The SMCC Beacon 9-9-2014

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SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

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Inside Campus News Pages 2-3

Student Leader Boot Camp

Other World

Pages 4-5

My Euro Trip (Spain)

Op & Ed Pages 6-7

King On Campus

Arts & Features Pages 9-10

Guardians of the Galaxy

Sports

Pages 11-12 Portland Seadogs

My Success is Our Success

By Jason Glynn

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hile you were probably sitting around, sipping iced-tea, and catching a tan before the summer break ended sixteen incoming freshman were already here on campus and getting ahead of their class. This year we hosted the inaugural MySuccess program, an intensive twoweek course that focused on developing math and English skills of ixteen “academically at-risk” Portland Public High

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VOLUME 12 ¤ ISSUE 1

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Cheers SMCC, Here’s to a Great Semester!

By Erik Squire

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ello students and guests of Southern Maine Community College!

Some of you got away over the summer break, some of you were here studying or working, and for some, this is your first semester. Welcome, welcome, and welcome! Now that you’ve soaked up (most of) the summer sun, it’s time to settle in and start working toward your future. I know, you probably miss the good old carefree times. But hey, if you have to be here, might as well make the most of it, right? I mean, at least you don’t live in a country where they don’t let women go to school! Anyway, whether this is your 1st year or your 10th (you know who you are), one thing is for certain: we can make these next three months some of the very best, and you can take that to the bank!

We at the Beacon have conducted a series of “welcome back” interviews.

We talked to SMCC’s President - Dr Ron Cantor about some important changes that he’s implementing here.

We chatted with a few of your peers about what drew them to SMCC. We also got some information from the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership (CeSIL) about some cool things happening this semester.

The conclusion we came to?

There is a lot to be happy about and plenty of activities to keep you engaged this fall. Here are some of the things you’re fellow students had to say about our SMCC: Rosalee, a 1st Yr Horticulture student said that SMCC is, “close to home.” Nick Mitchell, VP of the Bauff Club, who is in Liberal Studies with a focus in Secondary Ed showed his enthusiasm by saying, “SMCC is inexpensive. I have a lot of friends that go here, and I heard there was a Magic the Gathering Group.”

Lastly, Michael Wilton an RA at Spring

Point Res Hall, and a 2nd year Criminal Justice student commented, “I heard they had a wonderful Criminal Justice program, and so I came here to check out the campus and fell in love with it.”

There are some things to keep in mind this semester and one of them is that we should probably take our studies seriously. Especially when you consider that the national completion rate for community colleges is at 22% over a three year period. Now don’t let those figures get you down though, President Cantor has some things in the works to keep the retention and graduation rate up. Check out what he had to say in the Beacon’s interview with him.

Beacon: Let’s start things off on a high note; what are you looking forward to this semester?

Dr Cantor: I’m looking forward to all the things that I look forward to all year round, which is many good students, faculty and staff coming together to have to have in-depth experiences that are going to benefit everyone. But especially this semester, this is an important time for SMCC because we’ve renewed our focus on student success. I would say that in the past we’ve largely focused on enrollment.

For financial reasons and others, we need to keep enrollment high. We’ve changed the focus this year, so it’s not on enrollment it’s on student success. We’ve had some challenges with enrollment; enrollment is not very good at the moment. But rather than worry about that, we’re trying to get more of the students we do have, to be successful. We’ve got all sorts of programs, interventions, and support mechanisms going this year to make that happen. We’re excited because we’re seeing early signs that it’s being accepted positively and that it looks like it’s going to do some good.

We’ll see if we have more students stick with us this spring and more students graduate… so far I think it’s doing pretty good.

Beacon: Okay, that sounds pretty good, and it also answers my question I was going to ask about enrollment; perfect answer. What you said also goes along with something a fellow student of mine was saying. He said he feels a kind of energy on campus, sort of a positive community that he hasn’t felt before.

Dr Cantor: Certainly a positive community; we’re investing a lot into a positive community, we always do. But in addition to positive community, it’s more focused, more targeted, on staff and faculty getting to know individual students and trying to understand them and support them and find out whatever it is they need to stick with it, to persist and be successful.

Beacon: Great!

Yeah, graduation rates nationwide (from community colleges) are really

Gorman Foundation. Portland ConnectED is a local organization that works to open access to educational resources to students “from the cradle to college,” according to Director, Mike Dixon. Their previous efforts have shown that with the right connections students can succeed.

The two-week course utilized a computational

software program called MyFoundationsLab, made by Pearson Education – an educational resource company that you may have heard of before – in addition to a variety of faculty, advisors, and students, with myself serving as the peer-tutor on-duty for the program. The grant funded a new position at SMCC, Maggie Loeffelholz is the new MySuccess Coach, and personal advisor to these 16 kids throughout their SMCC experience.

Maggie has a passion for fostering student success, and plenty of experience in doing so. The Minnesota native but now Portland resident came here shortly after graduating from the University of Minnesota in 2008 to work for the Make it Happen! program at Deering High School, as an AmeriCorps employee. She is committed to helping those less fortunate make the transition and succeed at college. Portland ConnectED was also involved in the

Photo by Sineah McGrady

Schools recent graduates while exploring campus, its services, and their own self-knowledge.

The program was a collaborative effort between SMCC, Portland Public Schools, Portland ConnectED, and was funded by a $125,000 two-year grant from the John T.

From left: Zakia Momand, Claudia Nyinawumwami, Hawalul Adan, Patrick Lobor, Christian Bentley, Areej Al-shammari, Abdirashid Osman, Rashad Zagon, Jake Dunton, Jazmine Abasta, Aleyda Funez Martinez, Johhny Boyd, Quentin Ndayishimiye, Johnny Henriquez, Hugues Ingabire, Brian Cobb southern maine community college

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Page 2 ¤ September 9, 2014

Campus Exposed

Student Interviews

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ello to all you wonderful fellow SMCC goers. Sadly, Garrick Hoffman has departed from us. That is, he’s moved on to the Op/Ed pages as its new Section Editor. I am now the Section Editor for Campus News and I’m looking forward to my new job. With this position comes great responsibility; responsibilities like keeping the Campus Exposed article thriving and interesting. So with that being said, here’s to a great semester filled with exciting news!

In an interview I conducted with President Cantor, he talked about the specifics of his plan to retain successful students. He talked about one of SMCC’s new programs, one that should promote stronger connections between faculty and new coming students and therein create triumph. Here it is, straight from the man himself:

We’re doing a few pilot programs.

One of them is the My Success Program with Portland public schools and we have a foundation that gave us some money this summer to support that program. We took a group, it’s a small group, but like I said it’s a pilot program. We took 16 stu-

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ello, my name is Tayler Chretien.

This is my second year here at SMCC, I’m from Biddeford Maine, and my major is Business Administration. I was interested in writing for the Beacon, because I wanted to try something new, and explore my options for career choices. I thought about becoming a journalist, and can now picture myself doing this for a living.

