Beacon The
ISSUE DATE 09.11.2018
Lighting our Community
VOLUME XVI NO. 1
SOUTHERN MAINE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Meet Joe Cassidy: SMCC’s 11th President Our new president here at SMCC, though new to our college, has a wealth of experience when it comes to the challenges of running a community college. President Joseph Cassidy began his tenure in education as a faculty member at Washington County Community College. Eventually he went on to serve as the president of the WCCC faculty association and later of the college itself. In the 2015-16 academic year he served as president of WCCC and Eastern Maine Community College simultaneously. Before that he was a practicing lawyer and served the city of Calais as its mayor. President Cassidy is well versed in the unique challenges of both the very small and the very big when it comes to keeping bureaucratic systems running properly. In the coming years, he hopes to bring the skills he has learned to his position at SMCC, to promote innovation and collaboration among students and faculty alike. Last week I sat down with him to get a picture of what those challenges look like, and what the job of the college president looks like from day to day. We spoke about the unique obstacles of running two colleges
at the same time, and the lessons that he brings from those experiences to his current role. He spoke about the different styles of leadership required to manage a smaller college like EMCC, where there were fewer levels of bureaucracy between him and the rest of the faculty. “Many of the jobs of a college president involve a lot of problem solving,” he explained. As president, it is his job to help the faculty and provide them with everything they need to perform their jobs to the best of their abilities. As he put it: “You have great teachers, you have great faculty who are trying to do good work, and very often the president’s job is just to make sure that everything is working for people.” We also talked about some of the issues he has faced just in his first month on the job. As most of you know already, the Spring Point Hall dorms are currently closed and undergoing treatment for mold. I spoke with President Cassidy about how he and his staff are tackling this issue. “We’re doing everything we can to support our students and to mitigate this challenge in a way that’s healthy and smart for the campus, “putting student needs first,” he said. (Continued on page 2)
Photo by Cssie Marceau
By JACOB DARLING
President Joe Cassidy g ets to know students in front of Campus Center.
Black Mold Enrolls at SMCC By KARSTEN REES
combination of humidity, heat and broken ERV the “perfect storm” for a pre-semester panic. Summer-semester students were hurriedly evacuated from Spring Point shortly after administrative staff heard about the mold. Initial tests revealed the extent of the damage, leaving staff in the midst of a logistical crisis only a week away from the first day of
This summer has been one of the most humid and uncomfortable on record, thanks in part to a rare weather pattern. The Bermuda High is a wind current that takes warm, humid, Caribbean air and circulates it into the Atlantic. This year, the Bermuda High had a change of heart and decided to point itself towards the North. This surprising — if not impolite — change has resulted in discomfort for New Englanders. When humidity levels are this high, the body’s ability to cool itself is compromised. Despite a summer with no major heat waves and an unremarkable average temperature, coastal New England has experienced almost record humidity levels. People may not have been thriving, but at Spring Point Residence Hall, black mold found its opportunity to flourish when the ventilation system malfunctioned. The Energy Recovery Ventilator™ was an expensive piece of equipment responsible for exchanging old, stale air from inside Spring Point for new, fresh air from outside. Malfunctions in ERVs aren’t uncommon, especially when they’re overworked during summers. When the ERV stopped working, new air was pumped directly into Spring Point without first being dehumidified. Mold began to grow after the water-laden air was cooled by air conditioning and began to condense on ceiling tiles. In an interview, SMCC Director of Communications Illustration by Alex Downing Clarke Canfield called the
fall classes. Finding 300-plus hotel rooms in the Portland area with limited staff and only days before move-in day was, in Canfield’s words, a “trial by fire for the administrative staff.” Somehow, they managed to locate six hotels with access to bus routes. Commutes range in length; by car, some are as short as 20-25 minutes while bus rides can be up to two hours in length. Many students without cars waste hours between classes in the Noisy Lounge or just generally loitering around campus. Canfield says that “students have been understandably upset, but most understand the situation and are making the most of it.” Notable exceptions include the four students that staged a protest over the college’s handling over the situation. The small group of students has accused the college of lacking transparency around the issue, alleging that the administration was made aware of the mold situation and put students at risk by taking action too slowly. Canfield negates this, saying that the college took decisive action immediately. Servpro, an HVAC/disaster relief company, was contracted to survey and repair damage. Servpro has made the project a priority, working around the clock, even going so far as to hire out-of-
state workers on the project. It’s unclear how much their services will cost, as repairs are not complete. Money aside, official estimates suggest that students should be able to move into their Spring Point dorm rooms within the next 2-3 weeks. Until then, students are encouraged to enjoy their hotel pools and continue to make the most out of their housing situations.
9/11 Tribute By CELINA SIMMONS
You may notice the flag today is lowered to half mast. On this date 17 years ago, our country suffered what was arguably one of the most devastating terrorist attacks in U.S. history. The September 11 attacks were a series of four hijacked airplanes all coordinated by the terrorist group known as al-Qaeda. The attacks resulted in 2,996 deaths, over 6,000 more injured and a dispirited country. Aimy Lainoff, the Veterans Affairs Certifying Advisor here at SMCC, carried out a tribute in remembrance of this event at 9 a.m. today, September 11. Joe Cassidy, our school president, said a few words, and a Fire Science student played the bagpipes in honor of the event. Many of the veterans that attend SMCC joined the military specifically due to the impact of 9/11. “Our enemies have made the mistake that America’s enemies always make. They saw liberty and thought they saw weakness,” George W. Bush said shortly after 9/11. The horrifying attacks will forever hold a place in history and although they were devastating, we will always remember the bravery so many people showed that day.