inside this issue:
Art That You Can Eat! Details on page 4
University of Maine at Presque Isle
Volume 43 Issue 1 Melissa Lizotte CONTRIBUTOR
MARCH 20, 2015
Snowboarding Tips! Details on page 11
Journalism for Northern Maine
Teaching the Love of Theater
Most students have to read a Shakespeare play at some point. Usually it’s during high school. Students are often glad when they are done with the play. The older language and words can be very hard to understand. Those same students probably wouldn’t want to watch stage actors perform those same lines. That’s what Shakespeare Live hopes to change. Shakespeare Live is an educational touring wing from The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. Cast members perform two Shakespeare plays each season. This year they are doing “Macbeth” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The members performed “Macbeth” at UMPI’s Wieden Hall on Tuesday, Feb. 10. But these actors do more than just act. They also give theater workshops at the schools they perform for. Actor Felix Mayes led eight students from local high schools that day. Mayes gave each student a line from a Shakespeare play. He asked them to find phrases that they didn’t know. Mayes guided the students through several exercises. Then they got a larger chunk of text. They used their new skills to understand what the text said. After that, the students read the entire monologue. Mayes encouraged them to emphasize the chosen phrases while they spoke. “The tools we give them are just, you know, go slowly, look at your punctuation, think about what the words might mean to you, how it feels in your body. These are all the things that we do when we read books, normally,” Mayes said. “It’s really about learning that it’s sim-
pler than they think. Mayes noticed that the students were more in tune with the words. He said they will start to apply what they’ve learned while they watch the play at a night. “A lot of people, when I was young, would tell me that I couldn’t learn something or do something just because it was too difficult. I’m able to step in and tell them that ‘Yes, they can.’ And it’s more than telling them that they can learn Shakespeare. It’s telling them that they can learn on their own,” Mayes said. Most students have to travel far to see live theater. Not with Shakespeare Live. The actors bring their show to the schools. The schools save money and the actors get to perform for students who may have never seen a live play. “We want Shakespeare to be accessible and the best way to do that is to bring it to them,” Mayes said. That night, it was time for the show! The events started when three actors led a pre-show talk. They gave background on the play and answered audience member’s questions. The talk was lively and informative for the audience. The actors made one thing very clear. Their version of “Macbeth” may be abridged, but the poetic language is still there. The play began soon afterwards. The audience members had their eyes glued to the stage as they watched the riveting tragedy of “Macbeth” unfold. It was an exciting experience for everyone. The cast members held a question and answer session after they finished performing. Audience members seemed to agree that the play was time well spent. UMPI psychology major Chanie Yagod said, “I thought it was excellent. They did a re-
ally great job and were really nice to the public.” Kolby Koch, a secondary education student, said, “I think the lights were cool. It was like what you would see in the movies.” For actors James Costello and Marielle Rousseau, the chance to inspire student is the greatest reward. Costello and Rousseau played Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. “I do what I do today because I saw Shakespeare at a young age,” Costello said. “Just knowing that some of the students that attend the show may really find a passion, what they want to do or just continue to see it. That’s really special to me.”
Rousseau did not get to see Shakespeare at a young age. She loves being able to give students the opportunity that she never had. “The wonderful thing about art is, you don’t know who’s going to be drawn to it. You never know who’s going to be affected by it,” Rousseau said. “Even if we just light up one kid in the room’s brain, that’s one brain that wasn’t lit up before.” All students involved had a great experience. Some may become bigger theater fans. Others may be inspired to pursue a career in theater. Either way, it looks like Shakespeare Live succeeded in lighting up everyone’s brains. Encore!
Students particpate in the MacBeth workshop
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ampus University Times
March 20, 2015
Hello Everybody,
The University Times Staff Editor
Christopher Bowden Staff Writers Joshua Archer Christopher Bowden Monica Hewitt Tong Liu Ning Sun Contributors Emma Campbell Tim Chase Erin Keehn Marc Knap Brad LeFay Meghan Lagassie Melissa Lizotte
Adviser Dr. J
The U Times welcomes submissions from the campus. Send digital versions of articles, photos, etc., to utimes@maine.edu and jacquelyn.lowman@umpi.edu
We’re back! After a whole semester of no print, we’ve come out of retirement to deliver you the
best paper on campus. It feels good to get back into print, almost feel like Michael Jordan after he went
and played baseball for a year. Now of course I got my team of all-star writers and a hall of fame ad-
visor, you better believe that we’re coming for the title.