When thinking of what to write about, the first thing that came to mind was when I was a freshman. I remembered how excited and scared I was to be in what felt like a new world. So I decided I would write about some of the freshmen and how they’re doing so far. I grabbed a pen and notebook and went around knocking on the Spring Point dorm room doors.

When someone answered, I would first ask them if they were freshmen. If they said yes, I began to ask these questions: Where they were from? What their major was? What their expectations were for the year?

The responses I got were...

Amira Jones is from Chicopee Massachusetts, she studies Liberal Arts, and she “hopes to do well in school, have fun and meet new people.”

Kendra Kagiliery from Kittery Maine is majoring in Radiography; she’s on the basketball team and her expectations are “to have a new experience and to do well in school.”

Brianna is from Phippsburg Maine, she is majoring in Electrical Engineering, and her endeavor for the year is “to get my work done.”

Catana Crana is from Lebanon Maine, she is also studying Electrical Engineering, and stated that she wants “to have fun and pass all classes at the same time.”

Thomas Cornell from Boothbay Maine is majoring in Liberal Arts.

He expects to “meet new friends, and learn new things.” He is taking photography classes and hopes to get involved on campus.

Hannah Cambell is from Wisconsin, Maine, she is studying Liberal Arts, and her ambitions for the year are to “get good grades.”

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dents who just graduated from Portland public high schools and they spent two weeks here over the summer. They spent nights at the resident’s hall. Our faculty and staff got to know them. We did some intensive programs and support activities for them and we tested them at the beginning and at the end with the accuplacer.

During a two week period many of them increased their level considerably in math, English and otherwise. Even more than we thought they’d increase. Now what we’re doing is keeping in touch with those students and following them through the semester. We should be able to track their progress and gauge how successful the program was.

While we’re on the topic of turning out successful students, I also did an interview with Maisarah Miskoon, who is a 2nd year Liberal Arts student, and a PTK member. There is no doubt that PTK has played a hand in organizing students in a way that is productive for the student body. In the vein of understanding what SMCC is doing to produce good students, I asked Maisarah to share a little about PTK, and what they do on campus. Here

is what she had to say:

PTK stands for Phi Theta Kappa which is the name for the Honors Society in SMCC. Alpha Chi Nu is the chapter of PTK SMCC is in. We’re normal people who just happen to have GPAs of 3.5 and above and paid $80 for a lifetime membership (suckers, I know).

As a society we’re involved in PTK stuff like HIA (Honors-In-Action) which requires us to start a new initiative/research project that helps our school/community.

Last year, we opened up the Captain’s Cupboard, an on-campus food pantry that helps needy students and their families with free food and donated clothes/books/ school supplies.

This year we’re researching on a socially responsible divestment programs that aim to discourage our school donors from investing in fossil fuel companies.

There you have it. We the students can be proud of our school for its relentless energy invested into its primary responsibility: you.

By Erik Squire

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ast Wednesday morning, September 3, students gathered around tables

in a room of the HUB building for a rare opportunity to speak with Independent U.S. Senator and former Maine Governor Angus King. Present at the meeting as well were President Cantor and staff members.

Comprising the bulk of discussion was higher education and all its implications.

King insisted from the beginning that he intended to listen more than speak so he Photo by Brianna Michaud could allow students

Cheers SMCC

(Continued from Page 1) low; I believe 25% - 30% (it’s 22%).

They are low and one of the problems is that there’re no consistent measures.

Anyway that you try to measure it there’s problems. When you get into the specific numbers there’s a lot of issues, but clearly they’re way too low and their going in the wrong direction, and that’s part of the reason why we are focusing so much on student success.

Alright, and do you have anything to say to new and returning students?

Tammy Huisingh Alex Brooks Jennifer Lague Jessica Baker, Lamia Poe Campus News Erik Squire, The Other World Maisarah Miskoon, Opinions & Editorials Garrick Hoffman, Arts & Features Patrick Doyle, Sports Sam Coombs Taylor Chretien, Dierdree Glassford, Shunming Liu, Nicholas Miller Kenneth Reddinger Sam Coombs, Jernnifer Lague, Kenneth Reddinger, Brianna Michaud Fiston Bujambi Chuck Ott, Rachel Guthrie

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Yes, what you put into something is what you get out of it. In other words, get involved. Most students have family commitments, they have job commitments, they have transportation issues, they don’t have enough hours in a day, and they don’t have enough money. All those issues are out there and it makes it harder to connect and invest time and energy and everything else. But if you can arrange your life and connect and engage, it pays off.

Alright, now that you feel a little more secure about completing college, you’re probably wondering about the activities going on around campus. Glad you asked.

If you made it to the Welcome BBQ you might have noticed some of the tables. These tables were there to represent some of the student organizations on campus like the Business Club, Enactus, and the Beacon; just to name a few. Most of these student organizations are run through CeSIL. What is CeSIL? Here’s a little bio: The Center for Student Involvement and Leadership (CeSIL) at Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) is a one stop center for students who want to get more involved in campus life, serve their community and develop their leadership skills.

Students who are active participants in the life of the college are more likely to persist and be successful in college. – CeSIL Blog One of the new programs being offered by CeSIL is the Emerging Leaders Program.

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SMCC’s Student Leader Boot Camp (AKA MindBlown Seminar)

before the start of the semester CeSIL Just hosted a student leadership boot camp

that was open to all (you might remember Shane Long shamelessly putting in a plug for it whenever he talked last semester). It was most definitely a worthwhile experience, and this is coming from someone who only went for the food!

The Resident Advisors (RA) had to attend the event as part of their RA training. For the rest of the students, we were there because we wanted to be. The whole experience was educational, inspiring, and somewhat of a work out. We received free T-shirts, free food and the event was (you guessed it) free. The event’s amazing guest speaker was Joe Urbankski, from Collegiate Empowerment. We also had Director of Residence Life and Student Involvement, Shane Long, teaching for part of the seminar.

to share their thoughts, observations, and insights regarding to the topics at hand.

The hour and fifteen minute-long palaver enabled students to do exactly that, from questions pertaining to certain education-related bills, to remarks about the price of textbooks and housing, to inquiries regarding the dizzyingly steep price of college today. King and the students also touched upon the accessibility of information regarding tuition costs.

King voiced his appreciation for the students’ participation, and also extolled the affordability of SMCC.

By Garrick Hoffman If you were a leader in high school, or you just want to try it on and see how it fits, then this program is for you. Shane Long Director of student involvement wrote a description about it:

The Emerging Leaders Program at SMCC welcomes all students interested in enhancing student leadership through self exploration, skill development, and an examination of diverse leadership styles.

