Feb 15, 2019 | Feature |
By Thomas Young Contributing Writer
Andrew “Andy” Robinson is a new law instructor at UMF and just finished his first semester as an adjunct professor while being re-elected as district attorney in UMF’s district.
Robinson is taking over the courses that were taught by Walter Hanstein in previous years. Robinson taught Law and the Legal system last semester and is currently teaching Crime and Punishment.
Robinson holds many other titles such as Treasurer for Western Maine Community Action and President of the Maine Prosecutors’ Association, along with an unending list of associations and committees of which he is a member.
Robinson travelled around a lot when he was younger, finally going to and graduating from Limestone High School before going to the University of Maine. While at University of Maine, Robinson met his wife. Robinson’s wife went to school to learn to be a chiropractor while Robinson commuted to University of Maine School of Law in Portland.
Robinson spent 18 months doing real estate law before being hired as a domestic violence prosecutor by the District Attorney in 1999. A year later Robinson’s first child was born. Soon he was given the position of Deputy District Attorney. In 2014 he won his first election for District Attorney and had three kids.
In his legal profession Robinson met Woody Hanstein. Robinson had been invited to join Hanstein’s classes in the past. “Woody was always generous about letting me teach his class,” said Robinson. Hanstein had a tradition of inviting Robinson into his class and giving Robinson a gift, such as a t-shirt.
Robinson got a lot of advice and inspiration from Hanstein “He [Hanstein] gave me the sample syllabus,” said Robinson. Although Robinson credits Hanstein for all of the help, Hanstein wasn’t the only factor. Robinson said, “I have always been interested in teaching.”
Robinson’s classes focus on group discussion based on readings. Robinson focuses his grading on participation and attendance so that one bad test will not harm a student’s grade too badly. Robinson also believes this is most efficient. “I feel like if everyone participates we all benefit,” said Robinson.
Robinson has already started thinking about other course he may be able to offer in the future. Robinson has mentioned the idea of comparing different nation’s legal systems and how legal systems work under monarchs as two examples of potential future courses. Robinson’s eagerness to teach more classes is easily explained by professional interest. “I love the law,” Robinson said.
Robinson’s has recently been re-elected as the District attorney for Oxford, Franklin and Androscoggin county. With a staff of 14 assistant district attorneys and 26 other support staffers Robinson is able to offer internships at each of his offices. Robinson speaks highly of this involvement in the legal system. “It’s an important experience,” said Robinson.
This makes Robinson a great resource for any students that are looking to go into a law career. Robinson’s first advice for anyone pursuing law to look at programs such as the program with University of Maine School of Law. “Take a look at the three for three program,” said Robinson. As there is no specific major required to get into law school, Robinson said, “study whatever your interest is.”
Feb 15, 2019 | Bite Me Beaver, Exclusive |
Dear Bite,
I am a moderator for HvZ, and the past few semesters have been boring. The missions are always the same, and the players are getting to settled in the status quo. I can’t think of any fun ways to spice up the gameplay. Got any good ideas?
-Bored to Undeath
Dear Undead,
Medical science has achieved some amazing things. Wouldn’t it be wild if somehow, a petri dish (or two, if you’re not a coward) of a rare disease just happened to. . .disappear from the biology labs? And perhaps, break upon the pavement during game play? Decide if you want to be a moderator, or the moderator.
Dear Bite,
I have practicum this semester and I’m assigned to a middle school health class. I’m so prepared to teach, but I don’t understand the modern middle-schooler. I’m worried that I’m not hip or cool enough to make them respect me. Their lingo doesn’t make any sense. I can’t find this vape nation on any map, nor do I understand their obsession with increments of 14 days. What can I do to learn more about the modern child?
-Stuck in the timeline God abandoned
Dear Abandoned,
You don’t want their respect, you want their fear. At this age, those kids are meme-obsessed, demonic little gremlins that will mow down anyone who tries to appease them. Establish yourself as one of the Ancient Ones- one who created the first memes. You know, Bad Luck Brian, Overly Attached Girlfriend. Screw their current, pop-cultures references and slam with the stock format of a single subject framed by white and black block letters, with a set, thematic punchline. Make them understand where you’ve been, what you’ve seen, how it is to be raised in the trenches with the remains of long-dead memes.
Dear Bite,
I’ve only been dating my significant other for a short time, and with Valentine’s day here, I don’t know how seriously to take the day. Is it awkward to plan something special if we’re not at that level, or would seem like I don’t care if I do nothing?
