April 1, 2019

Maine looks to have 100 percent renewable energy by 2050 THE FREE PRESS APR 1, 2019 VOL. 50 ISSUE NO. 17

By Alyson Peabody I Pg. 4

2 APRIL 1, 2019 | THE FREE PRESS

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Julie Pike Editor-in-Chief I’ve been advocating for the rights of student journalists ever since I became Editor of the Free Press last February. As my time at USM comes to a close, so does my ability to push for more rights for student journalists. However, I remain hopeful that my fellow staff members at the Free Press, as well as students across the country, will keep up the efforts.

Last week CNN published an opinion piece written by Neha Madira, a high school student and editor of her school’s newspaper. She had experienced censorship from the school’s principal, who chose not to print three articles because they “cast the school in a bad light.”

But Madhira didn’t just sit back and let this happen, she spoke up about it. Along with another staff member, Madhira spread the story of what happened at her paper, and got the attention of news outlets nationwide.

It even led to a TED Talk she gave a few months later. In turn, the principal ended the ban on editorials and allowed the newspaper to publish them again.

Madhira is one of many students across the country who are speaking up and taking action for the rights of student journalists. Historically, there

THE FREE PRESS | APRIL 1, 2019 3

There’s hope for student journalists

have been very few cases involving student speech, and even less regarding student publications, so there are limitations in terms of legal protections.

Currently 36 states follow the standards set forth from the Hazelwood v.

Kuhlmeier case in 1988. In this case a school sponsored newspaper had two articles censored by their newspaper because they did not have a “legitimate pedagogical concern.” The Supreme Court supported the principal’s decision, saying that schools were not required to support particular types of student speech.

The other 14 states have higher protections for student journalists due to New Voices, a student led movement aimed at protecting student journalists by passing state laws. Maine is not one of those states.

Madhira is currently fighting to get those protections in her home state of Texas. She’s been working with the Student Press Law Center, a nonprofit organization that works to defend the rights of student journalists.

2019 has been declared “The Year of the Student Journalist.” There are currently 11 active campaigns to pass the New Voices laws in more states, the most they’ve ever had in one year.

The Save Student Newsrooms movement has continued since its creation last year. On April 25, student

journalists around the country will publish testimonials and editorials to push for their college’s administration to create an agreement or policy guaranteeing editorial independence. Even though the students who first created the movement have graduated, those still in school have taken on the job for them.

A former student journalist from the University of New Haven just recently launched the nonprofit College Media Group. He and other volunteers are working to provide students with resources to help their publication, including financial, moral, ethical and educational services. Each staff member has experience in college media and are passionate about helping future students in their work.

It’s the increase in efforts to protect student journalists, and the work of students like Madhira that make me hopeful of the future to come for student journalists.

4 APRIL 1, 2019 | THE FREE PRESS

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Maine sets a precedent for 100 percent renewable energy by 2050

USM professors weigh in on the feasibility of using all renewable resources Alyson Peabody News Editor Governor Janet Mills announced a proposal in late February for Maine to transition to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050. Maine has joined the United States Climate Alliance.

The alliance is a bipartisan coalition of 21 states committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, Gov. Mills proposed the creation of The Maine Climate Council to create a timeline and action plan.

Gov. Mills’ environmental goals for Maine are consistent with the Paris Agreement and the Green New Deal, which failed to move forward in the Senate. The Green New Deal proposed by New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez emphasised the need for the U.S. to use 100 percent clean energy by 2030, 20 years sooner than Gov. Mills proposal. The deal prioritized environmental research by allocating research funds from fossil fuels to be invested in research for wind, solar and geothermal energies.

“According to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 2014, Maine was already producing 70 percent of its electricity from so-called renewable energy: 31 percent from Hydropower, 11 percent from wind and 29 percent from biomass,” said Dr. Daniel Martínez, an associate research professor at USM. Bangor Daily News reported in February that Gov. Mills lifted former Governor Paul

still consuming energy the same way we do in 2020.”

“It is likely that it will be more lucrative for any new renewable energy generation to be sold out of state,” he said, “which is why I say “net” electricity--Maine would likely still use fossil energy in-state.”

Dr. Martínez said the conversation is nuanced and does not have a simple answer.

Compared to other states, he said that Maine more readily uses renewable energy and has a greater ability to transition to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050.

“The goal of replacing less than 30% of generation with renewables is definitely plausible… However, if we decided to only use electric cars and heat with electric heating systems by 2050, then I do not believe it would plausible.”

According to Dr. Martínez, Maine is ranked 31 out of 50 for median household income with a state budget that is 41st out of 50.

“I find it unlikely that we have the financial ability to do this because someone would have to pay for that,” he said.

In light of a recent proposal from the University of Maine at Orono (UMO) to rely on biomass and solar for renewable energy, USM professor Dr. Robert Sanford said that USM should be setting a similar precedent.

“We should be setting an example because we are a public institution,” he said. “People come through here to get their education, so

we should be modeling things so we are helping to train students.”

“The skills we empart on students don’t mean anything without a value set that comes with them,” Dr. Sanford said. “When you come to USM you see that we have rain gardens on campus. You see that we are tweaking boiler efficiencies or that we are doing different energy conservation… We are quietly setting little standards.”

According to Dr. Sanford, USM and UMO have about the same number of students, but their budget is twice the amount of USM due to a land grant.

“Years ago when they set up the land grants they tried to put them where they thought the biggest growth areas would be in the future.

People sort of misread that, which is why we have unincorporated towns in northern Maine,” he said. “It just never occured to people in the early 1800s when they were setting things up that it still wouldn’t be that developed.”

Dr. Sanford said that 60 to 70 percent of the economy is in Cumberland county. “We are where the jobs are.”

“If you look at what percent we already have, we are well over 50 percent. We are around 75 percent,” he said.

Dr. Sanford encourages students to take an environmental science course because the material can be directly applied to their personal life. The course teaches students about

making intelligent choices.

“We see what happens at the national level and we have to deal with people who are saying that global warming isn’t happening,” he said. Dr. Sanford said that there is a difference between weather and climate. “I explain it very simply. If you are in the North Atlantic and there is more ice in the water, you could argue that it is actually getting colder. But, the reason that there is more ice is because it is breaking off from the arctic and drifting down because that part is getting warmer… you can’t just think superficially about it.”

“We do not need another report to tell us what we already know: that our climate is changing; that it is changing rapidly; that it will have profound implications for us and for future generations; and that there is limited time to address it,” said Gov. Mills, according to the Wiscasset Newspaper.

“Energy requires you to think long term and in terms of how things interact,” Dr. Sanford said. “When I see wind turbines I see soldiers that don’t have to go to the Middle East to fight for oil. I see resilience and sustainability.”

Dr. Sanford stated that Maine’s geography may differ from the midwest where the landscape allows for expansive windfarms, but that the state is rich with renewable resources.

He believes that everyone taking little steps to implement renewable energy goes a long way.

“Energy requires you to think long term and in terms of how things interact.”

- Dr. Robert Sanford Professor and Head of Environmental Science and Policy Department Lepage’s ban on wind turbines that restricted statewide projects.

“I believe Maine was a net electricity exporter as part of ISO New England,” said Dr. Martínez. “So, a good chunk of our electricity gets sold to other states in the network. So, can we get to a net 100% renewable scenario for electricity by 2050? Probably, because it is only 30 percent away, but only if we are

Graphic by Lauren McCallum / Design Director

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THE FREE PRESS | APRIL 1, 2019 5

C12 lab aids students in starting small businesses

Anthony Viola leads workshops from professional experience Nick Schleh Staff Writer After the success of their first workshop, the Ci2 lab is working to establish recurring events to aid students in starting small businesses. USM graduate and small business owner, Anthony Viola, conducts workshops that offers a hands-on approach for students to apply their interests to the economic world.

The Ci2 lab is located in Portland on the seventh floor of the science building. The lab is a space for innovation and artistic creation. Voila affirmed that the lab juxtaposes art and technology to create the best projects it can.

Voila volunteers his time to the Ci2 lab.

A major goal of the workshop is discovering how to take a student idea and develop a business out of it. The workshop covers a range business idea from how to get started, how to get investors, how to apply for grants, and how to write a business plan.

The initial workshop was intended to be in the Ci2 lab as a part of the Nest and Hatchery program, where the faculty help current students and recently graduated alumni establish their own business.