Following a community-based shared learning model, the program strives to strengthen students’ networks, enhance educational experiences, and prepare students for a variety of roles both at the college and in the community. The program is free for students and will run each Tuesday from 4-5:30 PM for 12 weeks starting September 16. Click here for more information and to register: http://bit.ly/SMCCELP

If you would like to get involved with a student organization, or attend the Emerging Leaders Program please feel welcome to get in touch with Shane Long. The CeSIL office is located in Spring Point Hall, Room 110, or you can contact them through E-mail at: mcesil@smccme.edu That’s all my fellow SMCC students; I wish you a productive semester, hope you make good friends, and have rewarding experiences. Keep learning, get involved, and go have some fun!

~ I pity the fool who doesn’t stay in school!

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The event kicked off with Motivational Joe (as I like to call him), showing us a blood pumping video that definitely had a naked man in it. Joe talked proudly about his baldness saying that he came into this world bald, and all these years later he’s still bald. Then we had to stand up and introduce ourselves; there were two very good looking people from Machias, might I add. The whole event Joe had us on our toes, intermittently jumping to our feet and giving each other high-fives, chanting, and having group discussions. The catchphrase of the day was “oh yeah,” people who heard us probably thought there was a cool aid convention. Also during the event, at every philosophical discovery, people made the “mind-blown” motion with their hands.

Joe discussed with us the importance of being specific with our goals; he said if we didn’t get specific then somebody else who did would achieve our goals. He also told us about setting 4yr goals, and that important things happen in 4yr terms. At one point Joe gave us all a form to fill out. We had to

My Evening as a Burger

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Angus King Holds Discussion at SMCC

By Taylor Chretien

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June the Twilight 5k was held at SMCC in support of the Maine Cancer Foundation. When I found out about the college offering free registration to a small number of students I decided “why not?” Then came the difficult part; I had to somehow elicit a $100 minimum donation to participate. After trying for weeks to get a big business to sponsor me to no avail, I gave up and tried my luck elsewhere. I realized I’d have to go smaller and that’s when B-Good came to mind! B-Good is a Portland restaurant that buys from local farms and makes (as their slogan goes) Real. Food. Fast. Or as I like to call it, fast food with a heart.

I went to their 15 Exchange Street loca-

My Success...

(Continued from Page 1) Make it Happen! program – a program that connected 8-12 grade English as a Second Language (ESL) students with an academic coach.

Portland ConnectED has proven success in bringing together a cross-sectional array of public and private resources to provide a “cradle-to-career” support system for Portland youths.

The first sixteen participants were a good representation of our diverse culture at SMCC, with attendees from all across the globe, and from right here in Portland.

However different they may be, they all arrived here as nervous incoming freshman, and all were ready to learn.

The first night included a Welcome Barbeque, where all participants were introduced, and Tony Cipollone, the President & CEO of the John T. Gorman Foundation, gave an inspiring speech. Tony said the John T. Gorman Foundation is committed to “advancing real change and making a difference in the lives of disadvantaged children.” Its stated mission is to advance ideas and opportunities that can improve the lives of disadvantaged people in Maine.

After the barbeque participants and parents were both debriefed. The parents went home while the participants got to spend a night in the dorms to immerse themselves in res life, for a night anyway. southern maine community college

tion and talked to Bill Zolper (the owner of the place) to pitch my story. Unlike the big business, Mr. Zolper got right back to me and not only did he say he would sponsor me but also that he and two others would be joining me in the run. To my good fortune it turned out that they regularly ran in races such as the Boston Marathon and various 5Ks. There was one stipulation; he asked how I felt about wearing a burger suit. I thought to myself “Is that all?”

“Sure!”

On the day of the race a lot of people came up to us to take pictures of the “burger brigade.” It’s not every day that people get to see four guys running around with tomatoes and onion rings attached to their

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state our age, then the age we thought we would die (I said 110yrs). We had to think of where we’d be at the end of our lives, physically, spiritually, mentally, and how accomplished we’d be. Joe then asked us, “If you have all these good things going for you that you just listed, would you really die?” We had to say no, because people that are happy live longer. He then told us to list how old we’d really be when we died, and what we would do with that extra time.

All the boot camp participants took a break for a “networking lunch,” and then the students who were not RAs met with Shane for his presentation on recruiting.

Shane offered some useful information about creating an elevator speech (a speech about one’s organization that had to be said in the time it took an elevator to arrive at its destination). He also told us about running effective meetings, that were fun, productive, and to the point. He also gave us some acronym that I can’t remember… Sorry Shane.

When all the boot camp goers met back

in the main building, Joe began his second session. He began this session with a group dance; thank you to the brave souls who got up front. Joe helped us work through some of our insecurities as leaders in our organizations. He had us talk about the follies of perfectionism (no worries here Joe!). He then told us about singling in on our 3 most important goals, as well as the “7 attempts” approach to achieving our ambitions.

He capped off the day with having one of us students give a recap of the event, only, the person doing so would have to present it as “Joe.” The guy who we nominated to do the recap pulled it off with flying colors, right down to the jumping up on the counter and shaving his hair off (at least in spirit). He left us all with something to think about when he chanted “you have potential, you have potential, and you have potential,” pointing to his nose as it grew mimicking the Geico commercial with Pinocchio.

waists. I’ve never heard so many burger jokes in my life!

After the race (I ran it in 23:01mins, oh yeah!) Bill Zolper, Logan Russel, Alex Kee, and I grabbed some great refreshments.

There was even free beer, though not exactly my beverage of choice after running three miles. After cooling down a bit we joked about Mr. Russel thinking that he won a prize, only to later find out that he actually won 3rd place in the 20-29 age division!

The entire evening was a very memorable event. It was fantastic running alongside such motivated caring people as the twilight runners. There were seventy-year-old runners who

kept up with the best of us. Most of the people there were undoubtedly affected by cancer in some form or another and one could see the passion they felt and put into their effort.

I would like to extend special thanks to the guys from B-Good. That day you really were what you eat, GOOD burgers.

By Erik Squire

By Erik Squire

Then it was time to work.

Gorman grant.

The first day everyone had to take the

What’s more invaluable is the dreaded Accuplacer, this placed them in a experience that they earned while here remedial course, and gave the user a diagand getting ahead of their peers by nostic ‘code’ to upload into the MyFounknowing the layout and our resources. dationsLab, which then set a personalized Having a dedicated coach is also sure curricula for each student. to increase their chances of success.

The two weeks were math and English intensive, but that is to be expected at the college level. Faculty taught classes throughout the day, and to break up the monotony the students took part in many of the activities that SMCC has to offer. Participants made ink prints of fish in the Lighthouse building, learned a little about CPR in the Health Sciences simulation lab, and launched gallon milk jugs with Kevin Kimball’s class and the trebuchet.

