Apr 13, 2018 | News |
By Dale J Rappaneau Jr Contributing Writer
In response to UMF’s unsuccessful search for a tenure-track Creative Writing professor, Eric Brown, Interim Provost and VP for Academic Affairs, remains confident in the program’s academic strength and ability to find a quality candidate to fill the role.
“UMF values highly its creative writing program, which continues to draw exceptional students from around the country,” wrote Brown in an email. “While we were unable to hire a tenure-track position for the coming year, we will continue to offer screenwriting courses next fall and spring.”
Brown’s specific mention of screenwriting stems from the fact that Bill Mesce, Associate Professor of Creative Writing, who currently teaches the screenwriting courses, was among the candidates unsuccessful in securing the tenure-track position. As a result, students have speculated on the state of screenwriting and its place in the creative writing program.
“Screenwriting is a unique component of the program, offering opportunities for the study of a genre not widely offered elsewhere in the state of Maine,” Brown said. “I regard screenwriting as a potential difference-maker for our program, appealing to students not only as a distinct genre, but as a gateway to further work in the film industry, and I see the coming year as crucial in defining the best way of supporting that at UMF.”
Jeff Thomson, Professor of Creative Writing, echoes Brown’s sentiments, stating that the creative writing program is the school’s “jewel program” and that screenwriting is an essential part of the program. He added, “Pat [O’Donnell] and I are going to rethink and rework the screenwriting position and do another search in the fall.”
At the time of writing, screenwriting courses are being offered for the Fall 2018 semester, despite the program’s continued search for a professor to teach those courses. “We don’t have an official contract in place yet so I can’t say for certainty,” wrote Brown, “but, again, the plan going forward is to have staffing for those courses, and I expect we will have it resolved positively in the next week or so.”
Linda Britt, Chair of the Division of Humanities, rallied behind the creative writing program and saw the unsuccessful tenure-track search as unreflective of the program’s strength and long-lasting academic appeal. “The creative writing program is strong and popular, and it has an excellent reputation in the field,” Britt wrote in an email. “The program will be here for far longer than you or I will.”
The Fall 2018 screenwriting course, as detailed in the MaineStreet course catalog, will take place every Wednesday, from 3:10 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and the instructor in charge of the course is simply detailed as “Staff.”
Apr 13, 2018 | News |
By Nicole Stewart Staff Reporter
When walking along Main Street in downtown Farmington, seniors who opened the door to the Roost were greeted by loud music playing from the DJ, chatty bar-goers, and their fellow classmates for the Senior Social.
The social was a way for the class of 2018 to relax for the night with their friends by dancing, talking and chowing down on the greasy, yummy bar food. Though the event was held from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., a majority of the class showed up towards the later hours of the Friday night. No matter what time the students showed up, it was a night for relaxation and forgetting about both the worries of school and of what is to come after graduation.
Michaela Zelie, a senior who attended the event, does not regret going and had a fun evening. “I enjoy spending time with my fellow classmates,” said Zelie. “It’s always fun. I always have a good time.”
When it came to the planning of the event, the president of the senior class, Sarah Young, admits that putting on a party like this takes a lot of time. In an email interview, Young said, “The class officers and I normally start a month in advance to begin planning our socials. Sometimes, we even start two months in advance. The process is pretty long as we have to obtain contracts from the locations that we are holding the socials at.”
This was not the first senior social that has been held this year. There have been four socials that have occurred during both semesters. The Roost is where the socials are typically held, but back in February, there was one held at Titcomb Mountain.
The recent social at the Roost was held on a Friday, instead of a Thursday like the socials usually are. Because of the day change, the Roost could not be shut down and exclusive to the senior class. It was open to the public of Farmington, while community members kept to themselves, seniors mingled with one another. The reason for the change was because the senior class urged for a Friday social so it would be easier to attend.
Zelie admitted that she enjoys the socials more at the Roost than she did at Titcomb Mountain. “It’s more veritable here [The Roost] than at the Mountain, because it was really overpriced,” Zelie said.
Another difference in the events was that since the Roost is downtown, it’s closer for students compared to Titcomb Mountain, which is farther away from campus. Also, the Roost offered more choices for students to pick from when it came to their beverages, where as the social at Titcomb only had a few selections.
Young believes that attending the socials are a good way for students to connect and relax no matter where the place is. “Ultimately, the conversations I’ve had wind up talking about school work, but that’s really only because our students at UMF are extremely passionate about what they do, and we want to be able to highlight their achievements,” said Young. “As long as you’re 21-years-old, I think that anyone should be able to attend these socials because the friends you make in one night can truly last for a lifetime!”
Apr 13, 2018 | Feature |
By Nicole Stewart Staff Reporter
Walking into the Landing on a recent cold, April evening I was ready to have a night of relaxation by making crafts. I found that the scheduled “Think Spring Crafts” had turned into an open paint night. Along with around half a dozen other students, I got paint pictures on blank canvases.
Out of my four years at UMF, I had never attended a paint night before, so that made my experience special. I am by no means artistic and I’m not a good painter, so I was nervous. But paint night provided a relaxing and peaceful excursion as I stroked my brush delicately against the canvas.
Even though the event changed to a free painting night, I opted to go with the “Think Spring” theme originally intended. Now, when I think of spring, I think of flowers and green grass. But, when it comes to spring in Farmington? Small piles of white snow still cover what is meant to be the fresh verdant ground. Regardless, I th
Nicole Stewart’s finished painting. (Photo by Nicole Stewart)
ought spring, painting a flower with pink petals and a yellow center, along with a sky blue background.
