SMCC Beacon 11/24/2015

Southern Maine Community College Issue 1, #17, November 24, 2015 By the Students, for the Students

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Campus News Free Press

Other World Modern Food

Op & Ed The Broccoli

Arts & Features ASTEP

Sports Heating Up

Pages 2-3

Pages 4-5

Pages 6-7, 10

Pages 8-9

Pages 11-12

MCCS President Langhauser Visits SMCC TALKS BUDGET, TUITION, ENROLLMENT AND RETENTION

By Dierdree Glassford Hospitality and Culinary Arts

A

week ago Thursday, Jewett Auditorium was buzzing with the chatter of a full audience as a community of dedicated faculty, staff and students, attended a tuition and fee discussion that was facilitated by SMCC President Ronald Cantor and lead by Maine Community College System interim President Derek Langhauser. The talk was billed as an informative talk and discussion concerning the economic state of SMCC, and the MCCS, and how the impending budget deficit could affect SMCC and the community college system.

President Cantor started off the meeting with a strong introduction, with words on how enrollment trends and other demographics have affected the SMCC budget. A major concern for enrollment is that the number of graduating seniors from high schools is in decline in the state of Maine. Derek Langhauser pointed out that there are nine high schools in Washington County and there were only 600 graduating seniors last year.

Coupled with the decreasing numbers of graduating seniors is the unemployment trend and how it affects enrollment.

In 2010 through 2012 the national unemployment rate fluctuated between 9.6 (2010) and 8.1 (2012). Simultaneously, SMCC’s full-time enrollment peaked at approximately 7,500 students in 2011.

After President Cantor’s opening remarks, President Langhauser spoke for close to 45 minutes outlining how the MCCS’s budget has arrived to where it is now. Holding the room’s attention, Langhauser, who was asked by the Board of Trustees to be Interim President for MCCS in January 23rd 2015, started off by speaking about how he was focused on stabilizing the systems and operational costs. As SMCC is the largest school of the seven community colleges, it has the largest enrollment and the largest operating expenses.

The topic of retention surfaced as one of the largest issues that SMCC has as far its affect on the SMCC budget. While there are many ways to look at the decrease in SMCC’s retention numbers; from students being hired out of degree programs before they earn a degree, to not being able to balance the school/work dynamic, and/ or not being prepared for the demands of higher education, it remains a variable that eludes being fixed.

One of the President Langhauser’s biggest concerns is to find a way to keep students enrolled until they graduate.

While not going into detail, Langhauser did reference how the delivery of classes could be improved upon and expanded. Rachel Guthrie, Co-Chair of the Communications New Media Studies Department asked if the range and availability of online courses would be expanded, President Langhauser responded by saying that was one of the options they were considering. He also

Colin Woodard, Renowned Author, Speaks at SMCC to Discuss Environmental Plights

By Garrick Hoffman Liberal Arts Major

I

n the HUB gymnasium at SMCC, students, faculty, and staff alike sat and listened to words of environmental

degradation and the grave frivolousness of man, but they also got a taste of hope.

The illustrious author and journalist Colin Woodard, a George Polk Award (Continued on Page 2)

PHOTOGRAPH BY KEN REDDINGER

SMCC President Ron Cantor and MCCS President Derek Langhauser referenced partnering with businesses to enhance how classes were developed and delivered.

Langhauser went on to explain how the costs of the system are allocated, which includes professor’s salary, retirement and health insurance expenditures, which are paid for by tuition and funding from the state.

Shane Long, Director of Resident Life and Student Involvement, raised a concern about how SMCC will retain students if we do not have the staff and the resources that students need in order to succeed. “At some point it is difficult to retain students without the staff available... we need quality education, not just accessible education.”

It raises the question of what will be

PHOTOGRAPH BY GARRICK HOFFMAN

sacrificed as an outcome of the budget deficit. Many faculty, staff, and students are questioning what the consequences will be if we are not able to bounce back from a projected 1.25 million dollars budget shortfall.

As the talk was labeled, a discussion concerning tuition and fees, the conversation turned to tuition and was touched upon not only by Derek Langhauser but also by, Erik Squire Student Senate President and the Culinary Arts Department.

One show of a positive vote for a raise in tuition came in the form of a petition from the Culinary Arts students (Continued on Page 2)

College Newspapers Unite for Workshops at USM

By Garrick Hoffman Liberal Arts Major

T

his year’s Veterans Day offered a unique experience when USM’s own Free Press student newspaper invited The Beacon to a series of workshops in the morning and afternoon.

Among the workshops were topics on copy editing, journalistic interviewing, legal implications of journalistic libel and slander, and others.

USM professor Matt Killmeier conducted the first workshop, which

covered copy editing. Here, Beacon and Free Press students learned about the nature of newspaper stylization regarding abbreviating, mechanics, and a variety of other editing know-how.

Seth Koenig of the Bangor Daily News graced the group with his journalistic aptitude and presented the next two workshops, which covered interviewing in journalism and how to “find the right lede.”

Next, USM Communications professor Dan Panici combed over libel and slander and the legal implications of these in journalism. This proved to be a

fascinating examination of how law affects those who work in journalism.

Finally, USM student Patrick Higgins lectured about photography basics and how to apply them in the press.

Perhaps one of the most important nuggets of information amongst all the workshops was journalistic integrity and what this means for anyone who plans

Seth Koen

ig of the B

angor Dail

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Langhauser Visits SMCC (Continued From Page 1) to the Trustees of the Maine Community College System. Arriving in uniform at the start of the meeting, 5 representatives of the Culinary Arts program presented Langhauser with a petition stating, “Dear Trustees of the Maine community College System, We the undersigned culinary students feel it is necessary for us to continue getting the quality culinary experience we have been exposed to at SMCC in order to compete with workers in the field. We undersigned students therefore feel a raise in the tuition and or experiencing a Lab fee increase is

Southern Maine Community College Produced by the students, for the students

EXECUTIVE STAFF Garrick Hoffman Executive Editor Aiden Bothwell Art Director Samuel Carlson Social Media Manager

SECTION EDITORS

Megan Prevost Campus News

Ashley Berry Op & Ed Dierdree Glassford Arts & Features

Illaria Dana Other World CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Alexander Balzano Elizabeth Barrett Bryan Gelinas Hannah Martin Paul L Young SPECIAL THANKS TO Kenneth Reddinger Photographer

Craig Stanley Illustration Editor

Ben Taylor Illustrator Keshia Hernandez Illustrator Alexander Balzano Videographer

Seth Buchanan Graphic Design

Chuck Ott Editorial Advisor

Rachel Guthrie Publications Advisor

TO JOIN THE BEACON STAFF CONTACT CHUCK OTT AT cott@smccme.edu

acceptable. We would prefer it to lessening the quality of the program.”

Erik Squire raised the question of if SMCC alone could increase the cost of tuition and the rest of the MCCS could stay at the same rate, with the students here at SMCC being more able to handle the price increase than the students from the other counties in Maine.

Langhauser replied while there was no law or rule against MCCS allowing different tuition prices across the college system, it has never been done and there are reservations with implementing such a policy. He also went on to state that if someone from Washington County Community College were to transfer to SMCC they might be upset about the price difference.

Squire then followed up asking if the student senate were to put out a petition and conduct a referendum favoring a small tuition increase would the board of trustees consider the proposal.