I’d like to thank you all for supporting us and reading this paper, We here at the University Times
hope you enjoy it and if you have questions, concerns, or comments feel free to contact me. We are also
always looking for content so please feel free to email me or Dr. J, if you have anything you’d like to put in the paper.
-Christopher Bowden
Dates fo r Subm ission s to the U Times M a rch 2 7 th ,
A p r il 1 3th ,
A pril 24th
Any submissions received after a deadline will be published in the following issue. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Lowman at 768-9745.
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Marc Knapp CONTRIBUTOR
Wildfires and the Men Who Fight Them
According to the National Interagency Fire Center, in 2014 there were 63,312 wildfires in the U.S. that burned more than 3.5 million acres. The U.S. Forest Service says that 65-82 million acres of Forest Service lands are at high risk of wildfires. These fires can’t be left to rip through the country putting property and lives at risk. So when wildfires in remote locations begin to get out of hand, the Federal Emergency Management Agency sends in hotshot fire crews from across the country to fight the blaze. Nick Royal was one of those firefighters willing to fly across the country to fight these massive fires. This past summer Royal made two trips with the hotshot crew from Maine to outside of Eugene, Ore., near the Willamette National Forest, to fight fires. When he arrived the first time, the wildfire covered 3,000 acres and had grown to nearly 8,000 acres by the time he left two weeks later. “You’re only allowed to spend 14 days on the fire line, then you have to take at least two days off. But they like to rotate crews from out of state home for two weeks off,” Royal said. So after their break, he and his crew were reactivated and sent back to continue fighting the same fire. It had grown to more than 10,000
acres by the time they returned. Royal’s journey began by busing down to Manchester, N. H. There he met up with other crews from New England and flew to Duluth, Minn., to pick up a few more crews. Then they went on to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, which manages the hotshot crews nationally. From there they flew to Redmond, Ore. Then Royal was bussed out to the staging area, or what the firefighters call the complex. “It’s like a little town. All the tents are set up and there are people everywhere. There’s a dining tent that’s open all the time. There’s a laundry where you drop off your dirty clothing at the end of your shift. They have people that do it for you and you just pick it up the next day.” The days are long. “The camp runs 24 hours a day so everybody starts their day at a different time, but other than that everyone’s day is basically the same. Unless your crew is spiking out, which means you’re camping on the objective site to monitor the fire rather than going back to the complex.” The day starts with an hour for breakfast and to get ready to deploy. After driving for a half an hour, then hiking for another half an hour, Royal would arrive at his objective and begin his 12-to-16-hour
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work day. “They give you production requirements, sections on the map that you need to clear. It’s OK if you don’t meet it, but it’s awesome if you do. The name of the game is getting home safe, really. They don’t care how much you get done as long as you get out safely and you’re not being an idiot, just sitting around and stuff.” We might think that the hardest part of the experience would be putting your life at risk or living in the wilderness with a bunch of strangers for two weeks. But to Royal it was things such as getting the money to make sure his bills got paid on time while he was away and keeping his schedule open for the two months that his crew had posted their availability. So what were Royal’s favorite things about the experience? What made him want to risk safety and security to fight wildfires? “The traveling and meeting all the new people. There’s a real sense of brotherhood that you have with all the guys. The intensity and the excitement, all the way around, everything about it, I guess. There’s some drawbacks, yeah. But mostly it’s that adrenaline rush when burning trees are falling all around your crew.”