According to Viola, there was a student

taking a business course at the university and told their professor about the work the Ci2 lab was doing. The professor then requested that Viola host the workshop in their class. Viola made what he called a hybrid presentation, one that worked for a whole class but still maintained hands on aspects.

“This was a random idea that happened, let’s try and streamline it and develop a whole process,” Viola said. “That way if there are other students that have the same idea but don’t know how to get going, we could have a program in place.”

Viola discussed his business Archedime, a geospatial company that focuses primarily on aerial map use by drones, during the workshop. “This is the business I developed, this was my original idea, and then I saw its practical use, so I decided to commercialize it. Here is the step by step process that I’ve done to get to where I am now,” Viola said.

He tells students what he wished he knew when he was starting out that will help them with their business.

The workshop covers problem solving and the design concept phase of a company.

“You find a problem and then you commercialize it by developing a solution to said problem,” explained Viola. The workshop allows students and instructors to brain-

storm how to solve the addressed problem and then how to advertise it.

Viola says that the knowledge he brings is from his own experiences. The workshop and presentation allow students to begin the methodology of how to structure their company. “At the end of the workshop they didn’t know, but by the time they got done they had all the information to fill in the

blank.”

Viola has confirmed that he will host another workshop in the fall semester and is willing to do one over the summer if there is enough interest. Students interested in attending an upcoming workshop or learning more about the Ci2 lab can contact the lab at usm.ci2lab@maine.edu or check out their Facebook page.

Nick Schleh / Staff Writer Students working in the Ci2 lab on the seventh floor of the Science Building in

Governor Janet Mills will deliver USM commencement address

First woman governor and graduate of University of Maine School of Law Hailey Wood Staff Writer Maine Governor Janet Mills will deliver the USM commencement address for the 2019 ceremony.

“We are honored to have Maine’s first woman governor join us as we celebrate our 139th commencement,” Cummings said in an interview with the Office of Public Affairs. “Gov. Mills has served her home state with honor and courage in the Maine Legislature and as the state’s Attorney General. We also take particular pride in her as an alumna of the University of Maine School of Law.” Mills was Maine’s first female criminal prosecutor and was assistant attorney general from 1976 to 1980.

As of Jan. 2019, Janet Mills began serving as the 75th Governor of Maine. Prior to this, she had served two terms as Maine’s Attorney General from January 2009 until January 2011 and January 2013 until she

was elected governor.

Mills was the first woman district attor-

“Gov. Mills has served her home state with honor and courage in the Maine Legislature and as the state’s Attorney General.”

- Glenn Cummings USM President ney in Maine and New England.

This year’s commencement ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 11th at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland.

Approximately 1,000 new graduates will participate.

Photo courtesy of USM Office of Public Affairs

6 APRIL 1, 2019 | THE FREE PRESS

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Proposed Maine bill will make immunizations mandatory for students Bill LD 798 would eliminate non-medical exemptions Gus Pignatello Staff Writer

Maine legislators are considering passing a bill that would tighten restrictions on vaccinations. According to the bill, the legislation would eliminate the option for students to opt out of immunization requirements for religious and philosophical reasons, only allowing medical exceptions.

Rep. Ryan Tipping from Orono and Sen. Linda Sanborn from Gorham support this bill, LD 798.

A Maine Sunday Telegram article stated that Maine has one of the highest vaccination opt out rates in the nation, and ranks number one for outbreaks of pertussis, with 446 cases in 2018 alone.

Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a bacterial infection that can last up to 10 weeks, and can be fatal for more susceptible individuals, such as babies or the elderly.

Whooping cough is one of many diseases that were cured by vaccines more than 50 years ago.

If the bill passes, Maine will join California, West Virginia and Mississippi as one of the few states to have eliminated non-medical exemptions to immunization laws.

Some pushback on the bill is the possibility that it could deter young Mainers from attending college. Samantha Warren, the Director of Government and Community Relations for the University of Maine System (UMS), submitted

testimony on behalf of the system.

In the statement, she highlighted that at the UMS campuses with heavy commuter students have a much higher rate of unvaccinated students, with University of Maine Augusta having almost a quarter of its students opting out of requirements. “While certainly some of these students request their exemption thoughtfully and intentionally, it is the university’s assumption that most are actually without convenient access to immunization or to their immunization records at the time of course registration,� Warren said. She highlighted some compromise that the bill could take on, including current college students being grandfathered in, and colleges and universities providing free or low cost vaccinations.

Linda Belanger, the Director of Health Services here at USM, has joined with numerous health care professionals across Maine to independently submit testimony for the bill.

In this testimony, written specifically regarding college students, Belanger highlights that many college students opt out of immunization requirements out of convenience rather than from philosophical or religious beliefs. She points out that the process for submitting an exception is far too simple, and that rather than omit the option entirely, Maine should require students opting out to submit written statements summarizing their beliefs, as well as meeting

Graphic by Lauren McCallum / Design Director

with a healthcare professional to discuss the benefits of getting vaccinated.

Belanger believes in creating a dialogue. When asked what she would say to a mother choosing to keep her children unvaccinated, she said she would first want the mother to explain her beliefs on vaccinations. She stated that many people are simply uneducated on the matter and having open discourse could help remedy that.

See IMMUNIZATIONS on page 7

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THE FREE PRESS | APRIL 1, 2019 7

Risks of plagiarism and how to avoid them USM academic integrity policy encourages honest work Cooper-John Trapp Staff Writer High school and universities work to educate students on the specifics of academic integrity. The University of Southern Maine’s Student Academic Integrity Policy defines academic integrity as not lying, cheating, or stealing. “To cheat on an examination, to steal words or ideas of another, or to falsify the results of one’s research corrupts the essential process by which knowledge is advanced,” according to the policy. Violating the policy is considered cheating or plagiarism.

Erika Lamarre, Director of Community Standards and Mediation, says that this academic year to date her office has handled 20 cases of academic integrity allegations.

Last year, that figure was 27. She suspects the number is far higher. Sometimes faculty handle it individually, she says, usually unaware that her office is designed to help facilitate the investigation process for such professors.

In the academic setting of a university, plagiarism is an offense against university policy and procedure. It is not a criminal offense, says Lamarre, but a form of “intellectual property theft.” Real-world consequences of plagiarism include tarnished professional reputation and trustworthiness.

Dr. Lynn Eckersley-Ray, an English professor at USM, says that, “when students present me with work that is questionable, it’s typically a result of an honest mistake on their part: incorrect or missing citations regarding summary, or including what they may think is “common knowledge” in their work, but, in fact, isn’t.” She advises that if there is “even a feeling” that they may possibly be plagiarizing, students should, “honor that doubt and/or feeling” and cite the source.

The majority of issues regarding academic integrity involve first and second year students, says English professor Dr. Lorna Hughes. When students first enter USM, they are “not yet acculturated to university at all and have one foot still in high From IMMUNIZATIONS on page 6

According to Belanger, the issue with having so many people unvaccinated is it reduces herd immunity, the ability of a community to protect members who may be at risk of infectious diseases.

She stated that vaccinations tell the body to target specific viruses or bacteria, and in

Graphic by Lauren McCallum / Design Director

school,” Hughes says. Plagiarism is much more prevalent in freshmen, Hughes believes, because they “do not yet see themselves as creating new knowledge, and do not yet recognize themselves as part of a specific community with specific standards.”

Issues of academic integrity are handled depending on the severity and frequency of occurrence. Lamarre says that when a faculty member suspects dishonesty, they contact her to determine a student’s prior history. Whether a student has a previous history of offenses determines how likely it is the suspicion of academic integrity violation is correct. Additionally, that student’s history informs the degree of punishment.

Faculty speak with the student in private first to give them a chance to explain the situation. From there, the faculty may decide to proceed on their own, in conjunction with their department head, or with the Office of Community Standards, according to the Student Academic Integrity Policy.

Consequences for plagiarism are left up to the faculty to decide. That may range from not receiving credit on an assignment, tossing out the portion of an exam that likely was compromised, failing the class, suspension from the university or expulsion. Suspension can last for up to a year or longer, says Lamarre.

Many students’ first and primary concern is how a plagiarism or academic dishonesty charge will affect their future endeavors.

Lamarre says that an incident will not go on a student’s academic transcript, but that her office keeps a record of the case for a period of time. However, to gain entrance to graduate or law school, to transfer institutions or to work for the federal government, student’s will be asked about their academic conduct record. Lamarre notes that students may refuse the request, but that, “if they say no, they know something is up.”