Langhauser replied, if the referendum

recipient, has written four books with historic and oceanic themes, one of which focuses on the Maine waters (The Lobster Coast). His book The Republic of Pirates is a New York Times bestseller, and went on to be the basis for 2014 NBC drama “Crossbones”.

Woodard is and has been a correspondent for a plurality of news publications, including the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Economist, to name a few. He also served as a historical consultant for the popular video game Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, which was set in the same time period as The Republic of Pirates.

Courtesy of Hydrate Humanity and the SMCC Student Senate, the venerable author stood before a sizeable and eager audience on Thursday, November 19 in the HUB gymnasium after book signings for a lecture. Woodard spoke about his past as a student, his life reporting in foreign countries such as Hungary and Croatia, and what he saw in these places.

Titled “Ocean’s End: The Crisis in the World’s Oceans,” the lecture lasted about an hour until Woodard fielded questions

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ducts a wo

rkshop at U

SM.

PHOTOGRAPH BY GARRICK HOFFMAN

where created that the board of trustees would consider it but would rather have a professional survey conducted to assess the impact and favorability of a tuition price increase.

Langhauser has gone on record stating that he takes full responsibility for his recommendation to not raise the tuition, and to wait until July of the

Colin Woodard Speaks at SMCC

(Continued From Page 1)

to work in the field. Those who do work in the field have a duty to honor, and the workshops illustrated just what those duties are.

After the wonderfully constructive and informational series of workshops, The Beacon thanks the Free Press for their thoughtful invite and welcoming atmosphere at their headquarters.

from the audience, which were abundant.

While Woodard illustrated the grim state of environmental pollution around the world and how it’s affected both man and the ecosystem. One part was particularly stark, as he described riding down a stone bridge while reporting abroad and being required to hold his breath due to a complete lack of oxygen due to severe air pollution.

Woodard also condemned the pervasive denial of climate change, saying the perpetrators behind this may be “willfully ignorant” and are certainly doing an enormous civil “disservice” to America and the world. He said in light of overwhelmingly abundant evidence, there is no margin for rejecting climate change, and that the effects and threats of it are present and palpable.

Despite the facts, Woodard said he feels more optimistic for the future regarding environmental conditions that we do and will face, contrary to how he’s felt in the past.

For the audience, who is surely exposed to bleak news stories about the environment and considered everything Woodard lectured about, this was at least a trifle reassuring.

next fiscal year in order to make a new assessment. Langhauser was very open in describing the negotiation process with the state legislature. As the MCCS has been flat funded for a few years no increases have been made to the system or SMCC budgets.

Langhauser was able to achieve a 5.5% increase, which will bring in $121 million for the system, however he made a point that it would barely cover the debt that the system already obtained.

Raising tuition by $3 dollars a credit hour, currently in-state tuition rates are $90 a credit hour, would raise the income of money from enrollment to a total of $1 million dollars for the MCCS system, and $400,000 for SMCC alone.

The question is, will the reaction of the students be hesitant as Langhauser suspects? Or will the students agree with the raise in tuition in order to secure the quality of their education and the support that is offered through the school in order to succeed academically?

One student hoped that there would be talks of a contingency plan, but all in all they were impressed with the 5.5% budget increase that Langhauser was able to achieve with the appropriations committee, and appreciated the informative “lecture” as they described it, feeling as though the talk was very clear in breaking down the situation that the school is currently in, financially speaking.

A huge question to be asked is what will happen to our programs, the community, and the resources SMCC is currently able to provide for its students in the wake of this budget deficiency, and where do we go from here? As Langhauser said, “the larger colleges like University of Maine-Orono can handle a budget deficiency, but SMCC cannot.”

PAINTING BY CHARLES OTT

From Personal to Global A LECTURE BY PROFESSOR CHARLES OTT ON HIS LANDSCAPE PAINTINGS

By Illaria Dana Education Major

O

n Thursday, November 12, Professor Charles Ott gave a lecture about his paintings on display in the SMCC library. The lecture was attended by students and faculty.

SMCC has an exhibitionist committee that curates exhibits in the second floor of the Learning Commons and plans to show student art in the next exhibit.

Prof. Ott spoke at a podium about his experiences making art. The paintings

in this exhibit are landscapes, and Prof.

Ott said that this body of work started in, “2007, or 2006. That summer I went back to New Jersey to stay with my father while my mother had open heart surgery.

I came back a couple months later, and I started going to Cliff House Beach in Cape Elizabeth to draw. One day when I was drawing, I was watching the light change.

When you’re doing landscape painting, the light changes like that [snaps fingers], so you have to go with it. Maybe you have an idea of what you want to start with, but it ends up big time different.

“I was doing a lot of drawings of the birch trees on the right side of the beach.

I was starting to notice the light change

From left: Hali Parsons, Bryan Gelinas, Nicole-Raye Ellis, Adam Booker, and Andrew Swett.

O

n the first Saturday evening of November, the Business Club here at SMCC was given an opportunity to give back to the community. Those members who were available that night got together at the Ronald McDonald House in Portland to prepare dinner for

I feel at peace. I carve out the time, I need to, and ultimately the other areas of my life benefit from this.”

Prof. Ott reminded listeners that what matters most is their core beliefs, what energizes them and gives their lives meaning. He often tells his students that he believes “all people have the right to live and to have a life that is meaningful, one that they can grow in.” These words are especially important today. The value of human life cannot be denied, and exploring one’s true interests and concerns for others mark a good life for those who live in safety.

Andrew Swett and Bryan Gelinas Preparing Food

PHOTOGRAPHS BY KEN REDDINGER

BUSINESS CLUB UPDATES: VOLUNTEERING AT THE RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE

By Bryan Gelinas

on the islands. One second the light was on the left hand side. A second later it was on the right. Clouds were rolling by.

Everything was changing. Everything was in flux. It was really quite amazing.”

Prof. Ott emphasized the importance of making art to his sanity, and the ability the practice has to put other life events and responsibilities in perspective. During the Q&A portion of his lecture, a faculty member asked him how he found the time to make art. Prof. Ott is an active member of the SMCC community, teaches drawing, painting, and English classes, and is an advisor to The Beacon. He responded that, “Sometimes other things suffer. But when I’m at work [on art], that is the only time

all the residents staying there. The Ronald McDonald House is a charity house where children who are being treated at the hospital nearby can stay comfortably, along with their families. The Business club was extremely grateful to be able to help out and give back to such a good cause in our own community.

Participating in the event were SMCC students: Nicole-Raye Ellis, Adam Booker, Andrew Swett, Bryan Gelinas, and Hali Parsons.

We need volunteers to assist adults with vision loss in recreational activities at our newly established Rehabilitation Center.

Volunteers will lead evening card or board games at the State and Grant Street residencies, and can assist, lead or drive for weekend community outings. Training in visual impairment and mobility is provided before starting. Volunteer commitment can be at almost any level over a three-month term, such as an afternoon in a weekend or an occasional night.

For more information, speak with Dr. A. Jan Berlin, Medical Director of the Low Vision Clinic at Iris Network or Diane Richard: 207.774.6273 | drichard@theiris.org.

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Looking for a New Life in the U.S.

By Illaria Dana Education Major

I

am embarrassed to say that I know very little about refugees in Maine.