-Sgt. Pepper’s Confused Hearts Club Band
Dear Sgt. Pepper,
Easy- tell your SO, “Babe, I got us matching bracelets!” Then handcuff yourself to them. You’ll be at a real special level by the end of the day.
Feb 15, 2019 | Sports |
By Heather Kinee Contributing Writer
Coach Beth Lebel, a UMF Graduate, is inspired by the coaches she had has an undergrad. (Photo Courtesy of UMF Athletics Page)
With the women’s lacrosse team nearing its season, head coach Beth Lebel was able to shed some insight on their upcoming season. Lebel, a UMF graduate, didn’t find her passion for coaching until she worked in sports information.
“I knew that after my experiences as a student athlete here I didn’t want to be done with athletics,” Lebel said. Since Label was once a student athlete herself, she found the drive to become a coach at UMF. Label already knew the town, the other coaches, the community, and she wanted to give back through coaching.
One coach that had a huge positive impact was Molly Wilkie, the women’s soccer coach. “Having a coach that believes in you is 80 percent said Lebel and Molly was that coach.”
While attending UMF, Lebel played four years of soccer and two years of lacrosse. When Lebel graduated, she jumped in as an assistant coach with her former coach Wilkie. “I looked up to Molly as a coach,” said Lebel, “and now I had the opportunity to work along side of her as my mentor.”
Lebel started off assistant coaching soccer and lacrosse but when the position opened up for the head coaching position, she applied and got the job. Lebel has now been assistant coaching soccer for five years and and has been head coach of the women’s lacrosse team for three.
Only a week into the season Lebel says that the team is meshing really well together already. “Having everyone who did fall ball is now here on the team really makes a difference,” said Lebel. The team is already way ahead of where they were last year.
Though the lacrosse team lost a couple of key players last year, they have a good chunk of experienced players coming back, including six seniors, three of which are captains. “Having such a strong core as our highest class is great as they all lead as examples and really help and encourage our underclassmen,” said Lebel.
Sam Cross, a senior Biology Pre-Vet major, has played lacrosse at UMF for all four years. Cross is one of the captains and also has high hopes for the season. “The team has changed over the years by becoming more accepting to all players and working more on team chemistry,” Cross said in an online interview. “When you look at our team, there are not cliques and you honestly cannot tell who belongs in each class which is something that we take pride in.”
Cross and the team are all on the same page as for what they want for the season. With hard work and dedication they have been putting in the are ready for the season to start with the NAC championship in sight.
“Any team hopes to make it to the conference championship but seeing the women’s soccer team do it and win has really inspired the lacrosse team,” said Lebel. This has driven the team to to give any team a run for their money.
While they struggle with snow on the ground, the team is able to make accommodations by practicing inside as well as traveling to Thomas to play on their turf. Since there are many other sports during the spring, the women’s lacrosse team has to be very flexible with sharing time inside the gym, such as practicing at 6 a.m. in the morning. “The girls have a great attitude about it and after a little while it’s just routine to them,” said Lebel.
The lacrosse team is built up of strong hard workers and as the season goes on Lebel is excited to see how the team will unravel and progress.
Feb 15, 2019 | Sports |
By Audrey Carroll Contributing Writer
Joy Jancewicz, Annie Dobos, Kara Doana, and Crystal Macomber pose for a photo before cheering their first game of the season. (Photo courtesy of Audrey Carroll)
After a stellar 2018-2019 competition season, consisting of two first place victories on the road, the UMF cheerleading club is unable to compete at all this year due to a lack of participants. Now the team is searching for next year’s competition squad.
The club has diminished from 19 members last year to only seven this year. This significant decrease has affected the squads competition season dramatically. “Unfortunately, the UMF team is unable to compete this year. The program does not have the number of athletic roles to achieve that goal,” says Annie Dobos, President of the club.
This year, the squad simply did not “have the right amount of flyers,” said the club’s Vice President Joy Jancewicz. Flyers are the athletes who are lifted during the stunting portion of the routine. An important part of a cheerleading routine is stunting, or lifting one or more athletes into the air who showcase their flexibility and other skills in order to receive a higher score. “Potentially, you can teach someone to fly. . .It would be hard work, but not impossible,” said Jancewicz.
Although the club’s seven athletes are not competing this year, they are still keeping busy. So far, the club has cheered at two basketball games – one at UMF and one hosted at Thomas College. Some of the cheerleaders also set up a table at the Spring Club Fair and were approached by a few interested individuals, showing hope for next season.
The club has also been brainstorming fundraising ideas for this year. Not only would these events raise money for the club, but they would also “get people’s attention, and remind them of our program” said club member Kara Doane.