In cases where plagiarism cannot be definitively proven, guilt is based on evi-

theory protect the individual from being infected. But she made the point that these vaccinations are not perfect, and when unvaccinated people get infected the virus can mutate to the point where the vaccine can’t protect against it.

Often the people most at risk from poor herd immunity are the same that fall under the medical exemption for vaccines. Ac-

cording to the CDC, people with leukemia or suffering from seizures could be at risk getting vaccinated.

A Portland Press Herald article written

by Joe Lawler tells the story of Matt Hogenauer, of Falmouth High School, who suffers from non-rheumatoid arthritis, a disease that causes him to be susceptible to infectious diseases like measles and chick-

dence – if it appears to have happened, and the student tries to convince it’s not, then they are found responsible.

Student’s perception of plagiarism and academic integrity varies. In some cultures, copying and pasting from the Internet without citing is considered acceptable, as it getting excessive (or a lot) of help from friends on a writing assignment, says Michelle Perry, instructor and coordinator of the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program. The ESOL program conducts a workshop in the third week of the semester for all of its writing classes to define what is acceptable and what is plagiarism. The workshop intends to define what is considered getting too much help with an assignment, what are proper citations, and why academic integrity is taken so seriously at USM. Perry says that every workshop assumes positive intent and is designed for students growth as scholars and members of the academic community.

Ultimately, a students best defense plagiarism is to be diligent, says Hughes and Eckersley-Ray. For the full process of hearing cases of academic integrity, see the Office of Community Standards and Mediation page and click the sidebar for Academic Integrity.

Consequences for plagarism: -Not receiving credit on an assignment -Losing credit on a portion of an exam -Failing a class -Suspension -Expulsion enpox.

In 2016 he contracted pertussis and believes he may have been infected by students that were unvaccinated. In the article, Hogenauer compared being unvaccinated to drunk driving, stating that, “You’re not only putting yourself at risk, but you could hurt others.”

8 APRIL 1, 2019 | THE FREE PRESS

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Uber subsidiary is bringing bikeshare to Portland JUMP’s goal is to release 500 bikes for public use Hailey Wood Staff Writer In late January the city of Portland issued a request for proposals from bikeshare programs. JUMP, a bikeshare program owned by Uber, responded to the request.

JUMP was founded as Social Bicycles and has been in the bikeshare business since 2010. In 2018, the company was partnered with and then acquired by Uber.

JUMP wants to start by releasing 200 bikes into the Portland area, adding more as it gets warmer, with a goal of 500 bikes in total.

The program will not use city funds and the cost will be out of JUMP’s pocket.

The bikes being deployed by JUMP have low-powered electric motors that can assist riders in uphill or long rides.

The bikes are paid for and unlocked by riders using smartphones and PINs inside the Uber app. When done riding, the bike is locked again and then it can be used by

the next person.

The cost of using JUMP bikes varies throughout cities, with some being free to unlock and 15 cents a minute and others one dollar to unlock and ten cents a minute. In Portland the bikes will be free to unlock and 15 cents a minute to use.

Some cities have offered a “boost plan” for eligible riders enrolled in certain programs already. For the cost five dollars a month, under the “boost plan” riders can have up to 60 minutes of daily ride time covered under their monthly payment. For every additional minute, riders will be charged seven cents.

Many cities across the world have adopted successful bikeshare programs, highlighting that bike share has many perks.

Hangzhou, China has a population of seven million and 66,500 to 78,000 bikes incorporated to their program with a goal of having 175,000 released by 2020. London, Paris, Montreal and Barcelona also have massive bikeshare programs that the

rest of the world has followed since.

New York City is home to the biggest bikeshare program in the United States and was modeled after Montreal’s successful program.

For college students looking to explore Portland, the coming bikeshare through JUMP will be a fun, healthy and affordable opportunity to enjoy what the city has to offer going into the warmer months.

When the city issued their request for

“It is a real opportunity to increase the viability and image of Portland as a livable community.”

- Dr. Robert Sanford Professor and Head of Environmental Science and Policy Department

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock

proposals they had goals of what it would do for the city: promote and encourage bicycling as a safe and sustainable mode of transportation, provide additional firstmile and last-mile options to the city, expand on low-cost transportation and provide a new important role in the increase of transportation options.

Bikeshare, as it stands will, fulfill the goals the city of Portland has in mind.

“It is an awesome idea and one that Portland and other good cities have experimented with,” Dr. Robert Sanford, the Head of the Environmental Science department said. “It is a real opportunity to increase the viability and image of Portland as a livable community.”

According to the National Association of City Transportation Officials, ridesharing increases the visibility of riders, reducing the overall biking risk.

“Here are some effects as I see them,” Sanford said. “One, models a good, sustainable and resilient way to do things, two, builds community through social bonding via cooperation from sharing transportation, three, reduces dependence on automobiles, four, reduction of hydrocarbon emissions.”

Arts&Culture 9 APRIL 1, 2019 | THE FREE PRESS

Space Gallery / 11 Movie Talk / 12

USM art education class takes a trip to Iceland Five students experience the rich culture of Iceland over spring break Lauren McCallum Design Director

Over spring break, five USM students discovered Iceland, from the differences in their educational system to the natural beauty that makes up the country.

They prepared themselves through their online AED 299 class, which focuses on art and education in Iceland. While there, they interacted with Icelandic artists, various schools and took time to immerse themselves in the Icelandic culture.

Leading up to the spring break trip, the class was assigned various readings about Iceland and its culture. Erica Leighton, the assistant housing coordinator who audited the course, mentioned covering information about the founding of Iceland and Icelandic legends, along with understanding more about their culture and the way education fits into it, including “some readings on their curriculum model and the way they structure their educational curriculum.”

“This online travel course resulted from a MEIF North Atlantic grant that I wrote with Dr. Jean Whitney in USM’s teacher education program to fund a teacher exchange between Iceland and Maine,” said art department head Kelly Hrenko. “We wrote this online travel course as one way to connect teacher education and art students in Maine and Iceland.”

Hrenko explained how this course was spread beyond the walls of USM by inviting Jeff Badger, a staff member from SMCC’s art department, to help lead the course. The class was designed to connect any students in Maine with students in Iceland.

“The course provides opportunities for students to work in schools, with artists, and with other teacher education students from the University of the Arts and University of Iceland teacher education programs,” Hrenko said.

Senior art education major Cole Leighton and freshman elementary education major Maddy Cropley both spoke about how they visited and worked with a middle school, an elementary school, a university and a learning community for people with disabilities.

This involved working on projects with art

education students from the Iceland Academy of Arts and 7th grade students at a school in Keflavik.

“In the middle school, we worked with students, teachers and future teachers to create a replica of a local lighthouse. During this process, we were able to talk with the students about what they do in school and what kinds of things they enjoy,” said Cropley. “At the elementary school, we shared information about Maine with the students, and invited the students to draw pictures of themselves doing their favorite things and eating their favorite foods. We brought pictures by American elementary students for them, and will bring the Icelandic students’ drawings to the same American students.”

Cropley explained how in doing these kinds of interactive, cross-cultural projects during the trip, it allowed the students to get a better grasp on the world they live in. They were handed a new global perspective from a culture unlike their own.

“I learned a lot about the field of education as a whole while on this trip: what types of needs all students have, how schools can meet the needs of students, what common struggles all school teachers face, how a school interacts with its community, etc.,” Cropley said.

The students had access to many learning experiences. As said by Hrenko, they were placed in a position to better connect the North Atlantic region with Maine, giving them “global competence by preparing them to live and work in a global, diverse, interconnected, interdependent, complex changing world.”

Both areas are connected because of “strong arts, culture and ocean-based commerce.”

“Teacher education and the arts play a huge role in creative economies and workforce development of both maine and Iceland,” said Hrenko. “Teacher education programs that include learning about international educational systems provides our student teachers with a global perspective as well as additional skills and new understandings they can use in their own classrooms.”

In addition to visiting schools and working with the staff and students there, Hrenko explained how the group had the opportunity to

Photo courtesy of Erica Leighton The Leifur Eiríksson statue in front of the Hallgrímskirkja church in Reykjavik, Iceland.

learn about Icelandic culture and art through a well-known Icelandic artist and art professor, Olof Nordal, who will also be coming to USM for an artist residency from April 8 to April 12.