When I began this article, I knew almost nothing. I had taken a course called History of American Education with Professor Marguerite MacDonald. We had studied about cases in Supreme Court that had limited the accessibility of education to non-white individuals in the United States. She gave anecdotal evidence about the difficulties that immigrants face in schools today and the services that are available in Maine to assist these people, including lectures that she gives about diversity in schools, the importance of knowing students, and how individuals’ backgrounds affect their conceptual and lingual development which, in turn, affect their performance in U.S. schools. I had never considered the idea that students from a community that herded animals would have strong spatial and navigational experiences that, in turn, would help them in school, regardless of their previous exposure to school or the English language.

I had only considered my privilege as a white woman and a native of the United States in sort of an abstract way. I knew that other people experienced hardships that were placed upon them by the society that rewarded me through no virtue of my own. What I did not know was the long history of oppression that people have experienced in schools, schools that were designed by John Dewey to be great equalizers, nor the difficulties that people have entering this country today. I became fascinated with the history of education as a way to understand my privilege and as the background of the difficulties that people face trying to immigrate to the United States and in building lives once here.

I met with a woman I know, Chloe Cekada, who works at the Catholic Charities Refugee and Immigration Services office in Portland. She told me that she often directs inquiries to one of her coworkers, saying, “I usually ask Claudette to speak with inquirers.

Sometimes she’s too tired, or doesn’t feel like answering questions, and then I will talk to people.” Ms. Cekada is a Maine native and iterated throughout our conversation the importance of speaking to people with firsthand experiences who are

immigrants and refugees themselves.

HOW DO IMMIGRANTS ENTER THE U.S.?

We began by talking about the word “immigrant”. Ms. Cekada explained to me that the word is blanketed term for many experiences that people have. She emphasized the importance of knowing how people enter this country. There are three ways that refugees immigrate to the U.S. The first is primary immigration in which people are settled in Maine, or their desired destination, directly from their country of origin having received refugee status and the care that comes with this status. The second way is called secondary immigration. She explained that someone may have received refugee status and been “resettled in D.C., or somewhere else in the U.S. There are many reasons why one would want to relocate to Maine. Perhaps they have family already established here, or they are not used to living in such a large city.”

The third way that people enter is as asylum seekers. Seeking asylum is a legal process, and this process is much easier if one can afford legal aid. Ms. Cekada said that people seeking asylum are “about 95 percent more likely to receive refugee status with this help.” People have to wait until the U.S. responds to their request to become asylum seekers, a kind of transitional process in which a person tries to become a legal immigrant due to violence or another form of displacement from their native country. She explained that after people begin seeking asylum, they may have to wait one to three years for an interview.

Asylum seekers are different from refugees, for they have usually entered the U.S. in a temporary manner, such as a student visa. Asylum seekers have to make a case to show that they cannot return to their country. They begin the legal process when they are already in the U.S.

immigrate to Maine occurred 30 years ago, and these people were Vietnamese. She told me that Catholic Charities Refugee and Immigration Services is one of 14 agencies that has a contract with the U.S. government to work with and provide services for refugees and immigrants. In Maine, the current policies on refugees receiving aid exist in part because Governor LePage missed a deadline to veto a set of 65 bills in July. On June 22 Maine’s House passed a bill that allowed asylum seekers to receive General Assistance, which includes food stamps, disability, and subsidized housing. LePage had intended to veto this bill, and 64 others, but he missed the deadline by ten days.

Ms. Cekada said that those who contributed to the bill had limited the scope to those who already had achieved status as refugees or asylum seekers, leaving a huge population uncovered. She had heard that the contributors had thought it would be “too hard” to pass a bill that gave all people assistance. She looked into my eyes as she said this, and I felt her humanity in full force. I felt that the people she spoke to everyday, living people, were struggling to survive and to build lives.

It is important to be cognizant that other people’s lives are rich in customs that demand respect.

A BRIEF HISTORY

Ms. Cekada also gave me a brief history of immigration in Maine. She said that the first large population to

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BEHIND THE SCENES

She proceeded to discuss the work she does. She said that she had been part of a team that put on a workshop for a company of 300 people in Madison, Maine. She had observed that the most effective part of the workshop was when Qamar Bashir, the site manager of Maine’s Refugee and Immigration Services, spoke. She told me about many students whom she works with who attend SMCC and the challenges they face. It is her job to help them find the financial and language resources to assist them in higher education. She also said that many report experiencing microaggressions and gave the example of being in a high level science class and being looked at and treated as though one does not belong. The term “microaggression” has received much attention in the press; however, it is hard to make qualms with the term when real people are exhausted by their treatment in schools, specifically this community college.

Ms. Cekada explained that many volunteers who work with Maine Catholic Charities Refugee and Immigration Services do not know how to enter the homes of the people they are trying to help. It is important to be cognizant that other people’s lives are rich in customs that demand respect. The only way to learn how to behave is to ask. And it is not the job of individuals to educate others about their race and customs. This can be exhausting. It is a privilege to live in a world that is culturally rich and a decision

to let others into one’s private space.

Let us not forget that refugees and asylum seekers have been displaced due to violence, poverty, or disaster. This is not a question of artificial scarcity or the hateful arguments. This is about respect.

WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE AT SMCC?

My next step was to meet with Maggie Loeffelholz, a My Success Coach, to discuss the immigrant, refugee, and asylum seeking populations. She explained that My Success is a program that serves incoming freshman students who graduated from the Portland Public Schools system. To qualify for the program, students must need one or more development classes, usually in math or English. The students participate in a three week summer program and enroll in a FIGS class together in the fall.

Ms. Loeffelholz serves as an additional advisor to students in her cohort along with their academic advisors. She said that there were 33 students involved in this fall’s My Success program. Out of these students, 10 are asylum seekers.

Asylum seekers, unlike permanent residents, cannot receive financial aid, so part of her work involves connecting students to scholarships. She said that she provides the same benefits for these students that students who are U.S. citizens receive. The students in My Success are members of the local community, having graduated from Portland schools, however, many have had different experiences entering this country.

WHAT’S HAPPENING NATIONALLY, LOCALLY?

On Thursday, November 19, the House of Representatives voted to enhance the screening process of people trying to immigrate to the U.S. as refugees from Syria. This decision is directly tied to the Paris attacks that occurred on Friday, November 13. President Obama has expressed his concern about the bill and the desire to veto it if it passes the Senate, a vote which will occur after Thanksgiving. According to “The New York Times”, President Obama said, “That somehow they [refugees from Syria] pose a more significant threat than all the tourists who pour into the United States every single day doesn’t jibe with reality.”

He continued, stating, “Rather than shutting the doors to these desperate men, women and children who are risking their lives to escape death and torture in their homelands, we should work to utilize our immense resources and good intentions of our citizens to welcome them.”

Governor LePage has expressed his desire to prevent Syrian refugees from entering Maine. Will misguided fears prevent asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrants from starting a new life, and will our consciences allow us to sit back while this happens? This is a pivotal time politically, and many lives are dependent on our attitudes and ability to exercise our concern for others.

How Modern Food Production is Contributing to Climate Change

By Elizabeth Barrett Liberal Studies/Psychology

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n the past few decades, climate change has been a hot topic. Whether you believe in it or not, climate change is real, and it has been proven time and again that the processes we as humans use to make our daily lives easier are damaging the planet. There have been many changes and policies put out in attempt to slow down or curb emissions, when in fact one of the main culprits for pollution seems to be overlooked by those in charge, and that is simply the way we eat our food. The industrialization of our food supply has created an abundance of food, but modern food production is also leaving a massive carbon footprint, degrading the soil, and creating more problems than it is solving in the long run.

