich Arden Goodwin Lauren Ruby James Little Chris Hedgpeth Daniel Elliott Jason Rogers Kai Remedis Tori Penney Photgraphers James Little Christina LeBel Lauren Ruby Jade Densmore Herbert Adams CONTACT US

s a symbol of new beginnings, the daffodil represents one of the biggest new beginnings Maine's history has seen. Maine suffragists adopted this flower as their own symbol over 100 years ago and on November 5th, 1919, the state of Maine became the 19th state to ratify the 19th Amendment. In homage to this history, the Maine Suffrage Centennial Collaborative (MSCC) reached out to SMCC with a blossoming opportunity. This group, built of diverse organizations, is asking us and many volunteers across the state to plant daffodils this November in commemoration as part of their “Daffodil Tribute.” Members of the Student Senate will be planting the bulbs on Campus within the following weeks. If you would like more information on how to get involved, feel free to reach out to me at celinamsimmons@smccme.edu. Getting women the right to vote was one of the most successful political moments in history. Across the country, the movement consisted of parades, publicity stunts, and progressively became so drastic to the extent of hunger strikes leading to cruel force-feed-

ings. The lengths to which these activists went created martyrs out of suffragists. In the state of Maine, suffragists dealt with years of defeat against the all-male legislature at the time. But it wasn’t only men who were against this, women were as well. The anti-suffragists adopted the rose to be the symbol of their fight against this movement. In a Portland newspaper in 1915, a poem was published titled “The Jonquil and the Rose” - jonquil being used as another word for a daffodil. This was written by an anti-suffragists essentially talking down to the movement and, in response, a suffragist leader named Florence Brooks Whitehouse sent in her own “The Jonquil and the Rose (A Reply).” Conveniently enough, Florence Brooks Whitehouse’s granddaughter, Anne Gass plays a major role as part of the MSCC. She is the author of a book called “Voting Down the Rose”, which is a direct quote from her grandmother’s response poem. The book thoroughly encapsulates her grandmother’s efforts in the suffrage movement where she was considered a “radical” for being a part of picketing in front of the White House. For more information on the MSCC’s Daffodil Tribute, you can visit their website at www.mainesuffragecentennial.org.

The lengths to which these activists went created martyrs out of suffragists.

Congratulations! You are officially more than 50% of the way through this semester. Now’s a good time to both prep for coming challenges AND celebrate success. We like to think a puzzle helps you settle in and warm up that brain to do well!

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of the boxes directly below it. When you’re done, you’ll have a quote

mbeacon@smccme.edu @thebeacon.smcc @thesmccbeacon @smccbeacon www.thesmccbeacon.com 2 lighting our community | the smcc beacon

*This is a fallen letter puzzle. Each letter in a column “falls” into one about learning from blues legend B.B. King!

Solutions to last issue’s word search

Faculty Spotlight

Ashley Pomelow by Jessilyn Rich

hat is your position at the college? Financial Aid Counselor

What part of your job do you find most challenging? “Sometimes we need to ask students to provide additional information to our office after their FAFSA application has been filed. As frustrating as this can be at times, we try to make the financial aid application process as easy as possible for students. “ What is your favorite part of the job? “Meeting our students, and helping students with affording their education. From filing your FAFSA application to understanding credit, there are resources we can provide you with to support you along the way.” What is the best advice you can give for student success in college? “File your FAFSA early (by May 1st!), and ask lots of questions if you have them. Look for scholarship opportunities, and sign up for iGrad to learn about developing long-term financial health.” What are a couple things on your bucket list, that you hope to do in the future? “Ride in a hot air balloon, hike all of the 4000’ mountains in Maine, travel to the west coast.”

Ashley Pomelow posing for selfie time

What is something we would never guess about you? “I love visiting Baxter State Park, I play the piano, and I’m a huge fan of water parks and rollercoasters.” Is there anything else you would like students to know about you? "The financial aid office is here to help, and you don’t need an appointment to stop by and see us. If you have questions (or even if you don’t), give us a call, send us an email or stop by and say hi. We’re located in the Campus Center on the South Portland campus, our phone number is (207) 741-5518, and our email address is finaid@smccme.edu."

Metal Arts Class and a Last Minute Save

by James Little

n the beginning of this fall semester, the metal arts class ran into a dilemma. The professor who was scheduled to instruct the course had a situation which caused her to drop out by the time four of our classes had passed. This is when the head of the Fine Arts Department and the Dean were willing to help the students get into another class if they were not able to find another professor. That would have been okay for the non-veteran students, but it was a problem for the vets for they must have their classes verified and certified by the VA. The head of the Fine Arts Department asked us to give him until the next Monday for him to hire a new professor, and with luck he found Matthew Burke, who just happened to move into the area. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the head of the Fine Arts Depart-