“My biggest take away from this experience is that education is universal across countries and continents and cultures. We all have a desire to learn, and we can all be taught in similar ways,” said Cropley. “It was also interesting to see the differences in Icelandic and American schools, as that provided insight into what particular things work well in each system. I think I have a better idea of what it means to be a good teacher after seeing a wider variety of ways to run a classroom.”

However, the group did not only focus on education. According to Cole, they had time to explore the “natural wonders” outside of Reykjavik, including the three primary stops on the route, which are “the Þingvellir National Park, the Gullfoss waterfall, the bridge Between Continents, geysers in Haukadalur, multiple lighthouses and a few geothermal hotspots on the Reykjanes Peninsula,” in ad-

dition to a few museums and delicious food locations.

“Traveling through school also opens doors to experiences that you wouldn’t necessarily get to have if just going on a vacation,” said Cole. “A tour and a talk with local artists, or working with students from another culture, for example.”

This group experienced the benefits of traveling abroad, as well as learning how education works in another culture. A new global perspective allowed each of them to return to USM with more information about integrating their learning with their aspirations.

“Study abroad is such a cool way to really immerse yourself in perspective taking, it gets you out of your comfort zone and puts you in a new place,” said Erica. “If you have the opportunity and the means to take advantage of those study abroad opportunities, especially with all the scholarships and financial aid that are available, take the chance now. It’s so hard to travel after college.”

10 APRIL 1, 2019 | THE FREE PRESS

Arts & Culture

Niyaz brings their passion to Portland

Eastern band brings people together through culture Ryan Farrell Staff Writer

It has been a consistent trend over the past couple of decades in which eastern practices and traditions cross over to the west and vise versa. Azam Ali and her group Niyaz have been growing in popularity in the west and recently came to Portland in order to share their message.

On March 14, Niyaz performed at Port City Music Hall. The venue attracted a variety of different people, some came to watch the performance, while others came to dance to the unique sound. Ali was certainly not afraid to dance, as she moved across the stage frequently throughout the show. Her performance displayed her passionate energy.

Niyaz has produced four albums, all of which have ranked number one on iTunes, and caused the group to grow in popularity. Niyaz was founded in 2004 by Ali, who is the lead vocalist. She was born in India, then moved to Los Angeles when she was 15. Her husband, Loga Ramin Torkian, is the cofounder of the band and he was born in Iran. Carmen Rizzo is based in Los Angeles and handles all of the electrical aspects of the music. He has worked with other bands like Coldplay and Seal.

Habib Meftah Bouchehri is also from Iran but he now lives in Paris. Bouchehri specializes in percussion and flute instruments which reflect

the ancient history of the music style.

Niyaz blends these traditional folk songs and methods with electronic mechanics from the 21st century. This mixture creates a unique rhythm which resembles the music of her culture, but the inclusion of several modern electronic soundboards gives the music extra life and energy.

Despite the multiple century long age gap in between specific instruments, the members of the group kept a synchronized rhythm which symbolizes a joining of cultural parties.

The event featured a series of songs which the band had complied for their Best Of album which debuted in early 2017. These songs were some of their personal favorites and it also featured a new song called “Del.” The songs are all in Ali’s original language and the band’s music heavily relies on historical Middle Eastern instruments. It also features talent and instruments from the Persian Gulf.

Ali said that the music they produce is meant to blend all of these different cultural components together in order to create a “perfect harmony and a vibrant energy.” This was noticeable before the concert had officially begun. During their tuning session, the different sounds all blended into an ominous rumble which vibrated the venue. Since tuning is usually a sporadic activity, this illustrated that the chosen instruments really portrayed Ali’s de-

Matthew Swanick / Staff Photographer Niyaz drummer Habib Meftah Bouchehri.

Matthew Swanick / Staff Photographer Niyaz’s lead singer and founder Azam Ali in the live performance.

sired effect.

The songs transitioned through different instruments, giving each the chance to take the spotlight. During string solos, Ali would move to the side of the stage in order to give the focus to other members of the band. Bouchehri in particular had a lengthy solo in which he played the drums at an incredibly fast speed, causing an increase in the audience’s energy.

Several audience members thought that this was one of the highlights of the event.

Before the final song of the night, Ali decided to speak to the audience. She wanted to show her overall gratitude since she had never expected the audience’s generosity. She introduced each member of the band and put an emphasis on where each of them came from.

She wanted to illustrate that each of them are from different corners of the world and that it’s because of globalization.

“We wouldn’t be on this stage without globalization,” she said. Ali said that the goal of their music is to transcend cultural boundaries by bringing all types of people together. She mentioned that this is necessary in combating negativity and oppression in the world.

“For us, art becomes the beacon that illuminates our lives,” she said. At the end of her speech, she encouraged everyone to dance with her. It’s evident that Ali takes great joy in bringing people together. Niyaz’s music has the potential to bring people together in order to make this world a better place.

Arts & Culture

THE FREE PRESS | APRIL 1, 2019 11

Portland’s best kept secret for an affordable night out

Blue, Portland’s most intimate music venue provides local music and dancing Lydia Libby Web Editor A dilemma many college students face is the question of “What am I going to do tonight?” Most activities cost money, and most students find themselves sitting at home or in their dorm with nothing to do. However, if students look hard enough, they may stumble across Blue, an intimate performance venue for local musicians and dancers. Blue is a 21 and older club, unless a minor is accompanied by their parent or guardian. This happening little spot does not charge a cover fee and only asks for donations, no matter how small, to go toward the performer of the evening. For an inexpensive evening out, Blue is a nice place to relax, listen to live music and have fun.

Blue opened on April 29, 2005, and was half the size that it is today. Four years ago, owner Terez Frazer expanded to add more space to the venue. When you walk inside of Blue, there are small tables and chairs everywhere with a quirky bar in the back and a stage at the front. There are two women who run the business, Lydia Brown, 29, and Aislinn Murphy, 28. Both ladies were excited to talk about the venue and the shows they hold.

“It’s all about the music,” Murphy said.

Every night there is live music, primarily folk and jazz performers. Brown and Murphy explained that the evening is about the talent and that when attending a show at Blue, you are asked to keep conversation to a minimum Every third Thursday of the month, Blue offers a special Middle Eastern night with music

from the band Zapion, and a belly dancing performance from Anne Beal. Zapion is made up of three musicians: Sarah Mueller, a violinist, Nathan Kolosko on the oud and Eric LaPerna on the Middle Eastern hand drums. LaPerna said he enjoys performing at Blue because “it has a great atmosphere.” Zapion formed in 2010 and have been performing Middle Eastern music at Blue since 2011. Anne Beal held her first belly dancing performance at Blue 12 years ago. The thing she enjoys most about performing at Blue is that “it’s a very friendly atmosphere.” Beal is trained primarily in the Egyptian and Turkish style of belly dancing, and has her costumes custom made in Cairo, Egypt by a woman who goes by the name Madame Noussa.

Along with the special monthly events, there are music events every night and comedy shows every Monday night. Brown and Murphy’s favorite events are the jazz jam sesh nights that they hold every Tuesday and Saturday because it is a time for talented musicians to sit in a circle and enjoy playing music together in a relaxed setting.

“People like experiencing something new,” Murphy said.

Murphy also added how many people have told her, “it feels like you’re in New York.”

The relaxed, hip and casual vibe that Blue emits allows people of all ages to feel comfortable and have a good time. Each year, Blue has won the Portland Phoenix award for the best jazz venue in Portland.

Blue always has a calendar of events, and

Live belly dancing performance.

Matthew Swanick / Staff Photographer

Matthew Swanick / Staff Photographer Local musicians provide soulful entertainment for the audience.

can be found on Facebook or Instagram @portcityblue. Brown and Murphy work hard to keep the venue clean, decorate for holidays and events, and search for local talent that people who come to Blue will want

to see. Blue has always been a donation only venue, aside from rare ticketed events. All of the basket donation proceeds go to the musician or performer.

Book Review: Washington Black, a deeply rewarding story

Esi Edguyan highlights the price of freedom by recounting the journey of a slave Jess Ward Staff Writer Esi Edguyan’s Washington Black offers a brutal and deeply rewarding story of a slave held at the Faith Plantation in the Barbados.

Washington Black is a field slave, recounting to the reader his journey to freedom as he becomes a man of science and art. Black must survive everything from the sun-drenched tropics filled with violent abuse, to the white wasteland of the Arctic. It is his only hope for true freedom.