According the UN, between 43% and 57% of our greenhouse gas emissions are related to food production, including deforestation or land manipulation, raising livestock, processing, packaging, and transportation. Deforestation alone can cause huge damage, as we are seeing with the current wildfires in Indonesia, which were sparked by the slash-and-burn techniques of deforestation. These fires continue to burn and contribute more

emissions in one day than the US emits daily.

The current farming methods for crops, combined with genetic modification and overuse of fertilizers and pesticides, are severely degrading soil and preventing it from doing what it’s supposed to do.

Plants and trees absorb carbon from the atmosphere, and it leeches into the soil.

Modern farming techniques not only release carbon into the air, but also destroy the soil’s ability to absorb it back.

Industrialized crops are continuously plowed, doused with chemicals, and covered with fertilizer. Nitrogen-based fertilizer releases nitrous oxide, which is a huge contributor to greenhouse gasses.

Farmers tend to overuse this for insurance, and then it gets wet, turns into nitrous oxide and rises into the air.

Corn is the largest crop industry in the US, with soy coming in second. Yet, only a tiny fraction of these crops actually go to feed the population, and most of that is in the form of high fructose corn syrup.

According to Scientific American, 40% of it goes to make bio fuels, and roughly 36% goes to feeding animals. Corn is the most genetically modified and pesticide covered crop we have, and there have been many studies showing the negative effects modern corn is having on not only the

All Your Movies ACTOR SHIA LABEOUF ATTEMPTS TO CALL ATTENTION TO THE PASSIVE PUBLIC FROM A MOVIE SEAT

By Illaria Dana Education Major

I

t’s Wednesday night, and actor Shia Labeouf has been streaming himself in real time onto the Internet for 29 hours and 40 minutes. He is watching all of his films in reversed chronological order from the most recent films to the oldest.

He is in the Angelika Film Center, 18 West Houston Street, NYC. The public is invited to watch with him, and the tickets are free.

The live stream features Labeouf ’s face a bit off from centered. The light dims and brightens along with the film’s content, which the viewer has no indication of besides a listed schedule: the stream has no sound. Labeouf never looks into the camera, nor do the few other viewers who are visible around him. Those watching the stream have the indication that they are invisible, or spying on Labeouf, while he obliviously eats popcorn and watches movie after movie in which he is a star.

This stunt is a “performance art piece” put on by Labeouf, Rönkkö, and Turner who have written an artist statement called the Metamodernist Manifesto. The Manifesto states that, “We acknowledge the limitations inherent to all movement and experience, and the futility of any attempt to transcend the boundaries set forth therein. The essential incompleteness of a system should necessitate an adherence, not in order to achieve a given end or be slaves to its course, but rather perchance to

land, but the health of the animals eating it.

What goes into the animals isn’t the only worrisome thing, however. What’s coming out is causing a stink as well.

All those animals being fattened up for slaughter are also emitting gas. Methane, which is much better at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon, is the most destructive of the greenhouse gasses.

According to the NASA Goddard Institute, methane gas emissions have increased by 150% since the turn of the 19th century.

You can see how this is troubling. It’s not just carbon we have to worry about, but also the buildup of nitrous oxide and methane in the atmosphere, and the destruction of the soil’s ability to do its job.

We’ve seen what bad soil practice can do, as exemplified by the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression.

This does not even bring into the discussion the issues of water waste from maintaining massive crops, and the

pollution that occurs from pesticide runoff.

Nor does it discuss the excess carbon pollution involved in gathering, processing, packaging, and transporting these foods.

The bottom line is, our soil and air are being polluted in every way, and unless things change now, the damage may not be reversible. More people need to plant their own gardens and eat less meat. This would reduce the demand for both livestock and crops. The desire to conserve the planet as it is must rise above greed. The solutions are very simple, but it will take massive effort by a lot of people, and by cooperation of governments to help reduce these emissions and perhaps reverse them.

If not, the future will be darker than the Dust Bowl.

ILLUSTRATION BY ELIZABETH BARRETT

glimpse by proxy some hidden exteriority.

Existence is enriched if we set about our task as if those limits might be exceeded, for such action unfolds the world.”

All My Movies, the name of this performance art piece, is then a metamorphosis of what is means to be an actor in, and viewer of, modern cinema.

The viewer is called to question what a movie means, what performance art consists of, and the objective experience of watching films becomes a subjective experience when one is forced to look a mirror image of her- or himself looks like consuming hours of media. (This mirror image of course is “acted out” by Labeouf.)

Watching movies is supposed to be a form of relaxation, or enlightenment, one in which the viewer is removed from her or his reality and placed into a scripted world that has some sort of intellectual, visual, or anesthetic credence.

The use of the suffix “meta”, which originally meant “after”, as in “metaphysics” meaning that which comes after physics, paired with the question of what it means to be a passive viewer of television is not an original concept. It was the basis of David Foster Wallace’s novel, Infinite Jest.

Wallace was often called a postmodernist writer, meaning that critics viewed him as part of a literary genre that came after modernism (defined by its hyperrealistic descriptions of life as it is and use of short, matter-of-fact sentences), though he claimed not to understand what exactly postmodernism meant. Wallace portrayed the influence of technology and television on society as a great loss. He said that, “The really important kind of freedom involves

attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day.”

One admires Labeouf, literally watching his face on a screen for hours, and figuratively, for the unabashed criticism of the narcotized public’s utilization of media sources over direct action in their lives with other people.

When one reads about, “a glimpse of some hidden exteriority,” she/he is forced to contemplate the limits of what is humanly possible in actions, in thoughts, in love.

However, this is the kind of stunt that Wallace would never have pulled. It is in no way “unsexy”. Wallace, in interviews,

was incredibly self-conscious. He constantly referred to his own inability to be considered an authority on whatever subject he was being asked to speak about.

In All My Movies, Labeouf seems to be telling us exactly what we are and exactly what we will be: passive viewers. He resembles the victims in Infinite Jest, who, in the novel, have seen a film so compelling that they cannot stop watching to eat, sleep, or live their lives. He models the passivity he wishes to see change. There is no sign of “the ability to truly care about other people and sacrifice for them,” the ability Wallace so yearned for. One is forced to wonder if Labeouf is trapped in the very system that he wishes to viewers to examine.

Bowl for Free!

At Easy Day Join your fellow SMCC students on Tuesday evenings from 5-7, and bowl like the Great Lebowski!

725 Broadway, South Portland, Maine A current and valid SMCC student identification card is required.

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News from The Broccoli REPORTING THIS SEMESTER WITH HONESTY, INTEGRITY, AND BROCCOLI SEVEN-YEAR-OLD BOY A “TWERK” PRODIGY, INTERNET SENSATION

By Garrick Hoffman Liberal Arts Major BROOKLYN, NY - Michael Ryan, 7, of Brooklyn, never thought he’d have his own viral video, let alone endorsement from Miley Cyrus.

“It was like I made a wish for the Make a Wish Foundation and it came true, but without any life-threatening illnesses,” Michael said in a phone interview with The Broccoli.

His video has garnered over 50 million views in less than two weeks. In the video, Michael demonstrates his skills performing the 21st century’s newest dance phenomenon, called “twerking.” The “like” bar on the video is almost completely devoid of dislikes.

“I’m so proud of him,” his mother Latoya Ryan said. “I’ve been practicing my twerk skills for years, but my son has surpassed me significantly in such a short amount of time.”

Miley Cyrus applauded Michael on Twitter and described him as a “twerk prodigy” who “blowZ me away!!!” with his twerking aptitude.