Professor Burke advising a student

Professor Burke capturing his student's work ment and the Dean, we now can have the metal arts class this semester. Professor Burke has us up to date on our projects and how to use the equipment in the shop. Here is some more information on Professor Burke as cited from USM's profile page: “Matthew Burke lives in Topsham, Maine with his wife, Melissa, and son, Angus, and is grateful for the many wonderful people in his life. He teaches sculpture, drawing, woodworking, metalworking and themes in art and ecology. His teaching and studio practice revolve around creative engagement with habitat and community. Before joining the faculty [at Southern Maine Community College], he devel-

oped the Art and Ecology program at the University of Kansas that enabled students to study environmental issues and topics through combined creative practice and critical study. While at KU, he held a dual appointment in Visual Art and Environmental Studies and he also served as department Chair. His teaching is deeply influenced by the work of Rudolf Steiner and the Waldorf school movement. He is a member of the New Perennial Project, a creative ecology collective associated with The Land Institute in Salina, Kansas. Matt’s creative works span a range of materials and interests. Through constructed objects, outdoor installations, and interactive works, he seeks to direct attention to the inherent interconnectedness among the world. Recent projects include, The Sun Hive Project, a collaborative effort with his Sustainable Art class that furnished beehives for local Kansas farmers; and the Neighborhood Pocket Libraries Project, which utilized

reclaimed lumber to produce small libraries sited in residential neighborhoods. In June 2017, he exhibited "When We Hear Water," at the Salina Art Center, which focused on the expansive sound of falling water. Matt received his B.A. from Colby College and his M.F.A. in Sculpture from Queens College, C.U.N.Y. He has had numerous solo and group shows including, PS1 MoMA in Queens, NY, the Brooklyn Museum of Art in NY, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, among others. His work is in several museums and collections including, the Museum of Modern Art Library, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and the Cleveland Institute of Art Library.” https://usm.maine.edu/ art/matthew-burke

Professor Matthew Burke, himself Metal Arts students' projects

PHOTO COURTESY OF JAMES LITTLE

SMCC Job Fair

by Lauren Ruby

ore than 30 employers gathered in the Campus Center on October 24 to offer jobs for SMCC students at the annual Job Fair. There were companies present for each major, from nursing and healthcare to engineering and technology. For students who weren't able to make it, Margaret Brownlee, in Career Services, is always an email away, (mbrownlee@smccme.edu) to answer any questions and provide information for available job resources. PHOTO COURTESY OF LAUREN RUBY

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Tech Talk; From the Archives Understanding RFID

by Ratha Thiv

hat exactly is RFID and do you need RFID blocking technology? RFID or Radio-Frequency Identification is a method of reading and capturing information through radio waves. RFID is made up of two components: a tag and a reader. The tags themselves are also made up of two components: a microchip and an antenna. The microchip stores and processes the information and the antenna receives and transmit a signal. RFID works just like barcodes or magnetic strips; they provide a unique identifier for their objects. A user would need to have the item scanned to obtain the information hidden inside either the barcode, magnetic strip or RFID tag. Unlike a barcode or magnetic strip that needs to be close to their readers, RFID tags can be read from further distances. RFID was initially used for inventory tracking but evolved into different sorts of uses such as passports, IDs, credit cards and employee badges. When employees need to scan a badge to enter a door, their keycard uses RFID technology. The RFID tag is contained inside the plastic of the employee’s ID. When the ID is scanned, it sends information about the employee’s badge number to the reader. This allows the employee access into doors or restricts them from entering other doors.

RFID blocking technology has also grown to become popular. Wallets and sleeves are among one of the top items that are now being sold in the market that offers blocking of a RFID reader. Backpacks are also with the RFID blocking trends. A quick Google search for an RFID blocking wallet range anywhere from less than ten dollars to over two hundred dollars. The price range depends on the type of material used to make the wallets. The same applies to backpacks that offer RFID blocking technology. Not all RFID blocking items are the same though. Some might work better than others at blocking readers. The first generation of RFID technology was more prone to RFID skimming due to the lack of security when being read from an RFID reader. Videos online are very popular in showcasing people getting their information stolen from an RFID skimmer from far away. Some readers work in close proximity or up to twenty feet away. These types of videos are intended to scare majority of the public to start purchasing these RFID blocking items. With the newest generation of RFID technology, it is now harder for an attacker to skim information than before. An attacker would have a better chance and spend less time purchasing information through the dark web. Skimming someone’s credit card would take more time due to the attacker having to scan nearby for anyone with an RFID credit card. The

PHOTO COURTESY OF PROF. HERBERT ADAMS

readers are also bulky so it would make them easy to spot in a crowd of people. RFID blocking items do their jobs, but is it necessary to have? Just like most situations, it all depends on the user. Some might not care at all about it and be on

What Not to Ask a Vet

by James Little

here are a lot of veterans who attend Southern Maine Community College. Some have been to war and some have not. I cannot answer for the ones who have not, but I do know what not to ask any veteran. I am not just going by the way I feel, I am sharing these questions from my fellow vets. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Have you ever killed anybody? What is it like to shoot someone? Did you lose anybody? Do you know any of any soldiers who committed suicide? Have you been around anybody who was blown up by an IED? What is it like to shoot at people or to be shot at? Do you love you country? Do you hate Muslims? Do you ever dream of being back

there or do you have flashbacks? 10. Do you ever want to kill yourself? 11. What is it like over there? They would not understand so why bother to explain. 12. Do you have PTSD? 13. Have you ever shot someone? 14. Do you know this person or that person he is in the Army? The Army is a very large and they do not have a clue what the lifestyle is like. 15. Are you happy to be home? 16. Are video games (e.g. Call of Duty) like war? 17. Were you captured or tortured? Did you interrogate or torture an enemy? We understand that it is most of the time just plain curiosity for most people, yet some think it is funny to see if they can get a reaction good or bad out of the vet or for them to share their feelings. If we want to share, we will bring the topics up ourselves. For many, they are painful.