Edguyan’s mastery of descriptive language forces the reader to be immersed in the world

she creates, weaving history and the power of narrative fiction into a thoughtful reflection of the past and present. This book is not for the faint of heart. There are frequent graphic depictions of slavery and structural oppression that may leave the reader uncomfortable, even frightened. However, this is what allows Edguyan to truly convey a desperate need for freedom, particularly found in those whose freedoms have been taken.

What would you be willing to do for your freedom? The rights and liberties humankind grants itself has a long and fluid past, and Edguyan asks us to grant ourselves and each other the freedoms we all deserve: curiosity,

agency and joy.

If you have any books you want to see reviewed, suggestions can be sent to jessica. ward@maine.edu. For those who want to read along, I will be reviewing Sloane Leong’s Prism Stalker next week.

“What would you be willing to do for your freedom?”

-Jess Ward Staff writer Photo courtesy of Amazon.com

Arts & Culture

12 APRIL 1, 2019 | THE FREE PRESS

Us: You are your own worst enemy

Another nightmare from the mind of Jordan Peele Ryan Farrell Staff Writer

Over this past weekend, Academy Award winner Jordan Peele released his highly anticipated second film, Us. His first film Get Out was met with critical praise which is why it received multiple Academy Award nominations and won the award for best original screenplay.

This came as a surprise to some since most of Peele’s work was featured on Comedy Central. His next film once again tackles the horror genre and it appears that he has made another original piece. Us breaks from most of horror’s stereotypical tropes, crafting a horrific and mysterious story that captivates the audience.

The film follows the Wilson family on their annual summer getaway to Santa Cruz. During their stay, they explore the surrounding beach, accompanied by the Tyler family. Adelaide Wilson, played by Lupita Nyong’o, has a difficult time returning to the area due to an unexplainable encounter she experienced at the same beach when she was a young girl. Throughout their vacation, she is constantly reminded of her trauma which progressively overwhelms her.

Later that night at their summer home, a mysterious family appears outside.

These figures are revealed to be identical to the Wilson family, each member having different features, different names and a desire to kill. After they narrowly escape the murderous dopplegangers, they discover that they aren’t the only ones experiencing this. As they attempt to outrun their counterparts, they slowly discover more about the impending and expanding phenomenon.

Winston Duke plays Gabe Wilson, the father of the family, and the main source of comic relief in the film. While most of his comedic dialogue felt natural to the character, there were times where his interjections were distractingly unrealis-

A&C Listings Monday, April 1 Word Portland!

LFK, 188A State St., Portland Start: 9 p.m.

End: 2 p.m.

Thursday, April 4 Philip Sultz Reads from “Lake Effect Days” Longfellow Books, One Monument Way, Portland Start: 7 p.m.

End: 12 a.m.

Friday, April 5 tic. A specific example of this is when the Wilsons are escaping their summer home. As they frantically get into the car, Gabe initiates a playful argument regarding which member had the highest kill count. This comedic break reminds the viewer that they’re watching a film and it breaks the immersion, though it was only occasional.

The dopplegangers, which are referred to as the Tethered, wear red jumpsuits and are equipped with shears. Each actor does an effective job portraying their corresponding character. Most of the look alikes cannot speak and all of them are incredibly creepy in nature, which makes them an intimidating and horrific force. For most of the film, the Tethered are either seen in the distance and when they are confronted, they are usually overcome with the need to kill.

The feral nature of the dopplegangers makes them all the more mysterious, however small clues are left in order to keep the viewer engaged. Even though they do eventually unveil most of the mystery, the answers seem to warrant more questions and will require multiple watches in order to pick up missed details.

Photo courtesy of Pinterest.com

Peele’s direction of the film is what sets it apart from others. He uses Adelaide’s childhood experience to pave the way of the film by constantly referencing aspects from her life and how they are reflected in her counterpart.

The film is effectively paced, while it is mostly a slower film, the camera work and dialogue keeps it from feeling dull.

One aspect that was significantly different about this movie was the musical score. Most horror films tend to have an incredibly dramatic score in order to heighten the intensity. While the score does borrow from its traditional predecessors, it mostly relies on varying ambience, environmental sounds and silence. This forces the film to focus on its cinematography and Peele takes advantage of that.

Overall, this film is better than Peele’s predecessor. It conveys a unique story that will leave audiences on the edge of their seats with the subtle aspects that invite them to investigate and analyze it further. Us successfully creates a horrific atmosphere that most modern horror films are missing. Peele seems to have another critical and financial success on his hands.

Casco Bay Artisans 4th Annual Regional High School Art Show Casco Bay Artisans 68 Commercial St., Building A, Portland Start: 5:30 p.m.

End: 12 a.m.

Friday, April 5 Henry Wolyniec, relief – opening event Speedwell projects, 630 Forest Ave., Portland Start: 6 p.m.

End: 2 p.m.

Saturday, April 6 Eugene Tyler Band Andy’s Old Port Pub, 94 Commercial St., Portland Start: 8:30 p.m.

End: 12 p.m.

Want to submit an event? arts@usmfreepress.org

USM Community Page 13 APRIL 1, 2019 | THE FREE PRESS

Freemasons secret organization not so secret

A glimpse into a rich history with a tour of the Portland Masonic Temple Max Lorber Staff Writer Tucked away on the corner of Chestnut and Congress Street is an unassuming set of glass doors, with a small glass pane overhead reading Portland Masonic Temple. First you have to ring a doorbell. After a minute or two, James Dufresne, a Freemason and the founder/director of the Maine Masonic Civil War Library & Museum, will be there to let you in. The elevator that brings you up to the third floor is identical to the elevator installed in the Titanic ocean liner. The entire mechanism is original, installed in 1910 when the building was constructed. Dufresne confidently pilots the cab with a lever.

On the third floor is a large collection of books on the Civil War and several historical exhibitions of Civil War history. Joshua Chamberlain, the colonel of the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment and himself a Freemason, is celebrated by several exhibitions for his heroic charge down Little Round Top at the Battle of Gettysburg. The momentum of the entire battle shifted after the 20th Regiment, without any ammunition, routed the confederate soldiers.

The 54th Massachusetts Regiment, made famous by the movie Glory, is celebrated in an exhibit next to Joshua Chamberlain. This was a heroic African-American regiment that saw extensive combat throughout the entire conflict and served with distinction.

An original 1861 Springfield model rifle, used by both Union and Confederate soldiers, sits behind a glass case next to an original powder horn and bullet mold. As explained by the guide, tapping his cane on the ground for emphasis, soldiers would oftentimes make their own ammunition in the field, melting down lead and molding the bullets before battle.

After the tour of the Civil War Library & Museum, Dufresne is happy to show off the rest of the Masonic Temple. Back down the elevator to the first floor, there is a beautiful grand ballroom. The United Service Organization entertained American soldiers there during World War I and II. There are also the original lockers where soldiers would stow away their belongings in suitcases. Today, events such as weddings, proms, corporate functions, even beer tastings, are held in that same ballroom. There is a little closet where

the Freemasons store their uniforms towards the back.

On the second floor is a lounge area for Freemasons to congregate, play pool, relax and socialize. Portraits of prominent local Freemasons that represented Maine on a national level, men like Edward Preble and Charles Deering, hang on the walls. Founded in 1762, the Triangle Lodge, the name of this particular Mason Lodge, is the oldest in the state of Maine and one of the oldest in the entire country.

The current Worshipful Master, the equivalent of a president to the Lodge, is Alex Bresler, a graduate of USM, from the class of 2012. Chris Camire, the current secretary, was the student body president of USM, class of 2014. Both had joined the Freemasons while students.

There is a common misconception that the Freemason fraternity is a dubious and guarded organization, occultist by design and cynical by nature. There are rumors that they control the world with the Illuminati, that they have antagonized revolutions throughout history and that they are secretly communicating through symbology on the American dollar bill.

The Freemasons is the oldest fraternal organization in the world, tracing their roots back to the end of the fourteenth century.

They believe in equality for all men and women, education, charity and spiritual development. The Triangle Lodge, which meets at the Portland Masonic Temple, supports charities like the Boys and Girls Club, Wayside Food Programs, The Center for Grieving Children and Good Shepard Food Banks.

“In these books here,” Dufresne says as he gestures towards some publications in his library, “you can actually see the different degrees, signs, and everything else involved with Masonry. So you see, we are not really a secretive organization.”

The secrecy of the Freemasons is similar to the secrecy of any fraternity: secret handshakes and initiation rituals.