IRS TO BEGIN TAXING BIRTHDAY, TOOTH FAIRY, LEMONADE STAND MONEY FOR CHILDREN 12 AND UNDER

By Garrick Hoffman WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a press conference held recently on November 10, John Koskinen, Commissioner of Internal Revenue for the IRS, announced new plans for the massively popular government agency.

“Beginning December 1st of this year, the IRS will begin taxing new citizens of the United States,” he said. “These citizens, ages 12 and under, will be taxed for their income that have traditionally been untaxed. Taxes will now be applied to sources of income stemming from birthdays, lemonade stands - in the summer at 8%, during tourist season - and the tooth fairy.

“Any citizen who does not report their income will be heavily penalized and treated as criminals.”

Asked whether he’s ever worshipped Satan or supported ISIS, Koskinen simply laughed nervously until the next reporter asked him a question.

FEMINISTS DEMAND “BACHELOR’S DEGREE” BE CHANGED TO “BACHELORETTE’S DEGREE”

Business Club

The SMCC

Meetings: ALL are welcome! Thursdays, 12:30pm to 1:15pm Place: 1st Floor Hague (Business Club Lounge)

6 THE SMCC BEACON | November 24th | 2015

By Garrick Hoffman SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - A band of feminists recently united to protest at a college campus in the nation’s capital for change in college degree nomenclature.

They’ve promised that it is only the beginning of their efforts to broadcast their campaign, which is titled as a hashtag, #Bachelor’sToBachelorette’s.

“We’re sick of men owning all the pronouns,” bellowed protester Alexis Harding. “We’re especially sick of seeing that in the educational sphere, where women are already discriminated against.

Women are getting Bs and Cs for the same work in the same classes that men are getting As in. We don’t want a Bachelor’s degree at the end of our academic journey.

We’re women. We want a Bachelorette’s degree.”

Harding continued, “If a degree isn’t going to be gender-neutral, we demand that ours be fit with the proper title for women. We’re here to take back the pronoun.”

In the wake of the protests, college administrators plan to quell the insurrection with diversion tactics by hanging up pictures of various conservatives such as Rick Santorum, Ted Cruz, and Scott Walker around campus.

GRANDMA PINCHES LEFT CHEEK INSTEAD OF RIGHT

By Hannah Martin Communications & New Media Major ARCHERY, OH - After Thomas Reynolds’s grandmother arrived at the family Christmas party, she hobbled over and pinched his left cheek instead of his right.

Thomas was astonished at this act. She then proceeded to give him a giant kiss on the same cheek. Every other time Thomas has seen his 92-year-old, senile grandmother she has always pinched him on the right cheek.

As Thomas sat there in confusion, his grandmother wandered away and gave the Christmas Tree a giant hug.

White House Backs Civil Rights Law Protecting LGBT People. Now What?

By Paul L. Young

A

fter months of threat and damage assessment and downright vacillation, the Obama administration last Tuesday endorsed amendments to the 1964 Civil Right Act that would guarantee federal protection against discrimination for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

The Equality Act would extend the Act’s anti-discrimination enforcement to persons on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace, housing, public accommodation and education – protections that do not currently exist in federal law.

Democratic Senators Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Cory Booker of New Jersey introduced the Equality Act in July, one month after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized samesex marriage. Rep. David N. Cicilline of Rhode Island co-sponsored the bill in the House.

As recently as six weeks ago, President Obama was still reviewing the ‘significant consequences’ and ‘broad impact’ of endorsing the bill, according to remarks made in early October by White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest. The apparent stumbling blocks were concerns by traditional civil rights organizations about opening the Civil Rights Act to amendments that could weaken existing law and fear of backlash by religious conservatives.

The latter concern appears unfounded.

Late October polls

by Public Religion Research Institute showed 70 percent of Americans supporting anti-discrimination legislation for LGBT persons, versus 25 percent opposed to such laws. In addition, 62 percent of the general public opposes a small business’s refusing services to gay and lesbian people on the basis of religious beliefs, against 32 percent who support that business’s ability to do so.

The week included Caitlyn Jenner being named Glamour magazine’s Woman of the Year on Monday and Obama’s being the first sitting president to appear on the cover of an LGBT publication on Tuesday.

OUT magazine named him Ally of the Year. The sad reality is that the Equality Act stands no chance of passage in a Republican-controlled Congress.

More important, within the next 12 months, the bill will be overshadowed by the political and military necessity of a response by the U.S. and its European allies to last Friday’s tragic massacre of 129 civilians in Paris, murders claimed by the Islamic State. Next year, after all, the nation will elect a new president. The candidates must put themselves on display as potential commanders-in-chief, leaving little room for the actual work of turning the Equality Act into law.

To date, no Republicans in Congress have expressed support for the Equality Act, though such Fortune 100 corporations as Apple, Amazon, General Electric, Microsoft, Google and IBM have endorsed it. Now what?

Letter to the Editor DEAR EDITOR OF THE BEACON

I am writing to tell you my personal opinion of our school news paper The Beacon. Let me start off by saying that I think it is wonderful that this paper is written by students for students. It’s always nice to see students come together to make something such as a newspaper. To put in the time and hours to find the stories and to edit and set it up.

I do feel that this paper provides important information to the students of the SMCC community. It has the big most effecting news on the front and page. This paper has relevant issues and stories. Such as whether or not the gun policy for guns on our campus has changed. Or even how to make the charge on people’s android phones last longer. Which is something anyone with a Android phone might want to know. There are a lot of sports fans out there so having a sports page is necessary

to entice people to read the paper.

I do however have a few things to suggest and recommend for further editions of The Beacon. As I was reading I found quite a few grammar and spelling mistakes. I understand that you can’t catch everything. I would also like to bring to your attention to some of the jokes in the Broccoli section. I found the Hitler one to be a little on the offensive side, and a tad bit distasteful. I will admit that I personally had trouble understanding some of the artwork, but that’s only my opinion. Might I recommend that you move the sports section more towards the middle.

I hope that these suggestions help make the school paper even better than it already is. I decently will try to pick up more copies to read them when I have time to actually read them.

Sincerely Your Reader Nicholas Cavanaugh

ILLUSTRATION BY BEN TAYLOR

ILLUSTRATION BY CRAIG STANLEY

w

HONORING THE VICTIMS IN PARIS AND THOSE WHO ARE MURDERED EVERYDAY BY THE HANDS OF ISIS, THE HANDS OF TYRANTS, THE HANDS OF BARBARIANS, AND TO HONOR THE VICTIMS WHO GET LITTLE PRESS BECAUSE THEY RESIDE IN AREAS CONSUMED

BY CONTINUOUS VIOLENCE AND WAR AND WHO HAVE NO SAY AND NO EASY ESCAPE.