Participants also had to take an accelerated Freshmen Interest Group class where they took personality and interest metrics to try to narrow down a solid path for college. Indeed, these new students’ declared majors were Are you a veteran who wishes to become a member also diverse – from health care to of the SMCC Veterans club? Then join us on computer science. They all even September 10th and 24th in the Veterans Office earned a credit for the course! located in the Captain’s House.

That’s not all they earned.

All participants received a We will be meeting from: 11am ~ 12pm $200 summer stipend for attending, daily lunches, and a generous For more information please contact us at smccmevetclub@gmail.com $500 scholarship for their first semester, all courtesy of the John T.

SMCC Veterans Club

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Page 4 ¤ September 9, 2014 THE

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Your Brain on Exercise: Let the Research Begin This is a two-part installment of my experience while working in a neuroscience lab at the University of New England under a Maine-INBRE Fellowship.

PART 1: JULY, 2014

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his summer some people will play with camping gear, others may play with fireworks; but me – I will play with brains. I am one of the Maine INBRE (IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence) fellowship winners for this year. This competitive fellowship is a NIH (National Institute of Health) – funded initiative designed to foster collaboration and train students in Maine’s biotech industry.

Their goals are achieved through a paid 10-week stint at a Maine-based biomedical research center of the winner’s choice. I actually got to interview numerous doctors and professors from a couple different places to find out who I wanted to work with – this was very cool. Some of my colleagues were awarded a similar fellowship with the caveat of being stationed at Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory up in Bar Harbor. The Acadia Park region is a beautiful place, especially during summertime, but unfortunately I have commitments down so I looked closer to home.

I interviewed about 10 PhDs and MDs from the Maine Medical Center Research Institute and the University of New England to learn what research they were conducting, check out their respective labs, and find out where I’d fit in for the summer.

I am an aspiring neuroscientist so I obviously wanted to do something that involved the brain. I am more into abstract topical things like perception and cognition – or cognitive neuroscience – but for the purposes of this fellowship I had to find something on a smaller – more molecular scale. As for the neurosciences, there are a few universities in Maine with strong programs, but UNE (University of New England) is closest to me. Plus, if I do stay in Maine for further education there is a good chance I will at least apply to UNE, so I saw this opportunity as an excellent foot in the door.

Making the choice easier was the fact that UNE is a leading pain

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research facility. We are constantly looking for newer and better treatments for pain, but first we must better understand the underlying biological systems involved. This issue is particularly close to me because I have been a chronic pain sufferer since I was 20. A little over 10 years ago I was in a traumatic car accident, and this forever altered my life, and my tolerance for pain.

After interviewing 8 doctors here, I found my match. I have chosen Dr. Tamara King to work under this summer. She is an exceptionally intelligent and accomplished doctor. Her main focus of research includes cancer-associated bone pain and neuropathic (nervous system) pain caused

by advanced osteoarthritis (OA).

I will be looking into how exercise reduces neuropathic pain in an advanced OA rat model. Osteoarthritis is a severe degenerative joint disease that affects nearly 27 million Americans which serves to restrict most patients’ quality of life. We all know exercise has tons of positive physiological benefits, but the biological mechanisms by which exercise acts on alleviating pain

Rat models are often used in science because they less people care, or at least understand, if they’re used for research and many of our biological systems are similar.

They are also very well studied so we can genetically control many variables.

Holding Up the Sky My Singaporean Roots Crisis

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esteemed musical composer by the name of Zubir Said once cited the Malay proverb “Di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung” (“You should hold up the sky of the land where you live”) as inspiration when composing the significant piece of music, the national anthem of my home country, Singapore. Many never knew or will get to know him, but this particular composition was key to the country’s independence in 1965. It is sung in Malay till this day to honor the language of the indigenous people of the region. It did not mean much to me all this time until this very summer when Google did a Zubir Said doodle on the 22th of July to commemorate his 107th birthday.

Needless to say, I was stunned. I was surprised that someone in Google actually knew who this dude was, and came up with a doodle to honor him. I would’ve been more amazed if there is a graphic designer within the company who is Malay.

Don’t get me wrong, I am sure that there are many successful Malays

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out there making their mark in the world, let alone a Malay person from Singapore, but it is just so rare to I see an acknowledgement for the success of one. And it’s pretty darn inspiring.

Like this figure, I too come from a small, albeit, thriving island in search of greener pastures. There are so many other parallels that could be drawn between us and I would give anything to talk to the man who was an iconic figure in Singapore during his time and now, a man who gained global recognition posthumously.

Being a Malay person in Singapore was not a big deal until a decade ago when the Chinese majority swelled from 50% to 74% due to lax immigration laws (to help increase decreasing birth rates because the government failed to encourage its people to procreate. I kid you not. There was a campaign and everything. Singaporean women were just not having any of it, thankfully). Unfortunately, Singaporean Malays now only make up 14% of the entire population of 5.2 million.

We’re like the minority of minorities here. I am not including the Malaysian Malays in this population because we’re relatively different in upbringing, influences, and to a certain extent, our values and outlooks.

I’ve gone back to Singapore before during the winter break, but going back during the summer was a whole lot different than I expected it to be. First of all, I never knew that living under the same roof as my mother would be the bane of my 2-month existence. Needless to say that coming back to Portland, and doing my own laundry the way I want it to be done, soothed my soul.

Second of all, the view outside my 13th floor window changed. I knew that this would happen eventually due to the fact that they were preparing for construction when I flew back earlier this year, I just didn’t know that everything would be gone. The entire landscape from my window changed.

Let me start from the beginning.

Despite gaining independence just

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You can now order any of over 600 types of genetically altered rats for whatever research you are conducting.

We used Sprague-Dawly male rats for this study. We inject them with monosodium iodoacetate (MiA) into their left-knee. This degrades the cartilage in their joint in a manner consistent with osteoarthritis. Harsh, I know. We then forced them to exercise on a tiny treadmill; I say ‘forced’ because they would receive a slight shock if they didn’t run. Harsh, again, I’m sorry, but this is science.

For those bleeding hearts out there, all experiments were conducted under Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) supervision, and keep in mind that this is in a pain lab….so everything possible is done to not cause extra pain, as it could skew the data. Stay tuned for part two!

By Jason Glynn

a little over 50 years ago, Singapore is already internationally recognized as a first-world country with one of the busiest shipping ports in the region, due to our strategic location. We started out as an immigrant country, like America, but since we started relatively late in the game, we developed pretty fast as a nation thanks to a man named Lee Kuan Yew who went to Cambridge and came back to set up a solid and strong government back home. We now have strong international relations with practically every leading Western nation out there, including America.Even at 90, old man Lee is still going strong. The little background information alludes to the drastic changes outside my bedroom window. Singapore changes really quickly to keep up with the ever-changing world, and with it, her landscapes. Even though I know that the upgrading of the public pool and public stadium would benefit the community in the long run, I am saddened by the fact that nothing stays the same for too long in Singapore; home did not look, or feel like home after a while because things change every two decades.