Students were able to use a selection of colors and even paints with glitter. I mixed colors together sometimes, like the dark blue and light pink to make a sky blue for my spring-themed painting. No painting is done without making a mess of yourself, my fingers and my black shawl getting specks of blue paint on them.
As I channeled my inner Bob Ross for the evening, I was too eager to wait for the paint on the semi-covered canvas to dry. Impulsively, I used the bigger sponge instead of the selection of big and tiny brushes to make sure I would get all the uncovered spots on the canvas. I blocked out the chatter, and just focused on myself in the moment, not thinking about class or the worry of graduation. It was me, and the picture I was creating, the light pink flower I envisioned in my mind in that moment.
Finally, after spending nearly an hour on my painting, a sense of accomplishment set in. It was no Vincent van Gogh painting, of course, but I felt good completing the piece. A night of relaxing and forgetting about everything was something well needed.
This was an event I wish I had gone to before. Even if you aren’t the best artist in the world (or maybe not even artistic at all), you can still find peace in painting. The Landing offers a variety of painting and craft nights to UMF students, which I strongly encourage everyone to take a chance with.
Apr 13, 2018 | News |
By Emily Thibodeau Contributing Writer
UMF’s Track team is looking forward to a great season as they had a strong first meet at Eastern Connecticut State University. Individuals of the team broke school records, personal records, as well as qualifying for the New England championship.
The team has had rough training conditions as they have been forced to practice inside due to the snow. The original time for first meet was rescheduled due to weather so the team was like “horses ready to get out of the gate,” according to head coach Dan Campbell.
Some of the team’s highlights of the first meet include Olivia Ridley’s new personal best that also broke the school’s record for the 5000 meter race with a time of 18 minutes and 37 seconds. Laura Pulito qualified for New Englands in the 800 meter race, while Shane Hathaway and Corey Martin missed the qualifying time for New Englands by just over a second.
The track team engaging in fund raising off the track. (Photo by Cameron Eggerman)
Ethan Solis, a first-year student also broke a school record at the first meet in the 200 meter race. This will be Solis’s fourth year doing track.
“To be honest it’s amazing having that feeling of beating a personal record,” Solis said. “But when it comes to a school record, it’s just an overwhelming experience.”
First-year student Abshir Abukar has been doing track for seven years and feels “pretty confident” about the upcoming season. Abukar got a new personal record in the 400 meter race at the first meet. Abukar said his goal is “to break 50 seconds in the 400 meter race” this season.
The first meet ended with rough conditions when it started to rain during the last events. Solis said, “My shoe came untied at the start of my last race, it took forever to tie because my hands were shivering from the cold.” Abukar wasn’t bothered by the rain, saying, “It was cold but halfway through the race I stopped feeling everything because I was focused on beating the other guy.”
The UMF track team has been part of the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) for the past three years. Campbell has been coaching the team during the past three years and is looking forward to building the team. This year the team has grown to 36 members with lots of promising freshmen.
The team has high hopes for this year, as they believe they have a chance to compete well against other teams. Campbell said as long as there are no injuries or sickness he believes that the Men’s team could place second for the second year, and Women could place third or fourth overall for their conference. Campbell said he is expecting to see stronger individual and relay results this season.
Abukar confidently said, “We’re gonna win NACs.” Solis agreed with Coach Campbell and said, “Our relays have a good chance of going to New Englands. I just hope that I can help my team when it comes to the NAC Championship because that is when it matters the most.”
Apr 13, 2018 | News |
By Olivia White Contributing Writer
UMF students, educators, and politicians showed their support for the Parkland school shooting by participating in marches held in both Farmington and Portland.
Kayla Suzanne, a student teacher at Mt. Blue Elementary, and Vanessa Brown, a student activist, both had the opportunity to be involved with the march in Farmington. Both had nothing but good things to say about the march.
“Overall, there was a positive and peaceful atmosphere,” said Brown. “Everyone wanted to make sure everyone else stayed safe.”
Many UMF students travelled to Portland to join their march. (Photo by Tina Hall)
Suzanne participated in the Farmington March for Our Lives as a speaker, whose speech cried out for help from the government and society to “think about and remember our basic civil rights, which should never get in the way of us feeling safe in our schools, because every child deserves a chance!”
Suzanne says that this part of her speech means a tremendous amount “because of how many people came out to the march from all different generations and backgrounds.”
On the same day as the march in Farmington, Jeffrey Willey, President of the College Democrats, and Eliza Robinson, another student activist, participated in the march held in Portland, Maine. This march encompassed around five to eight thousand participants. These participants ranged from grade school children to college-aged and beyond. Willey described the march as a “lively environment.”
One of the most memorable events during the Portland march was a marine who gave a speech at the end of the march. Protesters cried during the marine’s speech when he used personal experience in the military to explain why he believed there should be a control on guns within the United States. Willey’s major takeaway from his speech was when the marine explained how he has “seen friends die.”
Robinson and Willey both acknowledged the constant chants being sung by students throughout the streets. Willey remembered one chant that rung out throughout the streets, “enough is enough.” Willey hopes these movements will continue to make an impact not only on students, but that they will make an impact on those who have the authority to change legislature.
Willey was surprised to see no one protesting the march. While Portland may not have had protestors, the March for Our Lives in Farmington had many. Brown said, “There were people who were protesting the march, and for the majority of the people who were there, we tried to focus more on the people that were speaking rather than focusing on the people.”
Willey acknowledged that some students may not have been able to participate in these events. Willey suggested that people who want to be involved in political change should call and write to their senators and representatives and vote for those who have a vision for change.
Senator Susan Collins:
(207) 622-8414
68 Sewall Street Room 507
Augusta, Maine 04330
Senator Angus King:
(207) 622-8292
4 Gabriel Drive Suite 3
Augusta, Maine 04330