TUESDAY EVENING PATIO BEHIND SEAWOLVES CAFETERIA

SCHEDULE

Beacon Bone

by Craig Stanley

5:45-6:05 GATHERING ON PATIO BEHIND THE SEAWOLVES CAFE, BY THE PEACE POLE 6:05-6:08 TIBETAN BELL BEGINS CEREMONY 6:10-6:15 OPENING REMARKS 6:15-6:20 LIGHTING OF CANDLES 6:20-6:40 PERIOD OF REFLECTION AND COMMENTS 6:40-6:45 RINGING OF TIBETAN BELL CLOSES THE CEREMONY

THE CANDLE LIGHT CEREMONY WILL BE BASED UPON A QUAKER FRIENDS MEETING, WHICH ENCOURAGES A SILENT MEDITATIVE GATHERING IN WHICH ONE SPEAKS WHEN THE SPIRIT MOVES THEM. “FRIENDS HAVE FOUND THAT MESSAGES MAY BE FOR OUR PERSONAL REFLECTION OR FOR SHARING ON ANOTHER OCCASION. OR THEY MAY BE A LEADING TO STAND AND SPEAK. FRIENDS VALUE SPOKEN MESSAGES THAT COME FROM THE HEART AND ARE PROMPTED BY THE SPIRIT, AND WE ALSO VALUE THE SILENCE WE SHARE TOGETHER. FOLLOWING A SPOKEN MESSAGE, WE RETURN TO THE SILENCE TO EXAMINE OURSELVES IN THE LIGHT OF THAT MESSAGE.” THE FRIENDS GENERAL CONSUL WEBSITE

THE SMCC BEACON | November 24th | 2015

7

Hoffman on Hollywood: Movies to Look Forward to this Christmas (and Beyond)

By Garrick Hoffman Liberal Studies Major

A

s a cinemaphile, I rarely get excited for films. Cue Alanis Morisette’s song “Ironic.”

I’m not sure if it’s because the state of Hollywood is just like Bob Dylan’s music now (dull and boring; commence my tarand-feathering for disparaging Dylan) and that all the skilled screenwriters flocked over to television, or if it’s just me being a cowardly film lover, but I just don’t get excited for films like I used to. But that’s different now that I’ve read about some upcoming films and saw their trailers.

Wanna know which ones?

Yeah you do.

THE REVENANT (DIRECTOR: ALEJANDRO G. IÑÁRRITU,

STARRING LEONARDO DICAPRIO) RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 8, 2016

This Western thriller, based on the 2002 book of the same name by Michael Punke, surrounds Hugh Glass, a fur trapper who is viciously attacked by a bear while hunting. His comrades betray him by robbing him and leaving him for dead, then murder his son. The Revenant follows Glass on his vindictive expedition to achieve revenge.

The film has such an ominous, shadowy appearance to it that I’m deeply attracted to, and combined with the acting and the directorial prowess, we can expect a good one. DiCaprio especially has continuously proved to audiences that he selects his films very...well...selectively, and that if the world of film was like the NFL,

he’d be playing in the Pro-Bowl every year.

The dude cannot make bad movies.

THE HATEFUL EIGHT (DIRECTOR: QUENTIN TARANTINO, STARRING A WHOLE CAST OF “STACTORS,” OR “STAR ACTORS”) RELEASE DATE: DECEMBER 25, 2015 I just used the term “directorial prowess,” but maybe I should have saved that one for Tarantino.

It’s been three years (that is, three Christmases) ago since the release of a Tarantino flick, and when has Tarantino ever let us down? The Hateful Eight is, similar to The Revenant, a Western flick starring all sorts of “stactors,” including Sam Jackson, Kurt Russell, and Michael Madsen.

The plot either comes off as very straightforward or a bit ambiguous. In Tarantino’s words, “It’s eight people who are totally f*cking hateful ...There’s not a good guy or woman in it. There’s no hero.

It’s eight hateful people are trapped in this one stagecoach stopover during a three-day blizzard and watching them deal with their issues.”

SNOWDEN (DIRECTOR: OLIVER STONE, STARRING JOSEPH GORDON-LEAVITT) RELEASE DATE: MAY 13, 2016 (FORMERLY ON CHRISTMAS)

In 2013, Edward Snowden, a CIA contractor, went from a fairly simple family man to America’s most wanted man after he leaked scores upon scores of classified government documents that revealed the insidious behaviors of the NSA.

Now Oliver Stone, famous for his politically-oriented films (such as one of his hallmarks, JFK), has taken the helm to direct and write Snowden, another politically-oriented film that serves as a thriller and a biography of Edward Snowden. The film stars Joseph GordonLeavitt as Snowden, Zachary Quinto as journalist Glenn Greenwald, and Melissa Leo and documentarian Laura Poitras, who directed Citizenfour, a documentary on the events leading to and following Snowden’s leaks.

Now, can you see why I’m so eager to get to the silver screen in the coming months?

The Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship Program Assist top students graduating from two-year colleges in the U.S. with pursuing a Bachelors Degree at the country’s most prestigious four-year institutions. Approximately 85 scholarships are awarded to students (international students can apply, too!) for up to $40, 000, per year for up to 3 years.

The application is lengthy and the criteria is rigorous, most importantly - the reward great! If you are a high-achieving SMCC student (grade point average of 3.5 or better) you wanrt to apply!

The minimum requirements for eligibility to apply for phase one are:

• Current student at SMCC with sophomore status by December 31, 2015, or a recent graduate since spring 2011.

• Minimum 3.50 cumulative grade point average of all college-level courses • At least sophomore standing (30 credits) by December 31, 2013 • Plan to enroll full-time in a baccalaureate degree program at accredited four-year institution starting in fall 2016 • Must have un-met financial need * Have not previously enrolled at or attended a four-year institution.

• Have not previously been nominated for the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship For more details and a link to the application: http://www.jkcf.org/scholarship-programs/undergraduatetransfer/?utm_campaign=UT%20Faculty%20Rep&utm_ source=email

The Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship phase one application is available on the Jack Kent Cooke Website now. The application is now open through December 15, 2015.

Please contact me: Sharon Bannon, SMCC Director of Career & Transfer Services, sbannon@smccme.edu, 741-5626, Room 113 Campus Center for assistence.

8 THE SMCC BEACON | November 24th | 2015

Suffragette A Film Review

By Alexander Balzano

S

tttttttttt

uffragette is a surprising, interesting historical piece. It centers on the women’s suffrage movement in England in the early 20th century and stars Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter and Meryl Streep.

The film centers on Mulligan’s character Maud, a working wife and parent who was initially caught up in the suffrage movement by mistake, and who gradually starts to devote her life to the cause. She is initially introduced by Bonham’s character Edith, a pharmacist who houses a meeting space for fellow suffragettes (the term used for women who participated in these movements). They are both inspired by Emmeline Pankurst, the founder and leader of the group played by Meryl Streep, as exceptional as ever. As Maud begins to face persecution by her community and her family life falls apart, she involves herself more and more to the rebellion.

One interesting fact I found out about this film when doing some background research is that this is the first film to have ever been filmed inside of the actual house of parliament in England. They were granted unprecedented special permission by parliament itself.

Being a fan of historical period pieces, I was immediately excited about this film.

The set and wardrobe were accurately done to reflect the time period. The casting was also well chosen, with three bombshell

actresses casted in the leading roles.

Although Meryl Streep’s screen time was shorter than anticipated, let’s be honest - she’s most likely going to get another Oscar just for that role and infuriate an already snubbed Leo DiCaprio.

The mood of the film felt slow and brooding, which felt appropriate for the subject matter. This was helped by the cinematography, which involved many long shots with fewer cuts between angles, giving the overall feel a slower pace and consequently adding to the brooding mood of the film. The music also assisted with this and was done by talented music composer Alexandre Despat, who also did the music for The King’s Speech and Godzilla.

The only thing I felt the film could have improved on is just that - its pacing.

Coming in to this movie, I was very excited - especially with the subject of revolution and rebellion - so I was expecting a visually exciting film. The pacing, while serious, felt too slow to sustain me, and if put to at least a faster pace with a more exciting soundtrack, it could have been a really cool historical adventure.