Biologically, I know that I am not the same person I was 10 years ago due to cell regeneration either, but there was a part of me that wished that things remained the same. I felt that without the tangible backdrop from my childhood, I had lost the intangible memories associated with that landscape, and with it my so-called roots, or the intangible values that shaped me as a person. I felt lost until I saw what Zubir said. There are a few ways to interpret the phrase “Di mana bumi dipijak, di situ langit dijunjung”, and the one which made sense to me the most was its meaning of making the most with what you have. Whatever my roots may be, they do not define me. They’re there to remind me how far I’ve come but there are just too many milestones I’ve yet to conquer.

by Maisarah Miskoon

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ther World

My Euro-trip (Spain)

September 9, 2014 ¤ Page 5

of world famous artist Salvador Dalí. It is also home to Catalonia’s largest monument, Sant Ferran Castle. Later I also got es, it’s everything they say it is. Euriver. to visit Girona and meander along its rope is incredibly beautiful with all

A few days into my trip, Anna had canal. The canal was lined on both sides of its historical architecture, superior cof- to work during the day, so I got the with beautiful historic buildings. It is chance to do some solo exploring. Her fee, and colorful people. I had the good father let me use his 250cc scooter and so much what I imagine Venice would look fortune of spending three weeks there like. this summer and visited four countries in after getting some directions in broken The following day Anna, her sister, English from a stranger, I was off. One of that time. Due to it being an impossibilbest friend, and I went hiking near Cap Anna’s friends had told me about a little ity to write about all my journeys in one De Creus, a small village along the village she enjoyed named Pals, it peaked short article, I will write four separate Mediterranean.

After perusing along my interest and I decided to make it my articles journaling my experiences in the mountain side, we found the perfect destination. It ended up being one of the each country. This article is dedicated to place to camp, in a little valley on the most amazing experiences of my life. The my travels in Spain. beach.

We decided to go for a swim just city was on a hill, vine covered house I decided to make my first destinaas the sun was setting.

I thought it would after stone built house I made my way to tion Spain to visit my Catalonian friend be nice to swim out a bit further on my Anna. When I arrived in Barcelona I was the top. The cobblestone road was only own, and after going a few hundred big enough for one small car at a time, picked up by Anna’s friend who hardly yards I just laid there on my back. The and it felt such an authentic experience spoke a lick of English, but he was very to be driving a scooter up it. I visited the sun started to disappear behind the friendly and dropped me off at the train mountain and the houses dotted all bell tower at the top of the village and station. After an hour long train ride I saw unforgettable views of the surround- over on the other side of the sea almost was picked by Anna, and discovered looked like fireflies. It was the one of the ing mountains and Mediterranean Sea. some of the amazing country side as we most calm and serene feelings of ever rolled into her village. I couldn’t help but In the village square I bought a coffee had. Later I swam back and eat dinner and listened as a ragtag group of men notice all of the sun flower fields and olwith the girls on a little sheet we laid out, ive tree orchards. After we arrived to her played sweet music and we enjoyed each other’s company Two of Anna’s best friends took me home, we caught up on each other’s lives by candlelight. That night we rested in and walked down to an old ruin along a out for a day trip to Figueres; birthplace our sleeping bags underneath the stars

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was using WebEx for network meetings for many years, but mostly for a business. That needs a lot of money to get the related service. Is there an alternative solution for having a virtual meeting on line for free? The answer is yes. I think that Team Viewer will be a right choice.

TeamViewer can be used with a remote control, desktop sharing and file transfer. Most important is free for private use. To connect to another computer, you only need to run TeamViewer simultaneously on two computers. The software will generate the partner ID automatically when you begin to run the software at both computers. Just enter your partner’s ID into TeamViewer, and then you can establish a connection immediately.

Although running TeamViewer is quite straightforward, please still allow me to share some more information with you about this software. First, you need to download and run an installation file named TeamViewer_Setup_ en.exe (there is download linkage info at the end of the article). It will take up about 20Mega Byte of disk space. Select the appropriate program according to the user instruction graphically.

For the remote control, both computers must run the TeamViewer firstly. After the software is running, TeamViewer servers will automatically assign an ID and password to you.

The ID is fixed, but the password is random and each execution will be different. The left side is your ID and password. If the other party wants to initiate the meeting, you guys need exchange the ID beforehand, and then put the ID on the right side input box, right after that you both can be connected to each other.

southern maine community college

By Erik Squire

Tech Talk

Software Downloads:

https://www.netacad.com/web/about-us/cisco-packet-tracer http://www.teamviewer.com/en/index.aspx

TeamViewer

as they shot by, and Anna and I held hands as we drifted to sleep. It was truly mesmerizing.

My last day in Spain Anna took the day off of work and showed my around Barcelona. It is undoubtedly an incredible city. We saw the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (National Museum of Art, Catalonia). We walked along the famous shopping street La Rambla. We navigated the metro system and saw first-hand the genius of Antoni Gaudí’s architectural work; Sagrada Família. Later we stopped by Gaudí’s house to appreciate more of his beautiful handiwork. Finally we walked to the beakers at the top of the city to get a 360 view of the incredible city by the sea. As we walked home we sang songs and viewed a bit of Barcelona by night. That night we fell asleep on the couches in the living room of a friend’s apartment. We just laid there listening to Mazy Star’s Fade into you. As we slowly drifted to sleep, the night breeze from the open door lightly touched us. It was a peaceful ending to such a memorable experience.

Photo by Jennifer Lague

By Shunming Liu If you choose the Remote support connection, it will show you the other desktop on your computer. You can control it just like you are sitting in front of the other person’s computer.

In the lower right corner of the connected desktop, it will have a small control window, you will know who is connected, and you will be able to decide to either end the connection, or chat for further conversations.

Beside this remote control, TeamViewer still have a lot of other functions. I want to list a few below: 1. Friends and family can support and access to the unattended computers (Windows, Mac, Linux).

2. Full keyboard control, including Ctrl, Alt, Windows and other special keys.

3. Remote reboot.

4. Listening and viewing on a remote computer, including system sounds, music or video So far, this software is the only one that has remote control software, which not only runs smoothly inside the network, but also it can penetrate a variety of firewalls. The biggest advantage of this software is that both parties do not need to have a fixed IP address.

Both sides can control each other as long as connected to the Internet. I hope you will like this tool and find it’s useful during this semester learning.

Shunming Liu is a member of computer technology senior seminar course and planning on a career in network engineering.

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Maine Seaweed Festival

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n Saturday, August 30th there was an all day event on the SMCC waterfront called Maine Seaweed Festival. The Festival consisted of many tents with vendors who sell seaweed-based products: a tent for lectures about the uses of seaweed, children’s activities, yoga and live music.