“A lot of people call Freemasonry a secret society, but it’s really a society with secrets,” Chris Camire said while lounging in the living room on the second floor. When asked what the benefits of joining are, he said, “You learn a lot from being a Freemason. It’s a very educational journey.”

Berkeley Elias / Lead Photographer James Dufresne shows off a Civil War era rifle and the image of a Civil War memorial

14 APRIL 1, 2019 | THE FREE PRESS

People of USM Damir Porobic

Kate Rogers Community Editor

For eight years Damir Porobic has taught studio courses in the art department at USM. Before USM, he taught at the Maine College of Art (MECA) and ran a master printing shop in Portland. His passion for imaging technology of all kinds and his practical experience in the printing field brings what he believes is a helpful touch to his classes.

When he was seventeen, Porobic was given the chance to move to Arkansas from what was at that time “the remaining leftovers of disintegrated Yugoslavia,” he said. He went to high school in Arkansas, and was able to focus on art during that time. Even back then he said he was already teaching, working with kids doing pottery and doing figure drawing with seniors. His parents were both teachers and it always came naturally to him, he said. “I always liked working people...I mean teaching, it’s the best form of collaboration.”

After graduating with honors, Porobic went to the Kansas City Art Institute and studied printmaking. Originally he chose the field because it was so new to him. He was drawn in by how little he knew about the field and the equipment. “In undergraduate I studied all the hard things,” Porobic said. When he went to grad school in West Virginia, that hard work really paid off, he said. He was able to teach as he studied theory and continued to really investigate printmaking and digital art technology.

After doing work with special effects companies making commercials and building theatre stage sets, Porobic wanted to get back into teaching. When he was hired at MECA, he taught many topic classes. One he specifically mentioned was a class called War Time Im-

pressions, which focused on technology used for, “posters, graphics, multiples that needed to be printed cheap and fast and in large quantities,” he said. He talked at length about the power of prints in this way, referencing a project he was currently doing with his intro to printmaking class. The project is called print power and the goal is for students to choose an agenda that is important to them and use the technology they’ve been learning to use to create a persuasive poster. “Trying to be persuasive, trying to kind of change minds,” he said about the goal of the project.

When Porobic first came to USM, he said that there was no one in charge of the printmaking section and so the print shop was somewhat in disrepair. “I was really actually attracted to that … I always did that … built shops and rebuilt them,” he said. In the past eight years he has worked to improve the space and feels good about where the program is at. “It’s safer, it runs better, it serves students better,” he said. Along with this, he mentioned talk in the art department of getting more support and possibly more resources in the future.

Supporting the arts and being collaborative are both very important to Porobic.

He referred to himself as a “STEAM” person, which stands for science, technology, engineering, arts and math. He believes that with the rise of the internet and with everyone having a shared digital platform, the arts are beginning to go back into being on equal footing with STEM fields. “The big names that started the whole sort of western civilization thing, like Michelangelo, Galileo…all these sort of people...they were everything, they were a scientist they were an artist, this and that,” Porobic said. He spoke at length about the evolution of technology and how his-

Community Events ■■ Monday, April 1 #Adulting workshop 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM Lower Brooks, Gorham Campus

■■ Wednesday, April 3 Student Poetry slam ft FreeQuency 8:00-10:00 PM Lower Brooks, Gorham Campus

■■ Thursday, April 4 Energy and Climate Trivia night 6:00-7:00 PM Quill Books and Beverage 1 Westbrook Common #5 Free Kate Rogers / Community Editor

torically artists have pushed technology to its limits when industry thought it obsolete.

“You study art but it really trains you in all these different fields … they’re very applicable,” he said. He gave

and grime of the profession,” he said. It’s important to him to not be removed from the work that he is teaching. In the summers he continues to work at the print shop.

About the arts, Porobic

“I always kind of thought that teaching is a sense of ultimate success...but I needed to be in the grunt and grime of the profession”

■■ Friday, April 5 First Friday Art Walk 5:00 - 8:00 PM Downtown Portland

■■ Sunday, April 7 Book Arts Bazaar 10:00 AM- 3:00 PM Wishcamper building, Portland campus

-Damir Porobic Arts Professor some of his jobs as examwwples of what you can do with an art degree; special effects, set design, printing and teaching.

Now that Porobic is teaching full time he says it is more difficult to do more hands on work, but he does it anyways. “I always kind of thought that teaching is a sense of ultimate success … but I needed to be in the grunt

said “they feed our soul, if nothing else.” He encouraged students to take art classes no matter what their major. In the fall semester he is teaching an intro to printmaking class that focuses on some of the earliest forms of printing, as well as some classes in the new minor in digital media and design which he is very excited about.

Want us to include your event? community@usmfreepress.org

Perspectives 15 SEPTEMBER 18, 2017 | THE FREE PRESS

Letter to the Editor

Dear President Cummings and Provost Uzzi Nikki Farmer USM ‘19

I’m writing to express my frustration at USM’s inaction on real Maine issues. For example, Maine’s high rates of domestic violence and intimate partner homicide continue to rise, yet every time we turn around USM is cutting and/or shrinking the women and gender studies program. What? Don’t you realize that WGS educates future legislatures, teachers, advocates, social workers, public safety officers, and government officials who will have to address these issues in their professional lives? How can they be effective problem solvers when their post-secondary education does not include access to a robust program of women’s and gender studies? Why, under these circumstances are you causing WGS to shrink when it is obvious that it needs to grow?

Fact: 64 percent of USM students are female. On that basis alone USM should be protecting WGS. Instead, your policies limit full time teaching in the program by either tenure line or fixed length professors.

As a result, USM loses effective professors whose classroom effectiveness ensures

the program’s growth. This coupled with your outrageous treatment of Professor Feiner around the issue of sexual assault sends an unfortunate message: USM basically doesn’t give a two hoots about women’s safety—even when those women are USM’s own students.

People who care about the issue know that campus sexual assault rates are high and the processes for dealing with them are laughable. At the same time education about sexual violence is sorely lacking. Incoming students, campus safety officers, staff and professors have next to no support for dealing with this horrific problem.

That’s why reducing the teaching power of WGS sends such a bad message. Facts tell us that WGS is more relevant than ever. The 2018 report of Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence found that: “• MCEDV advocates worked with 14,351 assault survivors. • 34,053 calls came into DV helplines. • 859 people, including 333 children, (4% of total persons served) found safety in a Domestic Violence Resource Center shelter. • 638 volunteers from across the state donated 44,339 hours to help meet the needs of DV survivors. •

One DV assault is reported every 2 hours and 5 minutes. • DV assaults comprised 40% of total reported assaults.”

The Maine Domestic Abuse Homicide Review Panel confirms Maine’s stubbornly high levels of DV and Intimate Partner Homicide. Moreover, we’ve not succeeded in reducing either of these in over a decade.

How terrifying is it that of the thirty-seven (37) homicides reported in 2016-2017, 16 of the murdered people (43%) were killed by a family member or intimate partner? I have to ask: why doesn’t Maine’s second largest public university support the only campus program in Southern Maine that educates future leaders about DV and intimate partner homicide? I simply do not understand why USM’s most powerful policy makers consistently undermine the WGS program.

Your actions relative to WGS belie your attempts to brand USM “the University of Everyone.” Apparently your “everyone” excludes women, DV survivors, and those who seek an education which supports social justice. Students notice when you throw professors under the bus. We notice when you refuse to retain great professors who bring complex issues like sexual vio-

lence into the classroom.

Dozens of past, current and future students attended Professor Siegfriedt’s teaching demonstration. Afterwards they were unanimous in support of making Professor Siegfriedt a full-time, tenure-eligible professor. (As part of this communication you’ll find numerous recommendations and signatures from USM students supporting her hire). But instead of listening to students you’ve fired Professor Siegfriedt, shifting her to part-time teaching insults her, WGS and USM students. Students are not impressed. We are angry. You two are more interested in prestige credentials (Harvard) and placating GOP extremists than you are in supporting the educational mission of Women’s and Gender Studies. Rather than acting like misogynistic, narrow minded bean counters, try doing something that takes courage: make Professor Julianne Siegfriedt a full-time, tenureeligible professor. She’d be a perfect joint appointment in Sociology and WGS. Respectfully, Nikki Farmer ‘19 We the undersigned believe you are mistaken.