Nonetheless, it was still definitely worth the watch and touches on the very important subject of women’s rights, which unfortunately we are still working on as a society today.

THE

ON THE

By Cody Jayne Liberal Studies Major Looking for some extra fun during the holiday season? Check out these upcoming gigs around Portland.

Friday, November 27th at Portland House of Music | Model Airplane | 9pm | Cost : $10 adv, $12 d.o.s. | portlandhouseofmusic.com Saturday, November 28th at State Theatre | 13th Annual Beatles Night | 8pm | Cost: $18 adv, $20 d.o.s., $30 Two-Day pack (2nd show is Sunday, November 29th, 4pm).| statetheatreportland.com

Seeing the Unseen AN ASTEP PHOTO SERIES

By Illaria Dana Education Major

T

he other day I was thinking about how people always talk about the weather. I used to see this as small talk. I did not connect my feelings of peace in nature, of feeling whole when I am outside, holding onto nothing, looking at everything, with this social convention of

talking about the weather. We are beings of nature, and the peace that I feel outside is similar to the peace I feel when the disparate parts of my consciousness are integrated, that is, when I grow and feel whole. In this prolonged transition into winter, I have been reading Man and His Symbols edited, and with an introduction,

by Carl Jung. Jung asserts that a kind of spiritual death is necessary for a person to outgrow who she was and become who she

Poetic License NIGHT SKY

By Elizabeth Barrett Liberal Studies – Psychology Major

Because sometimes I feel so small in this place, When I ponder the endless possibilities.

When stars began to sparkle, I practice my own religion, amazed at all that is remarkable, belittled in Earthly indecision.

I think of what’s been done and what can be And mourn the fates that befall mankind Knowing I am condemned to freedom, Responsible for keeping or losing my mind.

Instead of bowing my head to pray, I raise my eyes and behold, the sky I merely sit, contemplating space.

Freedom of thought, I would never deny.

I imagine the galaxies, twinkling distant memories, I am amazed at the sky’s magnificent serenity I think about who I am and who I want to be And imagine the universe being affected by me.

I let the tears flow, if that is the case, As I unravel life’s responsibilities

I allow myself to imagine what wonders may exist, And like the child of years ago, I still desire To take off like a rocket into the starry abyss I pray that is where I end up when I expire.

I feel connected to everything in those moments And fight the heaviness that takes over my eyes, The porch light offers artificial condolence As I finally, resistant, trudge back inside.

must be. In this process it is important to be connected to one’s society and nature.

It is important to be connected to a power greater than oneself. Milkweeds release their seeds into the air so that new plants can blossom. In Winter we meditate on what we were, and in Spring we stretch our renewed bodies. We examine what we have become.

Saturday, December 5th at Blue | Mes Amis | 6pm | Suggested Donation, Ages 21+ | portcityblue.com Friday, December 11th at One Longfellow Square | Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters | 8pm | Cost: $30 | onelongfellowsquare.com

WE KNOW WHAT’S

IMPORTANT

TO YOU.

CREDITS: The transfer dictionary shows which of your credits will transfer to UMass Lowell. uml.edu/transferdictionary REQUIREMENTS: Find out more at uml.edu/requirementsbymajor CASH: UMass Lowell provided $145 million in financial aid last year and met 91% of demonstrated need. There are merit scholarships available for transfer students, too. uml.edu/scholarships HOUSING & CAMPUS LIFE: You won’t want to miss all that’s happening on campus—Division I athletics, suite-style residences, great food and events. uml.edu/reslife

Become work ready, life ready, world ready at UMass Lowell.

CONNECT WITH US! uml.edu/transfer transfer@uml.edu or 978-934-3931 facebook.com/umltransfer

THE SMCC BEACON | November 24th | 2015

9

The Refugee Crisis and Why the United States is Making a Big Mistake

By Ashley Berry Liberal Arts - Political Science Major

T

he refugee crisis is one that has been on the forefront of people’s minds recently. Although the crisis of the refugees has been going on for much longer, it is just since the November 13th terror attacks in Paris that everyone has started to pay attention. The attacks, which the Islamic State took responsibility for, has raised questions about whether or not it is safe to accept refugees from Iraq and Syria.

From Facebook news feeds to major news organizations to presidential candidates, everyone seems to have an opinion on what the course of action should be regarding the refugees. The problem is that most people formulate these opinions with very few facts, if any.

Most people are making their decisions based on fear. When we are talking about the fate of millions of innocent people, fear can not play into decision making.

Most of the people who are against the United States accepting refugees are doing so based on reasons that they probably think are legitimate. However, they are not legitimate reasons at all. They are fallacious reasons that people are clinging to because they are afraid.

Let us put fear aside and explore some

ILLUSTRATION BY KESHIA HERNANDEZ

actual facts that will hopefully change people’s mindsets. There have been 745,000 refugees that have been settled in the United States since 9/11, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Only two of these people have been charged with crimes related to terrorism; specifically, for providing funds for terrorist organizations overseas, not in the United States. That is 774,998 innocent people who know a life of peace, freedom, and opportunity instead of one of violence and destruction. Those innocent lives saved are most certainly worth any risk.

Another rumor that has been used for justification for anti-refugee sentiments is the Tsarnaev brothers, who masterminded the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013.

Firstly, the Tsarnaev brothers were not refugees. They were the children of an asylum seeker. This is very different from a refugee. While they both are fleeing from their home countries from fear of persecution, there are some important distinctions. Asylum seekers arrive in the country they choose and apply for asylum.

Once here, under international law, they cannot be sent back to their home country if there is legitimate threat of persecution.

The path to becoming a refugee is very different. First, they have to be designated by a refugee by the United Nations. This is most often done in a designated refugee camp. They only give refugee status to the most vulnerable people who have almost no chance of being able to safely return home. It can take between 18 and 24 months for a person to be admitted as a refugee. They do not just grant refugee status on a whim.

It is a long process in which many factors are taken into consideration. Also, most of these refugees are women, children, or

10 THE SMCC BEACON | November 24th | 2015

the elderly. Only two percent are males that are single and of combat age. Most of these people are of a demographic we would consider to be most vulnerable and in desperate need of assistance.

Sixty-eight people have been indicted in the United States for allegedly having ties to the Islamic State. Fifty-five of these people were United States citizens. Fortyfour of these people were actually born in America, four were born in Uzbekistan, six were born in Bosnia, two were born in Sudan, and three were born in Somalia.

So the people that think that we will somehow reduce terror threats by refusing the refugees are mistaken. If the Islamic State wants to unleash acts of terror on U.S. soil, they will do it. One of their biggest recruitment tools is social media, so it is significantly more likely that any act of terror is perpetrated by a United States citizen who has been radicalized from afar.

Refusing to accept refugees, or imposing impossible security restrictions on the refugees, is only playing into the Islamic State’s agenda. The United States refusing refugees will be the Islamic State’s greatest recruiting tool. They want Muslims to believe that they will never have a place in Western countries. That we are too different to live together in peace. The Islamic State wants to create the perfect caliphate. They are, like many before them, hoping to create their own sovereign nation and live in their idealistic Islamic conditions. Because they are a small marginalized group, usually with few resources, they resort to terror. Terrorism is only an extremely effective tactic, used by many marginalized groups before them.

By choosing fear over humanity we are only helping these barbarians and harming ourselves.