PHOTO ON LEFT : Standing, SMCC Student David Lane and Lydia Hollen. Seated, L to R: Dr.Donald Soctomah, Attorney Mary Bonauto, Attorney Marshall Tinkle, and author Anne Gass. (Not in photo: SMCC student volunteer Lariska Bengehya)

SMCC HELPS KICK OFF MAINE's 200th SMCC students and faculty flew the flag Monday,October 21, 2019, at Portland's First Parish Church in special ceremonies celebrating the 200th anniversary of the writing of the Maine State Constitution which was written in the same church in 1819, as a prelude to statehood in 1820. Students from Prof. Adams' POLS 115 class served as ushers, gathered and classified questions from the audience, and spent time interviewing members of the special panel addressing, "What Are Rights Worth?" Panel experts included Dr.Donald Soctomah who is the Passamaquoddy Tribal historian, author Anne Gass, Attorney Marshall Tinkle, and Attorney Mary Bonato. Marshall Tinkle is the author of "The Maine Constitution,” published

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their way with their lives. Some might just buy those items to be on the safe side and protect themselves from readers. Ratha Thiv was a student in Howard Burpee’s CMIT 295 Senior Seminar in the spring of 2018

by Oxford University Press and Anne Gass is the author of "Voting Down The Rose,” the story of how Maine women won the right to vote in 1920, and is the great-granddaughter of Maine Suffragette leader Florence Brooks Whitehouse. Attorney Mary Bonauto argued the 2015 case before the US Supreme Court that found same-sex marriage to be Constitutional. "The 1819 Maine Constitution guaranteed more rights than even the US Bill of Rights " said Prof. Herb Adams, who organized and moderated the event. "Every right is precious, and their meaning is still changing today." The SMCC Student Senate is planning campus events to explore the meaning of Maine statehood in 2020.

10 Ways To Cope With Stress

by Lauren Ruby

Hello! This week, here are some activities to do when the stress is too much.

Unclutter your life This can be taken literally or metaphorically. Take some time to clean your room, organize your desk or closet, and dust/ clean any surfaces. Journaling is a great

way to declutter your thoughts and figure out any feelings you can’t place. Prioritize events that you plan to attend. You can do this along with other things. Smile Smiling makes you feel happier and can spread positivity to others you encounter every day. It can

also improve mental health. Be prepared for rain Check the weather before heading out for the day. Better to be prepared for any weather than caught in a downpour and soaked. Tickle a baby Before tickling the baby, you might want to ask the parent or guardian's permission first before proceeding with the tickling. Pet a friendly dog/cat To make sure the pet is actually friendly, ask the owner for permission to pet first. Don't know all the answers There is stress added when you feel like you have to know all the correct answers. It’s

okay if you don’t know everything; that’s why school is here for learning, right? ;) Look for a silver lining It can be easier to wallow in everything that goes wrong. Thinking of something positive that has happened or is going to happen in the day. If you can’t think of anything, plan something and make it happen. Say something nice to someone Not only will you feel good about complimenting others, but they will feel good also . Teach a kid to fly a kite Walk in the rain Probably should be done in a lighter drizzle than a heavy downpour. The fresh, clean air from when it just rained can help clear “stress brain”.

Digital Organizational Tips

by Arden Goodwin

large majority of our class work is done in the digital realm, so having a system for organizing your files and your desktop environment can make a huge difference in productivity. Here are some tips to help get rid of file clutter and make finding and saving assignments, resumes, and other projects easier.

Places that are said to be Haunted

by James Little

t is here where I remember that story from when I was a young teen that made me want to know more about places that people thought were haunted or people said they had seen a ghost. When I was living in Virginia Beach in 1967, there was a story on the news about an apartment complex in Norfolk Va. The wife of an enlisted naval officer was being treated for a nervous condition at the Portsmouth Naval Hospital that she said was brought about due to a poltergeist in her apartment in the Robin Hood complex in Norfolk Virginia. The woman reported that she had experienced several unexplained events in her apartment - from hearing the sounds of heavy footsteps going up and down the stairs, to a cuckoo clock hanging on the wall mysteriously flying across the room, to a young child being thrown from her bed. A Catholic Priest was called in to perform an exorcism, yet the impish ghost had apparently returned according to the woman’s family, making her and her neighbors nervous. (1967 The Virginia Pilot) So here in Maine, I decided to take a visit to the state prison in Thomaston Maine. It was built in 1824, the people sent there were males and females who would serve out their life sentences doing hard labor. Some of the prisoners had short sentences of hard labor, and there was a section that was for mentally ill people as well. For years there have been reports of people seeing guards and prisoners alike at the old prison site. Guards have also made statements of feeling that someone was watching them, even though there was no-one around. One of the spookiest feelings that a person could experience is to feel that they have seen people who

are no longer alive, and at the new state prison, they feel it is due to old equipment that was moved from the old Thomaston Prison and is used at the new state prison. (Hauntedrooms.com) (copyright 2019 Haunted Rooms America) When we hear of ghost stories it seems that every town has one, yet there is no better place to hear them then sitting around a campfire or walking down a foggy road. Here in New England we have a lot of these, like in Isles Shore, New Hampshire, where people have reported seeing the spirits of the victims of the Smutty Nose Murders of 1873 walking around the rocky island. Another area that people have reported seeing ghosts is around Maren Rock. This is a place where the one surviving victim hid to save her life, while two other women were strangled.

Getting rid of duplicate files You would be surprised by how much space duplicate files takes up. Not only do they make your files hard to sift through, they also take up space on your hard drive. Going through the depths of your computer to catch them all can be a lengthy process, so using an app like Duplicate Detective can aid you in your hunt.