The festival was by Hillary Krapf and further information can be found at the website seaweedfest.com or on twitter and facebook at #seafood saturday.

The festival was based around encouraging and building up seaweed businesses. The vendors sold some lovely edible seaweed products and also some seaweed supplements and seasonings. There were information pamphlets available from Maine Coast Sea Vegetables about the health benefits of consuming seaweed like preventing cancer and treating radiation, or heavy metal poisoning.

Seaweed is an up and coming mainstream commodity and is basically a resource that is plentiful since it comes from the ocean and it can be used for everything from body products to food, to just being medicinal. In fact, we are no longer going to be calling it seaweed, but rather the new term is sea vegetables.

These sea vegetables contain key components essential for good health and emotional balance. Many contain micronutrients, vitamins, amino acids, and sixty trace elements, including the essential elements iodine and sodium.

Seaweed has almost no calories and is extremely low in fat. It possesses anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties that provide relief for many physical health conditions. The list of what they can be helpful for includes

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diabetes, digestion issues, obesity, detoxification, and cardiovascular issues.

If you would like to learn about sea vegetable products then check out these fabulous vendors: Maine Coast Sea Vegetables at seaveg.com, VitaminSea at vitaminseaseaweed.com, and you can find wonderful recipes at oceanapproved.com.

You could also go on a Maine Intertidal Adventure with coastencounter. com, learn about the Maine Seaweed Council who strives to protect and promote the sustainable use of macroalgae harvested from and grown in the coastal waters of Maine at seaweedcouncil. org, get sea vegetable supplements at 4source.com, learn about seaweed at the Sea Grant Maine at USM website seagrant.umaine.edu, and lastly, the National Center for Marine Algae and Microbiota are pioneers in the field of algal culturing and are at ncma.bigelow.org.

By Jennifer Lague

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And The Beacon Locomotive Engages Again...

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he doors have opened, the engines are fired up, and we’re officially in motion again, folks.

The Beacon of 2014 has returned for round two. We’re wildly excited, and you should be, as well.

In the 5+ years of The Beacon’s tenure, this is the earliest an issue has been published. Cheers to that!

First, we would like to congratulate both Sam Coombs and Jason Glynn - both regular Beacon writers and section editors - for their recent achievements. Sam worked an internship this past summer for Times Record, a newspaper based in Brunswick, and was subsequently offered a full-time job position for them. Sam respectfully declined in interest of further academic pursuits. As for Jason, he is now writing for Mainely Media and has an article being published for the South Portland Current. Well done, fellas!

Now, down to business.

At the risk of sounding like Uncle Sam, we here at The Beacon want you to write for your student newspaper.

I stress that there is no exclusivity or hierarchy behind it. You are free to write about whatever you’d like. Your boundaries are virtually inexistent.

The only thing that may negate your chances of having your work accepted is if you’re a visibly prominent IS sympathizer, which we doubt you are. But we figured we’d address that.

At the vanguard of The Beacon’s priority list is the students who write for it. The Beacon offers an opportunity for you to sharpen the blade of your writing craft; to develop an aptitude in not only your writing but in your explorations of the subjects about which you write; to present information to the student body which might not otherwise be exposed to it; to express yourself; and to develop a portfolio for yourself. And let’s not forget: to have bragging rights to your peers and family.

If you like to write, what do you like to write about? Do you like to write about music, movies, and/or art? Your written submissions, in this case, would be featured in the Arts & Features section. Do you like to write about current events, politics, or social issues? Your work, in this case, would be featured in the Op & Ed section, which at this juncture we vehemently encourage you to do.

We also strongly suggest international students to write for The Beacon. The significance of this lay in the fact that international students have stories from abroad that students born and living in America may be entirely unfamiliar with. What a great way of sharing your stories of different cultures, customs, activity, political and social structures and movements, and then some. These types of stories and information are paramount for not only domestic students here, but for the faculty, as well. International students can offer a glimpse of worlds that native Americans may not ever see, experience, or otherwise know about, and The Beacon can serve as the outlet for those stories to be presented to the student and faculty bodies.

So yes, indeed, The Beacon is looking for writers. But it doesn’t stop southern maine community college

there. We’re also looking for illustrators, photographers, and for those who would be willing to help with The Beacon layout crew and in the ad sales department. If any of this pertains to you, don’t hesitate to get involved. The involvement is both fun and rewarding, and it may enable you to develop wonderful relationships with people you may not have with otherwise.

With that said, there’s some exciting things occurring in the world of The Beacon. Soon to come is the Beacon Speak series, in which those involved with the paper will be inviting individuals to come to the school to speak before the school’s students and faculty. So far, we have intentions of invited both Writers Without Borders and Doctors Without Borders to come to speak at the school, which is enormously exciting, and things seem to be shaping up well. But we also seek to invite other prominent figures in the Greater Portland, Maine, and New England areas. This could include business figures, innovators, entrepre-

neurs, artists, and more. It’s one of the many things to look forward to.

Furthermore, Kora O. Han, the “The Other World” section editor, will be featuring summer 2014 travel stories of several Beacon writers in issues to come. This includes her own travels back in her home of Singapore; Campus News section editor Erik Squire’s travels in Europe (including Spain and Germany); and this writer’s own

sojourn spent on the Allagash River.

Keep your ear to the ground for those anecdotes!

On that note, welcome back (or welcome aboard, depending on who you are). The Beacon implores you: get to the computer, start writing, and start submitting!

Photo By Jason Glynn

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eacon Staffer Garrick Hoffman shakes the hand of someone you may recognize: former US President Bill Clinton. Much like this semester, the 2014 Maine gubernatorial campaign is well underway. The Beacon had a group of students covering Mike Michaud’s Tuesday night campaign rally at the sweltering Portland Expo.

There were a number of speakers: Portland Mayor Michael Brennan, US Senate candidate Jenna Bellows whom is challenging incumbent Susan Collins, Maine Congresswoman Emily Cain whom is now running for Michaud’s vacated seat in the US House, US Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, Vietnam Veteran and lifelong Republican-turned-Michaud supporter Skip McNair, obviously included was the democratic candidate for Governor Mike Michaud, and last but certainly not least was former US President Bill Clinton, who thanked us for turning up the heat so he’d feel at home.

Your Beacon staffers are currently engaging with all of the campaigns to conduct individual interviews in order to bring you the fairest coverage possible. Stay tuned for more, and keep following our updates on Facebook.

ad•vice /ed’vis/

guidance or recommendations concerning prudent future action.

Welcome Back, Nerds!

From “a Millennial for Millennials”

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summer called while I was writing this column. It said its usual salutations and dropped a bomb on me. Summer was leaving me, and winter is coming. I replied, not so eloquently, “What the bleep are you talking about? Fall is here!” And like all you Mainers, and pseudoMainers (Pseudomonas, get it, get it? C’mon Biology majors, you know what I’m talking about) like myself, we’re all waiting for the autumn foliage to come out and grace us with its glorious presence. But let’s stick to the program. This is a pro-active advice column after all and I am here to answer any of your doubts, concerns, and troubles. All you have to do is email them to me at maisarahmiskoon@gmail.com, and I will try my very best to help you out.