It is understandable: no one wants to go through a terrorist attack. We are all afraid. No one wants innocent people to lose their lives. But what about the millions of innocent people who have been displaced from their countries? These people are fleeing from the same terror we are so afraid of and so quick to condemn.

In fact they have seen more violence from the Islamic State than any other group of people. It is ridiculous that someone’s life is worthless just because they’re from a different country or because their skin is a little darker. Regardless of what religion they practice, what color their skin is or where they come from, they are still humans. They have suffered immensely, more than we can ever imagine. While we are worried about the possibility of terror attacks, these people are living in that nightmare. They have endured continuous, unspeakable violence - the very same violence we are so afraid of in the United States. Isn’t the United States of America supposed to be the land of the refugees? A beacon of hope and opportunity to the lost and downtrodden?

Apparently that is in the past. The same kindness that was once shown to our ancestors when we were refugees has been lost. Now we have become a country of self-serving, egocentric hypocrites.

Seawolves Watch:

Amira Jones, Jose Nouchantavong, and Atencio Martin CONGRATULATIONS AND WATCHING FROM AFAR

By The Beacon Staff A well-earned congratulation goes out to Amira Jones as she was named Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC) Player of the Week, November 7, for her performance against PSU-Greater Allegheny. Amira finished the day with 23 points and 11 rebounds that were both game high.

Amira and the Lady Seawolves have compiled a 6-1 overall record while Amira Jones, in action against Penn State Mount Alta, scored 17 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and has been a solid presence for the Seawolves this early season.

starting off the young YSCC season 2-0.

Jones is in the neighborhood of averaging 13 points per game and 12 rebounds per game. After Saturday’s game against Penn State Mount Alta, Amira is ranked sixth in the conference for scoring and first in rebounding.

SMCC Alum in Action

If you have followed the basketball program here at SMCC over the past few years then the names Jose Nochantavong and Atencio Martin will surely conjure up memories that puts a smile on the face of any true basketball fan.

Both Nochantavong and Martin are currently playing for and starting on what may prove to be a very good University of Southern Maine basketball team. This young season sees the Huskies sporting a 3-1 record as Nochantavong is averaging 16.8 points per game and Martin 11.8.

In recent action Nochantavong and Martin have proved to be quite the onetwo punch for the Huskies as they scored

26 and 16 points respectively against Pine Manor on Saturday, hitting for 21 and 14 against Colby-Sawyer Friday.

The Huskies take to the floor tonight against Bates College, considering that the SMCC teams will be in Augusta to play the Moose of UM-A. The short drive ride to Gorham should provide a wonderful opportunity to see Seawolve basketball alum in action.

PHOTOGRAPH BY THE BEACON SPORTS STAFF

Atencio Martin, SMCC 2014 graduate in action against UMPI from last season, is now playing for the USM Huskies, contributing significantly to the Huskies’ success.

PHOTOGRAPH BY THE BEACON SPORTS STAFF

Jose Nochantavong finds a seam against UMPI during the 2012-13 season. Jose continues tormenting opponents with what could be described as a certain fluidity that can change on a moment’s notice, picking up where it left off.

THE SMCC BEACON | November 24th | 2015

11

Seawolves Hoops Season Heats Up WOMEN GET TO 6-1 WHILE MEN SLIP TO SUB-500 PERCENT

By The Beacon Sports Staff

PHOTOGRAPH BY THE BEACON SPORTS STAFF

S

assists.

While the women are starting the season off in a way that addresses their potential in a positive manner, the men Seawolves continue to search for a consistency on both ends of the court.

The men Wolves are at .500 percent in conference play (1-1) and dip one game under that mark in their overall record (3-4).

As with the women when they took to the court against Unity, the men also walked away with a lop-sided win, 11361. Greyson Waterman came off the bench to lead, scoring (15 points), as did Jon Amabile (13 points), and rounding out the top three scorers was starting point guard Jordan DeRosby, who lead the starters with 12 points.

A few days after Unity, the men took to the court to face USCAA conference member Penn State Mount Alta, 3-1.

The Nittany Lions got off to a solid start, building an eight to three lead

in the opening minutes. The Seawolves would hang within striking distance for the majority of the first half, but never would be able to sustain any type of offensive momentum or defensive stance as Mount Alto built a 15 point half time lead.

After 40 minutes of play, Mount Alto walked off of the court with a solid 27 point win and a date with YSCC conference rival CMCC on Sunday, while the Seawolve squads would play Penn State Beaver.

The Seawolves venture to Augusta tonight to play University of MaineAugusta, and will be at home on Sunday, Nov. 29 to play Bunker Hill Community College, Dec. 3 to play University Maine – Machias, and Dec. 6 to take to the court to play Hampshire College.

Bottom left: John Amabile, left, and John Morgan apply pressure to Vermont Tech’s Kyle Connor towards the end of a hardfought game. Connor would sink a long distance three pointer a few minutes later, sealing a win for the Knights Above: Alicia Hoyt grabs some air and stretches for a second half block against a Lady Knight. Hoyt would finish the game with 11 points and 5 rebounds in a solid win for the lady Wolves.

Below: Dylan Silvestri and Keanyon Lambert battle it out under the boards in Saturday’s action against Penn State Mount Alto. Silvestri ended the game with top scoring honors for the Wolves.

PHOTOGRAPH BY THE BEACON SPORTS STAFF

point lead with 14 minutes remaining when Kyle Connor drained one of his three three-pointers.

The next six minutes ince the last Beacon, the women saw SMCC outscore the and men’s basketball teams have hit Knights 14-2, grabbing a the courts eight times (the games six point lead with a little against Penn State Beaver are being played more than eight minutes while the paper is going to print) and have remaining. The Knights compiled a four-and-two record over the six would fight back to tie games played. the game at 62, 64, 65

A week ago, Saturday, the teams with 3:56 remaining after traveled to Randolph, Vermont to play the Knights of Vermont Tech. While the women which the Knights took a lead that they would not walked off the court with a 79-48 win, the men found themselves in a battle that would relinquish.

On the ladies side see them fall by 4 points, 68-72. of the court, the Lady

The player of the game has to go to Seawolves would wear Vermont Tech’s Kyle Connor who buried down the outnumbered a long distance three point shot with two Lady Knights in the SMCC defenders draped all over him as the second quarter when they clock hit 26 seconds remaining in the game. outscored Vermont Tech

Leading by three at the half, SMCC 13-4, building a 36-22 found themselves trailing by five after four minutes of play point. Over the course of the half-time lead.

The Seawolves would next few minutes, the Wolves stayed close benefit from the return of Maria Veino, who and even found them selves behind by one, joined the team late as the women’s soccer only to watch Vermont Tech rebuild a six season included a trip to the nationals on in North Carolina. Vieno brought a level of hustle and energy to the game, scoring 14 points and grabbing six rebounds in the first half.

The Knights would never be able to mount any serious threat as the Seawolves high-energy offensive that comes from numerous players continued their offensive onslaught.

The next two games would see SMCC dismantle a small and under-staffed Unity team 113-30 and put away USCAA conference member Penn State Mount Alta 71-46 in Saturday’s game.

Going into Sunday’s game against Penn State Beaver, The Lady Seawolves continue to build depth and experience for the younger players. A quick look over the box scores from the past 3 games shows ten Lady Wolves contributing to scoring as PHOTOGRAPH BY THE BEACON SPORTS STAFF well as rebounding, steals and