Apr 19, 2019 | News |
Kara Doane Contributing Writer
A new UMF compliments profile on Instagram allows students submit compliments for students and faculty around campus, subject to the approval of the account creator, who is currently remaining anonymous.
Through a direct message interview, the creator of the account said, “ I want to remain anonymous, because I don’t want people to praise me for making this account. I just want people to be happy.” The profile typically gets three to five submissions a day, where sometimes people will submit two or three compliments about their friends.
The first post made by the account is from March 28, reading, “Made this account to compliment people around campus! DM me your submissions and I will post them anonymously!” Since this post, there have been 79 positive posts about members of the community.
The account user has been listening to the buzz around campus about their endeavors.“I’ve heard people talking about my account around campus and that it makes them really happy to see all of the posts. My hope is that this account will spread more positivity around campus.” As many hold preconceived judgments of others, this account can help them see the good side in people, especially those who they wouldn’t normally get along with. “I have seen such a wide range of people being complemented which is really awesome,” said UMF Compliments.
The most liked and commented post on the page features junior Norma Williams, posted on April 2nd: “Norma Williams is more than what is talked about. She is a caring individual with a lot to give and people don’t recognize that enough. She’s faced things no one should have to and for that she is strong.” This post had 52 likes and 7 comments.
Williams said this post “was sad but true, it was nice to see that people know what I’ve been through.”
Posted on April 9th was a compliment for CA Crystal Macomber, “Crystal is such an amazing person. She always makes people smile! She’s a great friend and an amazing CA and I’m so proud of everything she’s doing!” Macomber texted friends to see who had submitted the compliment about her. All who responded denied having sent it in. “It feels really good that someone is noticing all the hard work that I am doing,” said Macomber. “Especially because one of my best friends didn’t submit the compliment.”
Faculty may also be featured on the page. Assistant Director of Upward Bound, Elyse Pratt-Ronco’s post on the page has the caption, “Elyse has done so much for me while I’ve been here at UMF, the grief group has saved me.”
While the UMF Compliments account want to be kept anonymous, close friends of the individual are aware of their identity as the account user. Those few people are asked to keep the identity under wraps.
Anyone who wants to submit a compliment can DM @umfcompliments on Instagram. Make sure to follow the profile to keep up on the positivity around campus.
Mar 15, 2019 | News |
By Kara Doane Contributing Writer
Sophomore students Lindsey White and Julianne Petrie recently found out that they will be walking with the class of 2020.
White and Petrie entered UMF in the fall of 2017 and expected to graduate in the spring of 2021. Carol Lee had told White and Petrie that it was a possibility to graduate early during their freshman year on campus. “During pre-registration this semester Patti Bailie told me I can walk at graduation in spring 2020,” said White. “It honestly blew my mind.” While Petrie has a different advisor, herself and White went to the same high school and took all of the same classes.
Graduating early was never the intention for White. In high school she took many AP courses, advanced classes, and college classes online. “I took 15 hours of college classes in high school online through University of Maine at Fort Kent (UMFK),” said White. “I took Advanced Placement Literature and Language but failed the AP test. I also took advanced math and science classes.”
White and Petrie’s intention of taking AP classes was to save some money for when they got into college. As they both came into UMF with a full semester’s worth of transfer credits, their goal had been met. They managed to save on a whole semester’s tuition.
Graduating early could be the new trend as, “high schools are offering more college courses/AP classes at a discounted rate,” said Petrie. “I think I only paid about $80 for each college class in high school, compared to $1,200 for each class when I’m actually in college.”
White suggests to anybody wanting to graduate college early, “If your high school offers college classes, take them! It may be a lot of work but it’s so worth it.” For those who didn’t have the opportunity to take college classes in high school, Petrie suggests, “take May terms and summer classes. Online classes aren’t too bad if you can motivate yourself to do the work without going to class every day.”
White and Petrie had both taken ANT101 (Introduction to Anthropology) in May 2018 and are planning on taking ECH402 (Diverse Programming in Early Childhood) in Summer 2019.
White is not ready to graduate next year, saying, “God no, be an adult? No, I’m mainly doing it to save money.” White is nervous about entering the working world post-college as she says, “What if my job is far away and I have to get a real apartment or live alone? I’m ready to be a teacher but I don’t want to be a full adult.”
White will turn 21 in March and will walk in May, “So I’ll still be a baby. Being younger when entering the workforce, it could be a possibility that I could not be taken as seriously by employers/coworkers,” said White. The only positive that she mentioned was saving so much money.
Petrie is ready to graduate but shares White’s fears. “By graduating early, I’m nervous about being super stressed all the time and not being able to relax and have fun when I need to.”
White and Petrie have had a good experience at UMF. “College has been fun. I definitely struggled this past fall semester but having a good support system at home helped me stay on track,” said White. “I am not graduating with my friends I entered college with, but I do have tons of friends in the 2020 graduating class.”
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