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Edible Art Helps Raise Funds! Joshua Archer STAFF WRITER
Art lovers packed the Wintergreen Arts Center in Presque Isle for the Third Annual Edible Art Night on Feb. 6. Aroostook Partners in the Arts sponsored the fundraiser. Visitors could relax and examine fine art formed from food. Or they could buy a $10 punch card and munch on creative goodies local artists cooked up. Aroostook Partners in the Arts member, Heather Harvell, said edible art nights push local artists out of their comfort zone. “We keep trying to think of events here in this area. And this area tends to be a function art area. I think people really have a hard time with fine art you just hang on the walls and find the [edible art nights] to be something they can really sink their teeth into...no pun intended,” Harvell said. Snack food landscapes covered the walls of the art center. And fondant sculptures of trees and mushrooms sat on pedestals. Each year, Hyrum Benson, a board member and assistant professor of fine art at the University of Maine at Presque Isle, tries to outdo himself with his edible creations. This year’s work, titled “Bread of Life,” featured bread baked from molds of faces Benson had lying around. “Bread’s a staple and an everyday thing most people use and they can relate to. And rarely do we see it in any other context,” Benson said. “Art is important. It defines who we are. It’s a cultural thing. It’s a fun thing, helps keep our culture rich. And helps broaden our ideas and our creativity and our involvement with other people.” Munching the creatively sculpted snacks raised $800 for the evening. Proceeds from the yearly event help bring well-known artists into the community. The money will also provide scholarships for Presque Isle students going on art related trips.
“Bread of Life” by UMPIʼs Hyrum Benson
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More Edible Art!
“Sweet Summer” Juliette Lawson.
“Bonsai Tree” by Kelly Mathes
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Uni ve r si t y T i m e s C A M P U S M a rch 2 0 , 2 0 1 3 Meghan Lagassie CONTRIBUTOR
More Like a Family
There are 525,600 minutes in a year. Many people probably wouldn’t know that. Who would, right? Well, there is a group of people who would know the answer to this question. People in the theater would answer this in no time, because it is from the famous musical and movie, “Rent.” People in theater know a lot more than many would think they would. Theater is not only a place where many sing and dance, it is also, to many, a family. Like all families, parents are the ones who hold everything together. In the theater, the directors are the parents. Directors make sure the cast and crew are taken care of, with hair, makeup and costumes, and they make sure that the actors are ready to perform. Directors are the glue that hold the show together and put a lot of effort into doing so. Leslee Mahon, the director of the Presque Isle High School drama club, known as Shipmates’ Playhouse, is one director who does just that. She absolutely loves what she does, even when the job is stressful. Her Emma Cambell CONTRIBUTOR
mother was a teacher for the high school. Mahon would go along with her mother to watch the Shipmates perform at the regional and state drama festivals. She had also attended several plays at the Pioneer Playhouse, UMPI’s former theater group. Mahon admired Wendy Zubrick in her roles on the stage. When asked what her favorite part of directing students is, Mahon said, “Watching student’s blossom on the stage. They become confident and shine.” She said that theater gives all types of personalities a chance to shine. She also said that theater gives students teamwork. The production becomes a team effort. She ended with, “I love theater.” As far as Mahon’s students are concerned, they absolutely love her. Paige Haley, a former member of Shipmates’ Playhouse, had a lot to say about her drama director. “Personally, I loved Mrs. Mahon as a director. I loved the fact that she made a connection with every kid that was involved in the musical.” She said that Mahon helped the students realize their abilities and
helped them shine on stage, even if they had just small parts. Musicals aren’t just something that students do for fun. They are fun, but there is more to them then meets the eye. As Mahon said, they make students shine. Some students feel as if they don’t have many friends or they are too shy to talk to anyone. Musicals bring out the best in students. As Mahon also said, theater gives all students with all types of personalities the chance to come together and become themselves. Even if you are the jock, the cheerleader, the quiet one, the gamer--theater has a place for everyone. The directors, such Leslee Mahon, are the ones who bring all the different groups of students together. There are so many cliques in high schools. Theater can bring them together and break the odds of all the rules in those cliques. Then those kids become friends with people they never thought they would. Like a family, difference doesn’t matter.