College Senior year Junior year Sophomore year Freshman year BIO 121 CSE 241 ENG 111 MTH 105 ANTH 275

Backup your computer Everyone’s hard drive will fail at some point in their lives. It is important to have a plan for when this happens so that you don’t lose important or personal information. If you have an external USB hard drive, you can back up to that drive using your computer’s backup features. On Windows 10 and 8, use File History. On Windows 7, use Windows Backup. On Macs, use Time Machine. You can also back up your files to Google’s Cloud Storage Service, though it usually only offers a few gigabytes of space.

Create document folders for years and classes Creating folders for semesters Save all of your passwords and the It’s better to compile all your passwords to classes you various sites on a spreadsheet you take can make can refer back to if you forget work a lot a login. If you’re not comeasier to find. fortable with your passwords Personal and being accessible from your documiscellaneous files ILLUSTRATED BY ARDEN GOODWIN ments or Google documents, can be organized you can write them down and keep the whichever way is preferable.To get the physical copy in a safe place or your file cabmost out of your documents folder, try to inet. Not remembering your passwords can have an organizational chart like this: make it hard to cancel subscriptions, or access important information when you need it.

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From the Desk of the Managing Editor

by Celina Simmons

gnorance is bliss when the world outside you doesn’t exist. This seems to be how the majority of people have been living their day-to-day lives. Wake up, go to work, go home, turn on the news, ignore the hysteria, go to bed, and repeat. I’ll admit it- I fall into this pattern myself sometimes. It’s disheartening to hear all that is going wrong in the world, especially when, often times, there is just as much going wrong in your personal life. When I hear about the migrant children torn away from their parents’ arms just to be thrown into filthy cages until God knows when, I ask myself what I can do and my mind draws blanks. So, I turned to Google. The Women’s Refugee Commission is working to hold the government accountable for these immoral policies and to make sure these children and their families will be treated “humanely and fairly.” On

their website, they have suggestions on how YOU can help such as educating people around you, as well as yourself, on what exactly is happening and where the legality of all this is being crossed. One suggestion that I would like to see SMCC take part in is donating goods. “The government facilities that hold unaccompanied children are generally not allowed to accept donated goods. However, private migrant shelters need supplies.” I think it’s more than doable to create some sort of drive where students can drop off old stuffed animals, toys, books, clothes, or even nice blankets that we can send to those shelters. Another option is always to call your local government reps. You can find your local, state, or national representatives by going to www.congress.gov/members. Tell them about how you feel in regards to this humanitarian crisis and

include key points that don’t sit right with you. Hold them accountable. Support migrant families in the area!! I cannot stress this one enough. These families are exhausted after having gone through seemingly endless journeys to feel safe again. Offer friendship and support in their new environment. Show them that this is a new beginning and we are happy that they’ve come so far. Whether you are for or against refugees coming to our country, this has become a matter of immoral political greed. It’s not a funding issue, it’s a complete violation of people’s God-given human rights and you don’t need to believe in God to see that. Children are in danger at the hands of YOUR government, so instead of falling back into that day-to-day do nothing but feel sorry mentality, find ways you can help. For more infor-

mation, please visit www.womensrefugeecommission.org and of course, Google is only a few clicks away.

ILLUSTRATION BY CELINA SIMMONS

Remember We Must Die

by Celina Simmons

very individual experiences life in a different way than the next, but what every person will experience all the same is death. Anthony Breukner and John Fischer, two notable philosophers, explain why and how death can be a bad thing in their article “Why Is Death Bad?” I would like to argue against this claim. Of course, there are instances where people’s lives are ended unexpectedly or brutally, but in cases where a person has lived a fulfilling (or even somewhat fulfilling life), death is not necessarily a bad thing. Instead of being indifferent towards it, one should accept death as simply a natural process in our human lives. For the sake of argument, we will assume God, or a higher power, does not exist. In saying one does, we assume there is life after death. An eternity in hell filled with torture would be a legitimate reason to claim death as bad. So we assume there is no life after death for the lack of evidence to that claim. But if there is no life after death, then what happens when we pass away? This stage we go through when we die is known as an experiential blank. An experiential blank is a period of time where you experience nothing at all. You are nonexistent for the most part. We go through an experiential blank before we are born and after we die. Yet people say death is bad and prenatal existence is not - even though both are just a blank in your life. People look forward to their “future experienced goods” and are indifferent to “past experienced goods” as Fischer

and Breukner state, and they say that death will take away their “future experienced goods”. After a person dies, they don't experience anything at all. So the deprivation of said future experiences is irrelevant to somebody once they die. This should not phase them because they can’t be aware of what they are missing and never will be. In Fischer and Breuker’s article, death is compared to a friend betraying you behind your back, but you never finding out. I don't agree with this analogy because it assumes that death is betraying you. Each living thing on this earth that has ever been or ever will be is going to die. Death is not a force out to get you - it is simply natural. The minute you are born, you are destined to die, so the fact of the matter should not be something to run away from. If you are aware that something bad is going to happen to you in the future, you will spend all of your time dreading it until the day it actually happens. Instead of seeing death as a bad thing and dreading its happening, it should be accepted as a neutral occurrence we all understand is bound to happen. In conclusion, death is going to happen whether we want it or not. Instead of being uneasy towards it, we should accept it as just another part of life. It may prevent us from future experiences but if we have no awareness after death, one can be content with this. We are not being betrayed or abused by the happening of death, we are simply taking part in life.