16 SEPTEMBER 18, 2017 | THE FREE PRESS

Perspectives

To dialogue you can do the following: Stop by a Sexpert Panel on Monday, APRIL 8 in Lower Brooks, 7:30PM, hosted

by Huskies for Reproductive Health.

Check out some resources I’ll list below.

Call 207-780-5411 or stop by Health Services to make an appointment with any of our awesome non-judgmental nurse practitioners or docs to talk about sex some more, either in Portland or Gorham.

Jumping into the nitty gritty: if you’re having sex you should be tested at least once for sexually transmitted infections

(STIs). It’s super easy. You make an appointment and come in. We high five you and then we ask questions about your sexual history, like which body parts are touching which body parts.

Below are some of the questions we may ask. We ask everyone these. Nothing is too weird.

Have you been sexually active in the past year?

Do you have sex with penises? Vaginas?

Both?

Do you put your mouth on a vagina? A penis? Do you put your penis in a vagina?

An anus? A mouth? Does your partner put a penis in your vagina? In your anus? Do you put your vagina on a vagina?

How many people have you had sex with in the past year?

For every 10 times that you have sex, how many times would you say that you use a condom?

Have you ever been tested for sexually transmitted infections?

Do you want to get pregnant in the next year?

Depending on your answers we’ll want to test certain areas. If your mouth is on someone else’s genitals, we’ll swab your throat- --or you can swab your own throat.

People with penises pee in a cup and indi-

symbols we are given to inform our actions.

For example, we understand the color implications of a traffic light. Red means stop. Yellow means slow down. Green means go.

Why? The use of each individual color communicates the traffic laws for what a driver should do at a specific time. A violation of those laws, such as driving through a red light, would result in a ticket if an officer noticed.

There are countless categories for symbols for communicating from clothing labels to emojis.

The purpose of a symbol is to be unambiguous so that it is easily understood by the receiver with minimal risk of misinterpretation.

American artist Joseph Kosuth installed One and Three Chairs (1965) using three objects: a wooden folding chair, a mounted photograph of a chair, and a mounted copy of the dictionary definition of “chair.” These three things stand alone as representations.

Which of these representations is the most accurate? The object, the image, or the words?

I am not the person to definitively decide the answer to this open-ended question. The word is not the physical object, an icon is not the object, and the object is not the word.

Each of these three things is an abstraction, even though they are seemingly concrete representations in their own right.

Kosuth said “art is making meaning,” and in his controlled museum installation he made a statement about objecthood. Each depiction

is a representation of what a chair is, but none of these objects are what we conceptualize them to be.

This begs the question: Is an object intrinsically neutral? If this is true, then meaning is applied based on the environment around the object or changed by a user’s intentions. At a dinner table, a chair is an invitation to take a seat for a meal.

Would that chair still have the same meaning if it were suspended from the ceiling or submerged in a tank of gelatin? No. The functionality and purpose of the chair depends on how it is used as an object. Our physical relationship with an object influences how we

Let’s talk about sex

Samar Post Jamali Family Nurse Practitioner

To quote the forever amazing Salt-NPepa: “Let’s Talk About Sex, Baby.” As a nurse practitioner at USM’s Student Health, I am psyched to talk about the sex you’re having and how to make sure it’s safe. Aaaaaaand, if you or your partner don’t want to be pregnant in the next twelve months, we should probably talk about birth control options.

Let’s start this talk here.

viduals with vaginas do a self-swab with a big Q-tip. The only part of collecting we have to do is the blood test for HIV and syphilis.

After a few days we call you with the results and answer any questions. If needed we can call in antibiotics for you. If you should see a specialist, we will personally make that connection for you. Basically, we are here to support you in your overall wellness and that includes sexual wellness.

We want to make sure you’re taking care of yourselves and getting the care you want. If that means antibiotics for an STD, we’ve got it. If it means figuring out a birth control that works for you, we’ve got it. If it means different condoms, we’re happy to look around online with you. If it means figuring out how to get your partner tested, we’re excited to get creative and brainstorm ideas. As long as no one is getting hurt, it’s confidential.

Here are a few resources and another plug to come to the SEXPERT PANEL, April 8, Lower Brooks, 7:30PM RESOURCES: www.bedsider.org http://www.itsyoursexlife.com/ https://stayteen.org/ http://www.positive.org/

Art History taught me that semiotics is everywhere

Alyson Peabody News Editor “A chair is not a chair when it is art.”

I stared at my art history professor. From the corner of my eye I saw my classmates scribble this ‘profound’ revelation in their notes. An object’s purpose can be justified by calling it art? With that logic, anything could be art. What would be the job of the artist if everyone decided that everything is art regardless of context or skill?

If everything is art then nothing is.

No, that’s not it.

I felt like my thought only scratched the surface of what my professor meant. My professor gave us a blanket answer that encouraged us to ask the most important question of all: Why? Why is it art? What happened put a simple chair in a museum?

Semiotics, the study of communication through visual and linguistic symbols is essential to my investigation into how meaning is created and explored in the art world. René Magritte’s painting The Treachery of Images (1929) is a comedic example of what semiotics means. Beneath the pipe Magritte wrote “This is not a pipe.” This is a commentary on the relationship between and object, language, and the representation of an object.

What Magritte is saying is that a pipe is not an actual physical pipe.

Complex cultural conventions influence our lives daily and we continuously decode

One and Three Chairs by Joseph Kosuth

understand it. An object can be a work of art without the agency of semiotics, but it is important to consider an object’s possibility.

Kosuth used the museum to frame the three representations so that we could contemplate the meaning of his work, as well as the meaning of our own world. How we understand objects has cultural relevance and subconscious implications.

I ask again, why is this art?

It’s art because the artist encouraged dialogue through conscious choices to emphasize our relationship with semiotics. Kosuth pulled up a chair and asked us why we think we should sit.

Perspectives Crossword

The solution to last issue’s crossword

THE FREE PRESS | SEPTEMBER 18, 2017 17

Sudoku Level of difficulty: Easy The object of a sudoku is to fill in the remaining squares so that every row, every column, and every 3 × 3 box contains each of the numbers from 1 to 9 exactly once.

Word Search Theme: Broadway Musicals

Search for the list of words in the grid of letters.

Grab a pen and circle each word as you find them.

Aladdin Be More Chill Cats Chicago

Come From Away

Frozen Hadestown Hair Hamilton King Kong Kiss Me, Kate Lion King Mean Girls My Fair Lady Pretty Woman The Prom Tootsie Waitress Wicked

Cryptogram Every letter in a cryptogram stands for another letter. Use the hint to crack the code.

ILUS MS W RWVDGI IYMB: EMCD LS, L VSDWQ AYD QMHUY! And here is your hint: I=S

Horoscopes

Aries (March 21 - April 19)

Leo (July 23 - August 22)

Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21)

Taurus (April 20 - May 20)

Virgo (August 23 - September 22)

Capricorn (December 22 - January 19)

Gemini (May 21 - June 20)

Libra (September 23 - October 22)

Aquarius (January 20 - February 18)

Scorpio (October 23 - November 21)

Pisces (February 19 - March 20)

Exchanging information and ideas with other people is important. Rationalizing is easy, so be honest with yourself.

Caution around money is appropriate today.

You are not as limited as you think, but play it safe.

Being objective can improve your financial situation. Information from others could prove valuable. Use your logic.

Cancer (June 21 - July 22)

Your ability to spot flaws is accented, but seek solutions rather than just seeing what’s wrong.

A friend tries to tell you what to do and how to behave. You’re an adult; assert your independence!

Scheme, dream and seek inspiration for ideas which will lead to more achievements. Planning today leads to success in the future.

Hold back your impulse to criticize a family member.

Find a different approach and you’ll be pleased with the results.

Be alert for an investment opportunity. Take advantage of a chance to increase your income.

Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re doing the best you can to combine emotional and career needs.

Your expectations for your work are likely to be higher than usual today. Don’t frustrate yourself.

Reach for what is reasonable.

You could try to do too much today. Optimism leads you to think you can handle everything: beware and be practical.

Restlessness is likely today. Don’t tie yourself down to a “must follow” routine. Keep your options open.

Sports 18 APRIL 1, 2019 | THE FREE PRESS

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Saturday

Men’s Lacrosse

Baseball

Men’s Tennis

Softball

Baseball

vs. Saint Joseph’s College 4:00 p.m.

vs. UMass Dartmouth 3:30 p.m.

@ Thomas College 4:00 p.m.