Dear Maisarah, Going back to school is hard and some classes feel like such a bore. I feel like dropping all of my classes and get a refund check at the end of the month. And since I’ve used ALL of my book credits, I’m going to sell all of my books online and make a quick buck. What do you think?

What a splendid idea! I wonder why I’ve not thought about that before. Oh, wait. Perhaps it’s because I value my education and actually want to learn something and make something of myself after these 2, and subsequently, 4 years of my life. But thank you for bringing this up. I think it’s a problem a lot of students face after the first couple weeks of school.

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Some subjects can be daunting and intimidating but that should not be the reason to be dropping out of college.

As an international student, I pay about $200 per credit out of my own pocket. Therefore, if I’m taking 12 credits, that’s $2400 per semester.

I don’t qualify for financial aid and I certainly do not have credits to buy any books. But I’m here because I need to be here for the sake of my future. I know that a good education pays off in the long run. Finding out what I’m good at in college, makes life easier for me. Sure, making money in the interim may seem like a good idea now, but not a very wise choice for the future. Going to college, knowing your niche, and cultivating a world view, now that’s something. Have all three, and you’re golden.

And if that did not inspire you, perhaps this little morsel might. According to the NCES, the 2012 median earning for individuals with a high school diploma is on average $22,900/ year while individuals with associate’s degree earn $37,000/year on average. I hope this helps!

Dear Maisarah, I may have signed up for more clubs and societies than I ought to during the Welcome Back BBQ. How do I do that and juggle school assignments, studying for classes, and working at Hannaford’s all at the same time? All of the clubs sound so interesting!

A senior once told me something that kind of irked me a little. He told me to learn how to say no. And then I did what I did anyway and bear the consequences because I knew what I was capable of. Now, if you know what you are capable of, you

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By Jason Glynn

should also know when you’re biting off more than you can chew. I suggest trying out a couple of the clubs that you like best and schedule your Hannaford’s work around your curriculum. Leave ample time to study (2 hours/ credit hour) and time to do your assignments. Attend WISH seminars at the AAC (12:30 - 1 pm on weekdays except Fridays) if you need help scheduling your work and talk to your instructors if you need more help on a certain subject.

Dear Maisarah, School has been a blast this week!

All my instructors were nice and awesome... except for one. He has a pretty abstract teaching technique that I don’t understand very well.

He likes going off tangents and tells stories about himself and the work that he does instead of staying on topic. I like him as a person, but I feel myself getting sleepy during his lectures.

I had one of those teachers last semester! And I remembered being really frustrated at first but I learnt how to teach myself on the topics that were covered (making full use of Google and the SMCC Library’s online databases) and seeking help from my instructor after class. There is an alternative. Tell him what you just told me.

Make it known to him that his longwinded diatribes do not benefit your learning and hopefully he listens. I’m sure that your classmates also feel the same way and would want things to change. Good luck!

By Maisarah Miskoon

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MCCE: Working to Take Money out of Politics!

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By Garrick Hoffman

Pro-Active Advice

September 9, 2014 ¤ Page 7

Starbucks Offering Free Education For Employees Quite The “Venti” Announcement

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the 16th of June of this year, Starbucks announced that they would offer free college tuition for all of their employees. The program, entitled the Starbucks Education Achievement Plan, renders Starbucks as the first U.S. company to provide free tuition.

Howard Schultz, the Starbucks chairman and CEO, appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart the day of and publicly broadcasted the announcement, receiving fervent response from the audience.

“It is my job to hate everything,” Stewart responded after Schultz shared

the news. “I’m having a difficult time with this.”

Stewart continued, with a hint of skepticism and humor, “This sounds lovely. Uhh...where are you sending them?”

Schultz went on to discuss the facts: the nation’s college debt has climbed to over a staggering $1.1 trillion (an increase of over 300% since 2003); the average college student has over $30,000 in debt to his or her name; and the people of America are southern maine community college

being “left behind” while Washington stalls. In a partnership with Arizona State University (ASU), Starbucks has effectively created a free educational opportunity for its employees through online means. ASU, Schultz claims, “has the best online program of any university in the country.”

But Stewart though supportive still remained a bit apprehensive noting that according to a source even if 3% of employees take the offer it’ll run Starbucks $50 million. Schultz didn’t deny it; he acknowledged his company would take a big hit in the event that his employees do embrace the opportunity. But it was a hit he was willing to afflict upon his company, recognizing his duty as a businessman that he encourages others to fulfill.

If any of the company’s 135,000 U.S. employees - including its baristas who only work twenty hours a week - do in fact take the offer, they can graduate from ASU with a bachelor’s degree - debt-free. However, to be eligible for the education, an employee must be working at least twenty hours of week.

Furthermore, according to BBC, “Starbucks staff who are successfully enrolled will receive partial tuition for the first two years, and full tuition for their final two years. The annual fee for online courses at the university can exceed $10,000. After they’ve completed their bachelor’s degree, the employees are not obligated to return to employment with Starbucks. Starbucks staff looking to attend college online at Arizona State University (ASU) can choose from about 40 programs including business, engineering, education and retail management.”

Starbucks is widely regarded as ¤

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oney is a force that should never be taken lightly. Money can be used for a tool of ultimate corruption. Sadly, it is no foreign concept that people use money to influences others. In a democratic country where politicians are supposed to represent their constituents, often they end up offering a listening ear to the interests of the wealthy. The reason for this is undoubtedly because the wealthy can afford to contribute far more then Joe down the road. The terrible reality is that the things that benefit owners of corporations don’t always benefit those of us. For instance: A bill that would require labelling of genetically modified (GMO) foods has the support of the majority of Maine citizens.

However, there are the few that oppose the labelling of GMO foods, such as Monsanto. The difference between them and us is that they can pour a lot more money into lobbing and elections then the average citizen can. Unfortunately, due to this inequality, three attempts prior to 2001 to pass similar labelling bills were rejected. This is only one example of many instances where money has corrupted our political system.

What is the solution to this problem? The solution is pretty simple: take money out of politics! That is exactly what Maine Citizens for Clean Elections (MCCE) is working to do. MCCE’s aim is for political candidates to receive a limited equal amount of money, both small dona-

one of the more altruistic companies in the world of corporate titans, basing their virtues and principles - their business model even - on humanity for the people that make their company what it is. It has been placed on “Best Companies To Work For” lists, and is revered for its employee benefits, including health insurance.