ILLUSTRATION BY MORGAN DYER

State of the Debates

continued from page 1

life. Kyle will be playing a new guitar he purchased using the Freedom Dividend. Joining the ranks of former Democratic candidates on October 24th was Congressman Tim Ryan. Prior to Rep. Ryan’s departure, Bill De Blasio, Kirsten Gillibrand, Seth Moulton, Jay Inslee, John Hickenlooper, Mike Gravel, and Eric Swalwell have all dropped out of the race. As the Democratic National Commit6 lighting our community | the smcc beacon

tee tightens its requirements to qualify for future debates, this list will grow significantly in the next few months. December’s sixth debate marks the halfway point in a series of twelve, ending in April of 2020, when the DNC will choose who will run against Donald Trump next November. ILLUSTRATED BY DAN ELLIOTT

The Morality and Intelligence of UBI

by Chris Hedgpeth

ifty-one years ago, in New York City, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave a speech about two Americas - one wealthily supplied with everything it needs to flourish, and one with a “daily ugliness about it that transforms the buoyancy of hope into the fatigue of despair.” King knew his fight for civil rights and equality could not proceed if Americans were so economically divided. In his last years, MLK fought for a guaranteed annual income that would use America’s great wealth to eliminate poverty and push forward his goal of civil equality. King was assassinated one month after his speech in New York, but an unlikely ally carried his torch in the following years. Richard Nixon’s proposed Family Assistance Plan guaranteed American households $500 for each adult and $300 for each child every year in the form of a tax rebate. That was in 1970 dollars. Today, that’s equivalent to about $3,300 per adult and about $2000 per child annually. Two versions of Nixon’s FAP were passed by the House of Representatives, in 1970 and 1971, but both times they were killed by the Senate. Even Nixon’s Democratic opponent in the 1972 presidential race, George McGovern, proposed a $1000 per year guaranteed income for every American (about $6000 per year by today’s standards). And then guaranteed income seemed to go off the political radar for almost fifty years. Until now. Andrew Yang, founder of the non-profit Venture for America, is running for president of the U.S. on a platform centered around giving every American adult $1000 a month in unconditional cash. Yang calls this universal basic income (UBI) the “Freedom Dividend”. By his logic, companies have profited from our loss of jobs via automation and the American people deserve a piece of that profit. Let’s do the math here. $1000 times 12 months times 233 million eligible adults equals $2.8 trillion dollars a year. To put this in perspective, that’s about 2.5% of Americans’ collective $113 trillion in net worth. This is a huge cost. How would we pay for it? The UBI would save us a significant amount of money by taking the place of certain existing social welfare programs, like food stamps and SSI. Keep in mind that these programs would continue to exist optionally for people who prefer them to the Freedom Dividend. Other programs, such as Social Security,

ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS HEDGEPATH

SSDI, housing assistance, and VA disability would not be affected. Americans receiving the benefits from those programs would get them on top of the $1000 a month. With universally increased financial stability, we’d see a drop in homelessness and property crime. Combined with a public insurance option and prescription drug price control, the UBI could save us over $100 billion in healthcare costs annually. With an extra $1000 a month, Americans could make healthier food choices. People who live in food deserts could afford transportation to grocery stores stocked with fresh produce. We could all afford a gym membership, or the bike we’ve been meaning to buy, or even an electric car! Air quality is a serious health concern for people living in large cities, and we could improve it considerably if enough of us switched over to electric vehicles. An overhaul to our tax system, including a 10% Value Added Tax (VAT), along with the economic growth created by giving Americans an extra $2.8 trillion in buying power, would recover a

considerable amount of the cost. After all the projected savings, it would conservatively cost us about $320 billion a year to implement the Freedom Dividend. That’s less than half of the 2019 Department of Defense budget. So why would we want to spend $320 billion a year just to put money in people’s hands? Poverty and debt are terrible for our psychological health. In the words of MLK, “Personal conflicts between husband, wife and children will diminish when the unjust measurement of human worth on a scale of dollars is eliminated.” It makes sense that people would stop fighting about money if they had some financial security. People would be less dependent on abusive partners and employers as they become more financially secure. Workers would have better bargaining power with a guaranteed income. A study by Anandi Mani et al. from 2013 even shows a measurable drop in cognitive ability when people worry about money, equating to about a 13 point reduction in IQ. Financial stress increases our chances of making bad decisions. The extra $1000 a month would also

boost our national economy by more than a trillion dollars every year. Local businesses would grow and create more jobs. Small business start-ups would be more likely to succeed. Many people could afford to quit their second or third jobs. People who care for family members at home would finally receive some compensation for the hard work they do. Americans would have more opportunities to pay off debt, and to save money. Dr. King decried wealth inequality in the 20th century. Five decades later, we have done very little to remedy the problem. We’re empirically less financially equal now than in the 1960s. The Gini index that measures wealth inequality on a scale from 0 to 1 is fast approaching 0.5 in America. Perhaps it’s time to try a universal basic income. As Dr. King said in his final book, Where Do We Go From Here, “If democracy is to have breadth of meaning, it is necessary to adjust this inequity. It is not only moral, but it is also intelligent.”