Life in a Tourist Town
When the cashier asked for her zip code, Caitlin Campbell’s chest puffed with pride. “04032” she responded, smiling. Campbell, 23, is a local in the popular tourist town of Freeport, Maine. Stores asked the zip code question a lot. Whether for store or town information, she wasn’t sure. “I love giving my zip code. I love that they know that I live here, that I’m not a tourist,” Campbell said. Campbell grew up in this coastal tourist destination. While Freeport, Maine, is known worldwide for the famous store that put it on the map--L.L. Bean--it is also a place many people call home. The U.S. 2010 census said that Freeport is home to about 8,000 people. They have learned the ins and outs of living there. It takes a special kind of skill to be a local in a tourist town. It requires patience, acceptance, careful planning and understanding. The locals know the best back streets to get to where they need to be. Sometimes it’s just easier to avoid Maine Street altogether. They know the times of day to head out. (Avoid mid-morning and early afternoon
when all of the school buses drive down Main Street from the middle school to the high school.) They know that trying to shop in town in the middle of summer can be hard, “Just give up, go to the mall. At least there will be parking there,” Campbell said with a shrug. While Freeport sees its greatest number of tourists in the summer, it also gets the leaf-peepers in the fall and the Christmas shoppers in the winter. “Christmas brings the Maine winter charm. It’s magical, with all the lights and the giant Christmas tree in the yard between L.L. Bean and the L.L. Bean home goods store. Freeport is definitely a must see,” Campbell said. Living in a tourist town can be tough. “Sometimes I just want my cup of coffee. But that means fighting tourists in the Starbucks parking lot for a parking space. Then waiting in line for 15 minutes because visitors want coffee too,” Campbell said. There are more pluses than negatives, however. “I loved living in a tourist town because it was interesting to see people from all over.” Alex Campbell, 21, reminisced about his life growing up in Freeport.
Although he is currently attending college in Massachusetts, he still looks forward to coming home when he can. “I think it helped me accept different cultures at a young age,” Caitlin Campbell said. She’s met many different visitors, some from Canada, some from other states and some even from Europe. “That’s always fun: to meet people from a totally different continent in your own backyard.” Seeing different cultures is a plus for being a Freeport resident. There’s also always something to do. The Freeport USA website has an updated list of events for the town. Whether it’s an art exhibit or the annual Chowder Challenge that takes place in early October, the town usually has something going on. Although Freeport is a mix of shops, events and must-see tourist spots, it’s never lost its hometown feel, which is another charm that both tourists and locals love. “For what it is, Freeport is small,” Sandi Sylvain, who moved there in 2001, said. “It’s a hometown feel for people who are away from home.”
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Daily Candian Erin Keehn
CONTRIBUTOR
Canada is only 10 minutes away from Houlton, one of the border towns in Maine. Here we see many, many Canadians and live with them on a daily basis. Lots of people will tell you their horror stories about Canadians: how they don't use turn signals, their rudeness or their ability to hold up a checkout line with only one item. But what they will forget to tell you is how these Canadians have become a part of our town. Houlton would not be able to go on without them. Cashiers are some of the people who deal with Canadians the most in town. We cash out the Canadians’ items, helping them through the money difference. This is also where we can meet the true Canadians, instead of the monsters from the stories. One cashier recalled a time when she had three Canadian customers in line and one American. She knew right off the bat who the American was. How? Be-
cause he was ruder than the rest of the line. She was impressed by how friendly the Canadian customers were. The true horror stories, as cashiers, often come from those American customers we help. So why is it so hard to admit that these Canadians are actually
dependent as the United States. But Houlton is not a rich community by any means. We make most of our money from tourism including from our Canadian neighbors. Canadians come here almost daily to buy bread, milk, eggs and other grocery items due to the in-
helping us? Why can't we see that they are not so bad after all? It's hard to admit that we need help. It's even harder when we live in a country as in-
flated prices in their own towns. This is basically free money for our local economy. This money is coming from people
outside our country. It's then spilled into our money pool, for lack of a better term. Some days these kind, friendly people spend more at our stores than we do. Another cashier remembered a day in which she helped only Canadian customers. She said, “I hadn’t even touched the American money in my drawer except to give them back change. By the time I finally had my audit, I had more Canadian money in there than American!” This certainly does not happen every day. But it happens enough to help support our town with Canadian buying habits. Beyond shopping in our stores, many Canadians make contributions to projects happening in town as well. One customer, who preferred not to be named, spoke of how she donated thousands to a local farmer. The farmer had let too many bills pile up and he needed the extra money to keep going. She couldn’t remember the farmer’s name. She did remember just how touched he was that she helped him. She did it because she comes to Houlton often enough to be familiar with the people and the town. She was and is attached to both. In the end, we owe a lot to our friendly Canadian neighbors. So the next time you hear someone make a snide remark about them, just remember that they may have helped pay for your dinner that night.