So far, the club has discussed hosting a clinic for young cheerleaders, and is also considering participating at this years Relay for Life on campus. Both ideas served well for the club in the past.
Last year, the club held a community-based event, focused on getting local children active. “The entire UMF cheering team put a cheer clinic together that younger athletes could attend to better their skills as a cheerleader,” Dobos says. This event consisted of three sessions, during which the children were grouped by age and then taught a small routine that was performed for their parents during the last session.
At last year’s Relay for Life, the club sold energy drinks and performed a few stunts for the attendees, while also cheering on participants in the relay from approximately 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.
“With all of these events, the club was very busy and very active in the student life at UMF as well as the surrounding community,” said Dobos, demonstrating why the club would like to do them again.
While the club hopes to raise awareness through these events, current athletes always encourage anyone who has ever wanted to cheer to join their team as soon as possible. “If you’re interested in joining cheering at all, I would say do it, because even if you don’t have any experience in it or anything, we’re very willing to help you build the needed skills,” said Doane.
“It’s not a difficult thing to do, it’s just time consuming. You have to be willing to put in the effort to get the result.”
While it may be too late for anyone interested to cheer at basketball games with the club this year, it is not too late “to take part in other events this semester,” said Jancewicz. “I think it would help, too, for you to get a feel for the team – to dip your toes in the water to see if it something that you might be interested in for next year.”
If you’re interested in joining, you are encouraged to contact the clubs President Annie Dobos, or Vice President, Joy Jancewicz, via email at anna.dobos@maine.edu or
joy.jancewicz@maine.edu
Feb 15, 2019 | News |
By Madison Lecowitch Contributing Writer
UMF Senior Juliana Burch is the host of Paint Night. (Photo courtesy of Juliana Burch)
The Center for Student Involvement at UMF will be holding monthly Paint Nights in The Landing to promote creativity, inclusivity and community. Juliana Burch, a senior at UMF, is the host of paint night.
Burch’s job is to select a painting to recreate, and to show students how to paint it with step-by-step instructions. “I’ll go on the internet and I’ll look at paint night photos on google images to kinda see what people do, and I try to find one that I think would be fun and that I would want to have on my wall,” Burch said. “I try to pick one that I feel people would want to do that might help them to feel better.”
Burch is majoring in English, with a double minor in International and global studies and film studies. She explains that painting has alway been a passion of hers. “I’ve always really loved art,” Burch said. “It’s such a great way to shut off a part of your brain. The worrying and the anxiety and the stress and everything that college and life puts on you.”
Although Burch enjoys all things art, painting doesn’t come very easy for her. Burch is color blind, which affects her ability to see specific colors. “I was in a bit of an accident when I was younger in the garage, and it resulted in a minor explosion, and basically the way I see color now is I can see green fine, but I can’t see blue and yellow,” Burch said. “Blue and yellow kind of blend in to green, so where everyone can see the green spectrum, the blue spectrum and the yellow spectrum, they’re all one long spectrum of green for me.”
Burch really tries to focus on making others happy. At the first Paint Night, students painted a sunset with cacti and shrubbery. “We’re in the middle of winter. It’s cold and it’s dark and it’s sad, so I wanted to do a sunset or sunrise because I feel those fill people with hope and happiness,” Burch said. “I thought that might be a nice way to warm people up with how cold winter is.”
Burch explained that Paint Night was formed to bring UMF together as a whole. “I’m a Community Assistant in the residence halls, and we host programs every semester to try and encourage kids to get out of their room and meet people and engage in, and kind of foster that sense of community that Farmington has,” Burch said.
Amethyst Leeman, a freshman, enjoyed the engaging community atmosphere that was created for Paint Night. “It was fun, and I liked hanging out with friends and seeing everyone’s finished product,” Leeman said. “I thought Juliana was fun, she really engaged the audience.”
The first paint night had about 24 attendees. Burch hopes that more people will show up for the next paint night. “I would love to try to make this a bigger event, especially if we have the funding for it,” Burch said. “I don’t want to turn people away from wanting to paint.”
In an email interview, Sydney Goodridge, a student on campus, explained that she chose to participate in Paint Night because it’s a creative outlet for beginning artists. “I participated in Paint Night because it seemed fun and simple enough for a novice,” Goodridge said. “I loved how Juliana created a pleasant atmosphere and easy-to-follow instructions.”
The next Paint Night will take place Monday, Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. Burch’s email is juliana.burch@maine.edu, and she encourages people to reach out to her for tips and suggestions on what they would like to paint next, or any music suggestions they have for the upcoming paint nights.