ILLUSTRATED BY DAN ELLIOTT

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RETRO-MOVIE REVIEW

KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE by Dan Elliott

'll admit it: I'm pretty old. I come from a bygone era; one where physical media came in cartridges, modern conveniences like Netflix and the internet were still seemingly light years away, and Amazon was simply just a rainforest that hadn't been equal parts clear-cut and burned. I remember when you would rent a movie on a Friday, and if you didn't have it back by Monday, there would be hell to pay. Nevertheless, believe me when I say that I've been around the block when it comes to cinematic oddities, and with Halloween coming along the horizon, I thought I would impart to you a horror gem of the 1980s—one that didn't in-

volve hockey masks, machetes, fedoras or the ever-chic steak knives in the glove. Enter Killer Klowns From Outer Space: a contender for the cheesiest B-horror movie to emerge from the era of slasher horror films. Part teen exploitation film, part science fiction horror, part comedy—the movie could be considered a period piece of the 1980s. Starring a cast that wasn't recognizable even during the era that spawned it, it was the first (and last) feature film from the Chiodo Brothers, who were best known for their claymation work on Large Marge from the movie Pee-wee's Big Adventure, as well as doing some of the puppet work on Team America: World Police. My personal recollection of the movie predominantly revolved around its use of offensive color palettes consisting of putrid

neon colors, as well as some of the most insane practical effects I've seen in a lucid state, most of which looked like they were robbed from the set of Beetlejuice the closer you get to the movie's bizarre climax. The plot of the movie loosely follows the title, with a contingent of extraterrestrials who resemble an off-color blend of Bozo the Clown and John Leguizamo's character from Spawn. They prey upon the residents of the nondescript town of Crescent Cove: Sweater-enthusiast and all-around nice guy Mike Tobacco, his main squeeze Debbie Stone, the straight-edge rookie cop Dave, and his foul-mouthed partner Curtis Mooney, played by veteran actor John Vernon (I say this only because he's the only actor I've honestly ever been able to remember from this movie). The film also features what is arguably the most zany antagonists in any horror movie, even including post-Dream Warriors Freddy Krueger. In between turning people into mounds of pink cotton-candy, the Klowns can be seen getting into boxing fights with biker gangs, picking up toiletries at the local pharmacy, and even volunteering to deliver pizzas. I often consider this movie taking place in the same cinematic universe as the Breaking Bad series, as only the mass amounts of crystal methamphetamine manufactured in the show could explain how a human being could conceive a movie revolving around aliens that look like rotting circus performers. This movie cannot make up its mind whether it wants to be a comedy or a horror film, and quite frankly that's completely fine with me. Even when someone bites it to the Klowns, the deaths are so ridiculously over the top that you almost feel ashamed to laugh at them—almost. Just about every clown-related trope you could think of was jammed into the movie: heat-seeking pop-

corn guns, comically-tiny tricycles, animate balloon animals, clown cars that spew forth an obscene amount of passengers, pies filled with sulfuric acid, water-squirting flowers, and even shadow puppets that can consume a cadre of unsuspecting pedestrians. Perhaps the overall theme of the movie reflects this nonchalant nature of Killer Klowns—the residents of Crescent Cove are so cookie-cutteringly ignorant and devoid of life that the movie blurs the lines between cold-blooded murder and justifiable homicide. The Klowns are the true stars of the film. Living in a time where the film industry is over-reliant on computer-generated wizardry, it is easy to overlook the simple pleasures we can get out of rubber suits and animatronic masks. Though they only speak unintelligible gibberish, the viewer can pretty much understand them through their pantomime and slapstick comedy. I do have to give credit to this film for being the first to pioneer the nose-shot, a fatal weakness of the intergalactic interlopers, including the film’s climactic fight involving Dave and the monstrous creature known as Klownzilla. In a sea of horror films that emphasize the cliché of headshots (I'm looking at you, zombie genre), it’s nice to see the wheel being re-invented. If you're not a fan of clowns, this movie probably won't do you any favors. Or maybe perhaps its antiquated practical effects and hilariously-corny dialog might help in breaking the grip coulrophobia (the fear of clowns) has on you. Either way, Killer Klowns From Outer Space has a special blend of comedy, science fiction, and horror that, despite its rather mundane plot structure, gives it something of a distinction from its peers.

A Show In The Campus Center

by Arden Goodwin

f you’ve been to the Campus Center recently, you may have noticed a show of artwork done by none other than one of Southern Maine Community College’s self-made artists. Sarah Chadwick, on her second year of college here at SMCC, completed the concentration pieces displayed over the last summer as an independent study. She was inspired by the landscapes and mastering the visual dynamics in each drawing and painting, and admires Vincent Van Gogh in his ability to represent a scene in an appealing way. Her goal is to achieve the same compositional balance as Van Gogh’s work in her own developed style. Chadwick says, “Maine is a beauti-

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ful state and I have a wonderful opportunity to live on the coast. There are countless breathtaking scenes to choose from, and I wanted to develop my skills with something I haven’t done before.” Sarah has decided to continue her education at the University of Southern Maine with a major in Business and minor in Art, bringing a unique perspective to the business world. “I have been doing art my whole life, it has always been a passion of mine. I’ve been able to learn so much from SMCC with Charles Ott over the last three drawing classes.” If you stop by the Campus Center, make sure to visit the upstairs learning commons to see Sarah Chadwick’s artwork and artist’s statement to support art in our college’s community!