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The Puzzle Piece Monica Hewitt STAFF WRITER
Mary Kate Barbosa currently works as the director of student support services at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. Although she devotes much of her time to the campus, there is a lot to Barbosa that you wouldn’t see in the office. Barbosa is originally from Caribou, Maine. She went to school in Caribou and graduated from the Caribou High School. She is the oldest of three children. She has a brother and a sister. Barbosa comes from an Irish family. She mentions that as a child, she and her family would travel to Ireland every few years. They would spend about a month or so visiting her family there. After high school, Barbosa left Aroostook County to go to college. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English and Italian through Middlebury College of Vermont. She earned her master’s degree in education at the University of New England. For her degree in Italian, Barbosa actually studied in Italy through Middlebury College. One of Barbosa’s passions is travelling. She said that after college, she would go on trips to Europe by herself. She doesn’t get to travel as much these days, but it is something that she has always loved. Barbosa’s other full-time job is as a mother. She has three children. Her daughter, also her oldest, currently travels through Europe, following in her mother’s footsteps. Barbosa mentioned that her daughter has jobs that are online. Her second oldest, her son, is currently in college and studies at UMPI. Her youngest, her other son, is in middle school. During her down time, Barbosa says that she is a big fan of movies. As far as the types of movies she likes, Barbosa said, “I really like old movies.” She also enjoys reading. She said, “I read almost anything you put in front of me.” She taught English for 19 years, so she enjoys English literature books. “I read about a book a day,” she said. Barbosa is fluent in Italian, so she also owns several books that are written in Italian. Before coming to UMPI, Barbosa worked in several different education centers. These include the alternative high school in Caribou (also known as the Learning Center), as well as Job Corps. She also taught in Arizona. Much of Barbosa’s career has consisted of helping students who are struggling with their education for whatever reason. In her current she works to make sure that students are as successful as possible in college. Her work includes scheduling meetings between professors and students. She also sometimes administers tests for students who are for whatever reason unable to take them in class. James Stepp, dean of students at UMPI, said that he had worked with Barbosa
since she first started working at UMPI. He said that she mainly worked with students with disabilities as well as student support services. Now as the director of student support services, Barbosa reports directly to Stepp. In her work with students, Stepp said, “She’ll guide them partially through the counseling process.” Stepp and Barbosa work closely together, and he said, “We each have our own skills.” Stepp really enjoys working with Barbosa. Barbosa’s devotion to the UMPI campus shows through in her hard work. Morgan Svitila, who has worked under Barbosa’s supervision for three years, compares Barbosa to a puzzle piece. She keeps UMPI running smoothly and does her best to ensure the success of its students. Barbosa helps to provide a service that gives students the opportunity to make the most of their time at UMPI.
UMPIʼs Mary Kate Barbosa
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Can’t Live Without Travel Ning Sun
STAFF WRITER
Many dream of travelling to other places to experience fresh things. Some people prefer to go to places near their hometowns. But some people like traveling abroad to places with different culture and sights from their own countries. Sophia Maile and Ke ke should be put in the second group. Sophia Maile grew up in Presque Isle, Maine, which is located in North America. She is a freshman in her hometown university now. Although she has little experience with traveling, she has a great plan to travel to Beijing, the capital of China. In order to visit Beijing, she asked her advisor if she could apply to be an exchange student to study in China for a short time. Also, she researched some information about the country from many international students who come from China to her university. She wants to communicate deeply with those Chinese friends. In order to get more information about China, she has learned to use Chinese popular media software. During her first semester at the university, Maile talked with a Chinese student who shared a documentary about travelling to the Great Wall with her. It was the first time for Sophia to realize how the ancient architecture was. There were so many details about it in this documentary that appealed to her. Some American travelers in the documentary shared their feelings. “They said the Great Wall is so cool! They also took many pictures on it. I wanted to touch the ancient wall after I saw those pictures!” Maile said. This documentary opened Maile’s mind and she started to imagine standing on the ancient Chinese architecture to feel its greatness and long history. She wanted to travel to Beijing. But she was worried about the language problem. Chinese is so difficult to pronounce for an English speaker. But she still wanted to learn it to understand ancient China better. Then she began to learn Chinese by following an online lesson
called Americans Try to Speak Chinese. She often uses words she has learned to communicate with her Chinese fellow students. During conversations, she makes some interesting mistakes. People misunderstand her meaning when she pronounces wrong words. “ I learned how to say ‘fork’ in Chinese and I tried to use it when I have dinner with my Chinese friends. I said this is ‘sha zi’ when I pointed out the fork. They did not understand what I was saying because my pronunciation means another word in Chinese. ‘Sha zi’ means ‘stupid people’ in Chinese and fork should be ‘cha zi’ in Chinese. So I said they are stupid when I spoke the new word. So funny.” Now Maile has learned some simple daily Chinese. She hopes to study in China in the future. She thinks that going to China will enable her to travel and to be independent at the same time. Unlike Maile, another student named Ke ke traveled to
the United States when she was 16. She had a good knowledge at English because her mother was an English teacher. Ke ke had already done some traveling. When she did, she usually stayed with people from western countries. Ke ke lived in a host family when she traveled to the U.S., which encouraged her to melt in better. In Ke ke’s social media platforms, she released many photos about this trip. The content in those photos is not only about famous architecture such as the White House, the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty. It also included parks and schools. She wants to get a masters in business in the U.S. because she was impressed by her visit. Now she is planning to travel to European countries this summer. Traveling around the world is one of her dreams. Traveling brings people new feeling about the world. Both Maile and Ke ke are eager to explore the fresh world.