@ University of New England 3:00 p.m.

@ Eastern Conn. St. 12:00 p.m.

Baseball finishes preseason Florida trip 6-1

Huskies ranked sixth in Division III to start season

Cullen McIntyre Sports Editor While many students took the week of Spring Break off to relax and get ready for the rest of the semester, spring sports teams headed south to Florida for preseason. The USM Baseball team competed in seven games during their spring trip, winning six out of the seven games in the Sunshine State.

The Huskies first game was against the Amherst College Mammoths, with senior general management major Dalton Rice getting the start. USM took an early 3-0 lead in the second inning on a fielder’s choice and a two-run homerun from senior general management major Zach Quintal. But the Mammoths instantly answered with a five-run third inning, with a wild pitch, two RBI singles, and a twoout error accounting for all of them. Senior liberal studies major, Jake Dexter’s RBI single in the fifth would make the score 4-3 after five.

Dylan Hapworth, a junior athletic training major, had a single in the ninth would bring the game level at 4-4, and senior liberal studies major Devin Warren’s single would give the Huskies a walkoff win to start off their trip in Florida.

The team won the following game against Illinois Wesleyan University 9-2, with Warren continuing to perform going 4-5 with three

RBI’s as well as three runs and a homerun. Junior mechanical engineering major Gage Feeney got the win, pitching six innings and striking out two while only allowing two earned runs on two hits.

Baseball’s third win would come in their next game against Wisconsin-La Crosse, in 2-0 shutout. The team’s two runs came in the sixth inning from Quintal scoring on a fielder’s choice and a Hapworth triple. Junior general management major Ben Lambert pitched seven shutout innings, striking out eight and only allowing three hits, earning him the win.

The only loss came in the fourth game, a brutal 15-4 loss to The College of New Jersey.

The Huskies allowed runs in every inning but the fifth and the sixth, and only scored in the third and sixth innings. Sophomore general management major Joshua Joy got the loss, allowing six earned runs on six hits in only two innings pitched.

But the Huskies would bounce back immediately with a 14-2 win over the St. Norbert College Green Knights. A five run first inning gave the Huskies an early lead, and they continued to dominate offensively for the rest of the game. Sophomore sports management major James Sinclair pitched eight innings earning the win, allowing two earned runs on four hits while striking out 13.

The Huskies would come back from behind to beat Rowan University in their next

Dylan Hapworth #3 Junior Athletic Training Major

s b t t s s b

t a i D y Photo courtesy of USM Athletics Junior Dylan Hapworth who went 3-3 in USM’s win over St. Norbert College.

game, winning 9-7. Through seven innings, the team were down 7-3 with their only runs coming in the second and fifth innings. A twoRBI double in the eighth from Warren brought the Huskies closer with the score at 7-5 after eight, and a four run ninth inning would propel the team past the Profs to win. Senior art major Henry Curran earned the win with a single inning pitched, and allowing only one hit.

The final game of the Florida trip saw the Huskies topple Springfield College 11-5.

USM took an early 4-0 lead with a single run in the first, and Dexter’s three-run homer in

Standout Players: Devin Warren #2 Senior Liberal Studies Major

the second adding to the score. Springfield would two back in the second, but the Huskies would respond with five more runs in the top of the third inning. Springfield’s three other runs would come in the third, fifth, and ninth innings, with USM only adding to their tally in the sixth and eighth innings. Feeney earned his second win of the trip, pitching six innings and striking out three batters while allowing four runs on five hits including a homerun.

Huskies Baseball play their next game at Ed Flaherty Field on Tuesday, April 2 at 3:30 p.m. against UMass Dartmouth.

Zach Quintal #7 Senior General Management Major

Hapworth had a .402 batting average, 10 hits, with six RBI’s and four runs over the seven game trip.

Senior Devin Warren had an outstanding seven Outfielder Zach Quintal batted .321 over the games, batting .383 with 14 RBI’s from 10 hits trip, with eight hits and four RBIs. He stole incluing two homeruns. Warren also accounted five bases, and was nine of the teams runs. for eight of the teams runs.

Best Game: vs. St. Norbert College 3-3, 2 RBI, 2 R

Best Game: vs. Illinois Wesleyan 4-5, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R

Best Game: vs St. Norbert College 1-3, 2 RBI, 2 BB. 1 R, 1 2B

c s s r F r r

t b e a t

Cullen’s Column: The Red Sox can do what no team has done in 18 years

Cullen McIntyre Sports Editor

With the snow finally clearing, and spring on its way, Major League Baseball is finally back. For the city of Boston and all of New England, it means that the Boston Red Sox have a chance to do something no baseball team has done since 1999/2000, win the World Series back-to-back seasons.

The last team to do this of course was the New York Yankees, who won three in a row from 1998-2000, and almost made it four in a row in 2001 but the Arizona Diamondbacks would beat them 4-3 that year.

The Red Sox are coming off an franchise-best 106-win season, and a very similar roster. The team had a quiet offseason, with the biggest news coming right after their World Series victory.

First baseman Steve Pearce, as well as right-handed pitcher Nathan Eovaldi both resigned from the team.

The only big name missing from the team this year is closer Craig Kimbrel, best known for his stance when he pitches. The closer is currently still a free agent, as no team in the MLB is looking to pay a 30-year-old the amount of money

he is asking for, especially after his inconsistency from last season.

But with star left-handed pitcher Chris Sale recently signing a five-year extension, as well as the 2018 American League MVP Mookie Betts and Silver Slugger J.D. Martinez still in the team, there is plenty of talent still on the field.

The Red Sox arguably have the best outfield in the league, known as the “Killer B’s” with Andrew Benintendi in left field, Jackie Bradley Jr. in center, and Betts in right. There isn’t an inch of grass in the outfield they can’t cover.

But can they attain the feat that no team has accomplished this decade (the Yankees won in the 1900s, with only one of their World Series coming in 2000)?

They certainly have a great chance at doing so. The Red Sox have had an outstanding offseason, even if it may not seem like they did. But a quiet offseason for the Red Sox was perfect, keeping the core group of guys together kept some of the most talented players in baseball in Boston.

The biggest question will be the closer position. The bullpen was the large part of the Red Sox”s struggles last year.

After losing right-handed reliever Joe Kelly, who played an integral role in the team’s postseason last year, to the Los

Photo courtesy of USM Athletics

The Red Sox celebrating their 2018 World Series win on the field after beating the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Angeles Dodgers, there is a large gap in the bullpen. Names such as right-handed reliever Matt Barnes and right-handed reliever Ryan Braiser have circled around as the team’s current options, as manager Alex Cora won’t name a closer, stating “Tomorrow, people will see what we’re going to do. I feel fine. I’m OK with it.”

The Red Sox have a great chance at repeating if they can start of this season in the same fashion they did last year, going 17-3 in their first 20 games of the season.

But with the Red Sox currently on their 11-game road trip to start off the season, it is definitely not the way any team wants to start off their season. The team doesn’t return home until April 9, when they host a four game series against the Toronto Blue Jays.

With the talent on the Boston roster, there is no doubt that the team will make the playoffs, but it will be a battle for the American League (AL) East as the rival Yankees will want revenge. The Red Sox not only toppled their AL East rivals in the playoffs, but took the AL East from the 100-win Yankees.

Once they get to the playoffs, then the challenges will really come. With the American League full of talented teams such as the Houston Astros, also looking for revenge against the Red Sox, the Oakland Athletics and the Cleveland Indians, the Red Sox will not have an easy path to the World Series. But if Alex Cora uses the strategy of pitching starters in relief positions again, the second year manager could find himself in his second World Series in two years.

The National League is also full of talent, with a reigning National League MVP Christian Yelich lead Milwaukee Brewers, the Los Angeles Dodgers, a Bryce Harper lead Philadelphia Phillies and more, the Red Sox will have to battle through a tough team should they make it to the World Series.

But don’t let it deter you from the fact that this team wants it more than any other. Every guy on the Red Sox roster is hungry for another World Series, and they have the talent to do so. I’m ready for my 2019 World Series Champions Red Sox parade next fall, are you?

THE FREE PRESS | APRIL 1, 2019 19

Power Rankings Baseball

Record: 10-2 #1 Little Eastern Conference Softball

Record: 7-7 #8 Little Eastern Conference Women’s Lacrosse

Record: 2-3 #6 Little Eastern Conference Men’s Lacrosse

Record: 3-2 #4 Little Eastern Conference