The Secret Keeper of the Sea Part 3

by Jessilyn Rich

y the time golden rays began to crest the horizon I was the only one left on the docks. The crowds had trickled off, some returning to sleeping children nestled in their beds, completely unaware of the terror that floated on the crests of the waves; others returned to the warmth of their own homes and beds. The Fishermen had returned in clothing caked in ash, faces tinted with the remanence of smoke and regrets. No one spoke as boats were tied back in their slips, heads hung in defeat as they made the slow walk off the docks and into the streets of the village. One by one they had returned and disappeared into the darkness. I was the only one left on the docks by the time the harbormaster and his crew returned, each one looking exhausted to their cores. The harbormaster was the last one to come down, and spotted me sitting on the planks, feet dangling over the edge above

the water. I was frozen from the chill of the night, but fear and desperation had kept me from returning home. He sat down next to me on the edge without a word, the silence hung heavier than the mist of the dawn on the shore. His face like the rest was black from the smoke. The aroma of the smoke and engine fumes was thick on his clothing. I looked at his hands, scraped and dirty. His nails stained black from the nights work. I could see his face changing as his eyes scanned the horizon, smoke still hung above the morning waves. “ We were too late, Ellie” His words were so soft, I questioned for a moment if I had heard them at all. A tear carved a streak down his dirty cheek, and I knew, I really had heard what he said. It really was happening again, this was real, the night before hadn’t been some horrible dream. The morning sun, brought with it the horrors of reality. There is no horror like awakening to smoke haunting an empty harbor, no horror worse except sitting helplessly and watching it burn the night before.

The smells of a charred hull suffocated the salt air. A ghostly reminder of what once was. Even the sea birds seem to know that this morning, something was different. “Hew, “ My voice cracked as I tried to speak, he didn’t look at me and for a moment, I wondered if I had managed to make any sound at all, but I continued anyway. “ It’s happening again isn’t it?” I asked the question already knowing the answer, it was happening. A lump crawled into my throat as I chewed my bottom lip. I tried

to distract myself watching a seagull taking a bath on one of the dock posts. Hew had been the harbormaster here for years, and his father before him. He knew these waters and what they held within them better than anyone else. He didn’t respond, just gave my shoulder a hard squeeze before standing up and disappearing down the dock and back home. He was one of the few who knew what I had lost to the unforgiving darkness, and what I stood to lose this time, because it was happening again.

Poetic

Keeper

by Celina Simmons

License

Remember when we felt so close? The warmth that radiates from your home to mine made us feel as if we were one. Remember when we laughed like the young? The child within crept out to say hello, wanting to stay and never go. Re-

ILLUSTRATION BY MORGAN DYER

member when your heart owned mine? Or mine owned yours, but you and I were never sure. And maybe that was what love was . Never knowing who had won.But maybe that’s what learning is to give to take but together, we live.

Paralytic Autumn

By Arden Leigh When waking up is a task Like numb but tandem pain in the brow Like the hypothetical attack of the flask Like what killed some moms and dads Like attack of the phantom inane The only shame Is in the skepticism A crooked place from being placed adjacent to the floor Every minute every second Everytime you’re not just bored Like the tv in the attic In your toes when they’re pins n’ needles When you’re feeling sullen or sapphic When you’re feeling anything In go them pins again In go them spikes like some death grips bend Some summers before, there were bats in the house Six or seven born from

the gore of the trees Laid themselves at your knees And you learned the right way to click your tongue and fingers For a flying mouse catch and release Remember when you were young Closing your eyes for hide and seek? Do you remember all the colors you could see? With your eyes pressed into your elbow And that, as simple as it was, was living Into green May, the foray of fields Elementary functions and your parents and teachers The eternal freedom behind the fences Makin’ make-believe at recesses And counting the hours down to lunch like it meant something Remembering Reminds you that you might just be breathing Filling your cup up hot for your fall time walk With the needed teeming of missing things near the smcc beacon | lighting our community 9

13 DAYSof HALLOWEEN

Midcoast Campus Presents:

by Kai Remedis

ith Halloween fast approaching, SMCC’s Midcoast Campus’ Activities Committee is happy to host their “Thirteen-Days of Halloween” event. This event holds thirteen consecutive days of activities! Here is a quick list of what the events entail;

10/21 Pumpkin and Jar Paint-

ing, 11 AM Learning Commons 10/22 Caramel Apples, 12:30 PM Learning Commons 10/22 Mysterious Mocktails, 9 PM Orion Lobby Students were able to come down to the lobby and order from three types of Mocktails that were made right there by

the staff of Reslife! The three drinks were; Vampire (Blood Orange), Zombie (Green Apple), and Bloody Shirley Temples! 10/23 Slime Time, 12 PM Learning Commons 10/23 Halloween Paint Nite, 7 PM Orion Art R oom Students had the oppportunity to view and paint their own versions of a halloween painting! 10/24 Halloween Dance, 8:30 SoPo HUB 10/25 Door Decorating Contest (OR), 9 PM Reslife Staff walked the halls to vote on which student had the best door decor! 10/26 Potter Lock-In, 4 PM Learning Commons Students watched a marathon of Harry Potter movies, all whilst “locked-in” the Learning common’s overnight! 10/27 Halloween Social, 8 PM Orion Art Room 10/28 Slasher Lock In, 6:30

Orion Art Room Much like the Harry Potter Lock-In, students were “locked-in” the Learning Commons overnight, watching a slasher movie marathon! 10/29 Scary Sweets, 12:30 PM Learning Commons Students will be able to decorate “scary sweets,” like sugar cookies and more! 10/30 Spooky Scavenger Hunt, 7 PM Orion Lobby Groups of Students will be following 13 spooky riddles to find their next clue! All while competing for the first place prize! 10/31 Costume Contest, 9 PM Orion Lobby Midcoast Activities Committee is extremely excited to be hosting, attending, and bringing these events to the students of SMCC! They hope to get everyone involved and bring the community of the SMCC Midcoast campus together.