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Brad LeFay
CONTRIBUTOR
True Community Healthcare
Healthcare is important to everyone. Every single person, regardless of money or insurance, gets sick sooner or later. So what about the people who don’t make much money? How about the people who don’t have good insurance, or any at all? They, of course, become sick like everyone else. But they may not be able to pay for healthcare. In the town of Houlton, Maine, one source of healthcare is Katahdin Valley Health Center. How good a job does KVHC do? First opened in 1974, KVHC is a group of five Federally Qualified Health Centers. Their goal is to serve the people of northern Maine. This counts for more than just Houlton. KVHC also has clinics in Ashland, Island Falls, Patten and Millinocket. FQHCs are nonprofit and owned by the community. They usually care for areas
Timothy Chase CONTRIBUTOR
Have you ever wondered what happens to UMPI students after they leave the college and go out and start their lives? Former UMPI student Josh McNinch serves as a National Guard reserve solider. He has been in the Guard since 2011. He went to school locally in Houlton, where his favorite parts of high school were history class, football and hanging out with friends. McNinch said that he always wanted to be in the military. “I wanted to be part of something bigger then myself.”
with a lot of low-income, uninsured people. With that in mind, how does KVHC treat its patients with little money? Michelle LeFay is the human resources compliance and risk manager at KVHC. According to her, the company’s mission is to provide quality healthcare to the people of northern Maine, regardless of their ability to pay. “Basically, whether you have commercial insurance, MaineCare or Medicare or no insurance–you can be seen at KVHC.” Patients at KVHC pay for their care on a sliding-fee scale. Basically, the less money people make per year, the less they have to pay for healthcare. LeFay noted that, because of the rural area we live in, good healthcare is hard to find. That’s where KVHC comes in. The company has a lot of specialized clinics, such as dental and mental health counseling. On top of clinics that are available to all patients, KVHC offers
Open Access care. Open Access lets any person, any day, walk in and receive care without an appointment. Focusing on the community, KVHC hires locally before hiring from “away.” It is also veteran-friendly, giving hiring preference to veterans. Veterans even get benefits on the sliding-fee scale, basically giving them a discount. If KVHC’s business goals are anything to go by, it would seem that the towns it cares for have acceptable and accessible healthcare. Even if people have little to no money or insurance, KVHC claims to have them covered. That is a very important claim to fulfill, as everyone, regardless of anything, needs healthcare at some point.
Where Will Your Wings Take You? After McNinch returned home from his training, he joined funeral honors. He provided professional services to many of the fallen heroes of the state of Maine who served in the Armed Forces. McNinch volunteered and was deployed to Afghanistan in August 2013. He served there for a year. The deployment had a profound effect on McNinch. “I had the time of my life. I made lifelong friends and we made the best of it. And I would go back over in a heartbeat.” Two soldiers who served with McNinch had great things to say about him.