Midcoast Visits Maine Wildlife Park in Gray, Maine

by Tori Penny

n Sunday, October 20th, a small group of Midcoast students went on a trip to the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray. They enjoyed feeding the bears with a treat catapult, trying to find the deer camouflaged in the woods, and watching

the porcupines search for acorns. The park is home to many animals that have been raised in captivity (sometimes illegally), were otherwise mistreated, or are unable to care for themselves in the wild.

PICTURE COURTESY OF TORI PENNY

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Top to bottom, left to right: Ashley Flynn gathers in another SMCC shot as SeaWolf Callie O’Brien looks on. SMCC’s Callie O’Brien looks to control the ball and get a SeaWolves offensive strike going. SeaWolf Yarislav Philbrook gets a shot off against Unity in first half action. The shoot would be high of the net. Mohamed Matan gets a touch with the Unity goal in mind. Katelin Bennett looks to make a play along the Paul Smith’s defensive perimeter. Kato Tchiputo gets a baseline crossing pass off in first half action. The pass would be cleared and the SeaWolf scoring opportunity is stifled. Unity and SeaWolve players watch an air born. An unidentified Paul Smith defender tries to control the ball and clear it from the defensive zone. ball and jockey top position themselves. Kato Tchiputo gets a baseline crossing pass off in first half action. The pass would be cleared and the SeaWolf scoring opportunity is stifled.

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Seawolves Earn Trip to YSCC Finals

Squads face Central Maine for the ring by the Beacon Sports Staff

his past Saturday, the Lady and Men SeaWolves soccer teams traveled to Concord New Hampshire to start their quest to the Yankee Small College Conference finals. At the end of the day, both squads secured victories. The Lady SeaWolves took to the pitch first to play Paul Smith’s College, the men faced Unity College in the second set of semi-final games. Sunday’s finals were cancelled due to the weather being uncooperative and the championship games were relocated to Wainwright Recreational Complex. The Lady SeaWolves played on Monday and the Men SeaWolves play this afternoon at 3pm. As the Beacon goes to print on Sunday, we were not able to cover these games in this issue. Look for coverage in the next Beacon. While Southern Maine was battling it out against Paul Smith’s and Unity, the Central Maine Community College squads were taking to the pitch against New Hampshire Technical Institute. On the men’s side of the field the SeaWolves squad entered the tournament as the top seeded team, followed by NHTI as the second seeded team, then CMCC and rounding out the fields was Unity.

The final four on the women’s side of the tournament draw placed NHTI as the first seed, followed by SMCC, CMCC and Paul Smith’s. Paul Smith’s would keep the Wolves off of the score board until the 68th minute when Callie O’Brien beat the Paul Smith’s goalie with a well-placed shot into the left corner of the net. O’Brien would have to fight off a Paul Smith’s defender and thread a seem down the middle of the field before getting her shot off from 12 yards away. The goal would hold for the rest of the game sending SMCC to Sunday’s YSCC finals. As play unfolded against Paul Smith’s College, the Central Maine Mustangs were setting the stage for a third match against the SeaWolves for both squads. The Lady Mustangs would upset the NHTI squad with a one-nil victory on the Lynx’s home field. The win for the Mustang’s punched their ticket to their first ever YSCC Championship game. The Men Mustangs would best HNTI 3-nil. The SeaWolf men unleash an offensive blitz on Unity in SMCC’s second game of the day. The Wolves would get off 63 shots and limit Unity to nine. The first half saw

SMCC get 37 of their shots off keeping the Unity defense and goal keeping busy. Give and goes, (passing to a teammate, breaking for the net and having the ball returned to you) and passes into open slots (which have the intention of freeing a man for a shot on goal), were a solid staple of SMCC’s offensive attack. Within a span of a minute and three seconds, SMCC’s Joel Musese would net all three of the SeaWolves goals. Musese’s first goal would come at the 65:32 mark, his second 29 seconds later, his third at the 66:35 mark. Action around the Unity net was hot and heavy, as Sam Napper Unity’s goalkeeper turned away 32, out of 35 shots on goal. Joshua Nagle took to the net for SMCC and had a quieter day having only to turn away 5 shots on goal. Headed into the championship games Monday and Tuesday, the SeaWolf squads have won all of their games against Central Maine. The Lady Wolves have posted 2-nil and 3-nil scores. The men posted 3-2 and 1-nil scores both of which took double-overtime periods to resolve. Needless to say, Monday and Tuesday games, most likely were, will be worth attending. If you attended Monday’s game ex-

cellent. If you are reading this and you want to support SeaWolves soccer, then head over to Wainwright Recreational Complex and be a part of SeaWolf excitement. Speaking of SeaWolf excitement, the women’s and men’s basketball squads have started their 2019-20 seasons. The Lady Wolves are home on October 30th to take to the court against Maine Maritime Academy and the 2nd to play Navy Prep. The men’s team is home on November 2nd and 5th for games against Navy Prep and Ben Franklin Institute of Technology. The SMCC soccer teams had a wonderful outing on Saturday in semi-final round action of the Yankee Small College Conference Championships. Top: SeaWolf Justice Bassett looks to get a pass off to a breaking Alvara Coto. Middle row left: Keto Tchiputo displays skills right before getting off a baseline passing shot. Middle center: Katelin Bennet gets off a baseline passing shot against Paul Smith’s College. Middle right: Katelin Bennett with a touch placed on net. Bottom row left: Joel Musese in the process of scoring his first of three. Bottom right: Callie O’Brien on her way to scoring the lone goal against Paul Smith’s College.