Sgt. McCraith said, “His dedication to duty sets him above his peers whether it be on funeral honors or just needing a volunteer for a detail.” Sfc. Frag said, “ Having deployed with Spc. McNinch recently to Afghanistan and seeing his performance firsthand, I can say unequivocally that he is one of the hardest working soldiers I have ever had the pleasure of working with.” McNinch’s experiences with UMPI before he volunteered to go overseas helped to mold him. He said that the things he learned at UMPI he would never forget. He was glad that he had
gone to college, even though he did not finish his degree. He enjoyed the activities like the dances and movie nights and the sports events. McNinch claims that all need to go to college to find themselves. You’re on your own with a lot of responsibility. You are responsible for yourself and you get out of college what you put into it. College was an eye-opener in some ways for McNinch, as it is for most people who go to school. Someday McNinch plans on coming back to UMPI to finish his degree in secondary education.
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Tong Liu
A Exciting Healthy SportSnowboarding!
STAFF WRITER
Snowboarding is a very popular sport in Presque Isle because of the snowy weather in the winter and the very cold weather keeps the snow from melting. A lot of people are interested in this sport because it helps to strengthen our bodies. Chris Bowden and Xiaoguo Bao are both snowboarders. Bowden snowboards sometimes during the winter. Bao snowboards in China. He snowboards every season and had a lot of competition experience in China. They have some advice for people who want to learn to snowboard. Bowden is a student at UMPI. His concentration is professional communication and journalism and he likes to snowboard in his spare time. “I have snowboarded since seventh grade,” Bowden said. His advice about how to snowboard was to keep balance. He said to use your legs and hands to keep balance so that you can stay on the trail and control the speed. Different people feel comfortable under different weather. Bowden likes the weather that is a little bit cold but not freezing. When the weather is warm, the snow may melt a little bit. Melted snow does not feel as good as fresh snow. Before he snowboards, he always makes sure to have plenty of warm layers and some food to provide him energy. He usually prepares energy drinks, such as Red Bull, and water for while he snowboards. The brands that Bowden knows that produce snowboarding equipment are Ride, Burton and Oakley. “I have a snowboard whose brand is RIDE. I got this in a skateboard shop down in Portland,” Bowden said. He thinks that snowboarding can bring people a healthier life and stronger legs. His advice for people who would like to snowboard is to make sure to know your limit and wear a helmet, as well as to watch out for dangerous trails. Knowing your limit is the most important thing to protect yourself because some trails that you have never been on before will make you feel nervous and reduce your ability to deal with danger. Bao is a pro snowboarder in China, so he has great expertise. He has a lot of advice for people who are interested in snowboarding. “The very important points to control the snowboard are the conversion of gravity and strength from the lower body. These can make the snowboard go in different directions and make different angles with the trail,” Bao said. He said that good weather for snowboarding is when it is sunny and cold. A sunny day can have good visibility and cold weather can keep the snow from melting. Before we go snowboarding, we should have the right kind of clothing. First of all, the clothes should be waterproof. Second, long socks are another important thing to prepare. The socks can keep our feet from being hurt from the boots. The third important thing is goggles. A pair of goggles can protect our eyes from hurt. Snow will have strong, reflecting light and it may hurt our eyes if we don’t wear goggles. Finally, gloves and beanies can keep us warm and protect us from dangerous cold.
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“In China, a lot of people know Oakley, Burton. There are some other brands that are also very good for snowboarding equipment, like Flow, Dragon and Smith,” Bao said. When we snowboard, water and energy drinks can add energy when we sweat. Some good examples are Gatorade, Red Bull and Monster. Snowboarding trails tend to be on mountains with forests. The fresh air makes us healthier. Snowboarding also makes our cardio-pulmonary function better and strengthens our muscles. Snowboarding is also a good way to make friends: through this interest we can communicate the skill of snowboarding and find other common interests. Before learning how to snowboard, we need to learn how to stop on the trail so that we can protect ourselves from danger. Before we start off, it is important to warm up. Bao has a few more safety tips. “Communication devices may also help. And watch out for the stones and trees on the side of trails.” Snowboarding is a very good sport for people to try and to learn. Both Bowden and Bao found aspects of interest. They also found a way to enjoy snow, winter and have fun during cold weather.
Xiaoguo Bao Snowboarding.
CONGRATULATIONS! Chelsea Lynds-Beaulieu February’s Student of the Month!
Chelsea Lynds-Beaulieu with Dean Stepp.