In the wake of the news, however, comes some criticism and question marks. The Starbucks Educational Achievement Program is considered, according to education policy analyst Rachel Fishman of the New America Foundation, a “quasi-tuition reimbursement plan,” noting that even though the employer foots some of the bill, the students are financially burdened initially, save for some of the costs, until they complete the degree.

Further, students are encouraged to compare the costs of this plan with costs of, say, a community college that offers financial aid, and explore other bachelor degree options afterwards. The difference, however, is that students at ASU on behalf of Starbucks can receive a full, $10,000 university education for no cost, so long as they complete the degree. More notes of criticism stem from the fact that exclusively online education for many a student is ineffective, and also disables them from peer-to-peer interaction and new friendships, enriching class discussion, and more. Further, the school, though it offers a great myriad of majors, still may not offer a major that one would be seeking to pursue.

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By Garrick Hoffman ¤

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tions from Maine citizens, and from state funding. MCCE is against politicians receiving huge donations from a few wealthy contributors. The idea is that it would make our legislators more likely to represent us the people, rather than the special interests of the few mega rich. Brilliant isn’t it?

MCCE has crafted a citizen’s initiative that they say does the following: Strengthens Maine Clean Elections Act, requires dark money groups to disclose top donors, discloses governor-elect fundraising, increases fines and penalties for campaign finance law violations, and closes a corporate tax loophole.”

When asked for a statement, MCCE’s Program Director BJ McCollister had this to say in regards to their mission: “Maine voters want a Government that is accountable to them, not to wealthy donors.”

The goals of MCCE are very much unpartisan. It is in the interest of everyone, to be fairly heard by our representatives, and that policies are being made to benefit Mainers, and NOT out of state beneficiaries. Maine citizens should be supportive of an initiative that puts decisions back in the hands of the conscientious people.

Let your voices be heard.

By Erik Squire If you would like to volunteer with MCCE, please feel free to send an E-mail to eriktsquire@student.maine.edu

A Changing World Dear Editors

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oday we live it a society that is going through some interesting changes. As we move into the 21th century we can see many of the changes in your society like technology mostly in the form of digital technology that has made communication easier than in past generations. Even transportation has changed in the last hundred years.

At the beginning of the 20th century the car had just been invented and now we are living in an area of mass transportation were most everyone has access to vital technology and transportation.

As the saying goes all good things must come to an end and so we are left with a couple of choices.

As we have access to these rescores things seem find but oil is slowly dwindling and we need new energy solutions.

Alternative energy solutions seem like the best solution but also reducing our energy needs is another option. We have grown used to an abundance of things not just energy. Being more frugal with resources is required as we enter a new age.

Respectfully submitted

By Ian Ziller

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rts &Features

The Green Elephant Asian Inspired, Made With Love

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a recent diet change, and had become extremely passionate and conscious about the vegetarian lifestyle. Not many restaurants around the area had a menu quite like the Green Elephant, with just enough options to keep you satisfied, and flavor combinations that kept you coming back for more. Ben

hen entering the Green Elephant, a vegetarian bistro located at 608 Congress Street in Portland, I was welcomed by a sense of warmth and intimacy. The host graciously seated us at a back center table; anywhere in the house feels private and comfortable.

The soft lighting from beautiful chandeliers and the bohemian décor influenced by culinary utensils enhances the free spirited atmosphere of the entire restaurant. Being located in such a central area in Portland, right down the street from a main bus Photo By Alexander Balzano stop and popular venues, the Green Elephant provides an instated enthusiastically, “I found that clusive meeting place for people with whenever I had the money I was eatgrumbling stomachs of all different ing at the Green Elephant, sometimes eating styles. Nearly every item on the even 5 times a week, and eventually I menu is vegan, or can be made vegan pursued a position as an employee. I with simple substitution. For vegetarlove the food, and the community that ians and vegans it’s heaven on a plate. the restaurant has built within the past Gluten free? They have wonderful 7 years since its birth, the regulars are options for you as well! Don’t worry great, helping to keep us in business carnivores, this restaurant’s savvy even during the winter months.” combination of Asian cuisine which

With the aim to have no borders gathers its influence from Malaysia, and no hard lines, you can’t help but Japan, China, India and Thailand will feel completely at ease while eating at make even YOU drool. the Green Elephant. Not to mention

Well known for their flavorful and that as students, if you are trying to filling curry dishes I went out on a follow a Vegetarian/Vegan lifestyle, it limb and asked the server to choose for can be hard when you are eating out me out of the four very popular and and trying to find something that is delicious options. This ended me with both reasonably priced and has decent the Siamese Dream Curry Noodle, and quality. let me tell you, every mouthful was

With nothing on the menu for over a dream of flavors. A surreal com15 dollars, a meal at the Green Elbination of rice noodles, snow peas, ephant will help your to stick to your carrots, red peppers, tofu, soy meat, meal plan while not breaking the bank. fried shallots, cashews and spinach If you are a foodie and want an eating in a thick coconut curry soup is what experience that will be more than just made up my very full and satisfied your typical burger and fries, this is belly. Each biteful was so packed with the place for you. The Green Elephant flavor, all complimenting to each other is great for families, a night out on the and with every spoonful I raised a town with your pals, or a very nice little higher in my seat, the warm dish spot for a first date (wink ~ wink). Oh, easing every grumble in my stomach and I almost forgot, they help to proand putting me at utter ease. mote local Maine companies such as

If curry is not quite your thing?

Maine Root, Handcrafted Beverages, My date also wasn’t feeling it that and Lalibela Farm, a local organic night and decided to go with the clasfarm. By doing this they are helping sic Pad Thai dish, consisting of a stir our state to grow and keep local busifry of small rice noodles with tofu, egg, ness’s alive. broccoli, carrots, bean sprouts, and

Introducing you to a new pallet, scallions topped with ground peanuts healthy but extremely tasty, this resand raw vegetables. His satisfaction taurant has it all and welcomes you to could be told by how quiet he was, his give it a try. Even you carnivores (I’m full mouth, and his thumbs up when I a meat lover too), may be surprised at asked “Good?” how much you will want to come back

I was curious about how the Green again and again.

Elephant came to be, as it is a very

That’s dining out on a student’s unique restaurant with unbelievably budget for this edition, give my good flavor combinations and it full friends over at the Green Elephant a house of eclectic and hip patrons; they visit some time soon! You wont regret were obviously popular and successit! ful with what they were doing. I spoke with Ben, the manager, who filled me Till our next bite, in a bit about the vision and the feelDining Dierdree ing that the Green Elephant wanted

By Dierdree Glassford to put out. Having worked with the restaurant for five years I asked Ben what was it that drew him to work for the Green Elephant in the first place.

He explained to me that he had had southern maine community college

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September 9, 2014 ¤ Page 9

Poetic License

Here we are again, back at la escuela.

This is hopefully my last semester but who knows. How was your summer?

Mine was good. I got to bop around Florida for a while and experience that whole thing. Florida is very different from my last destinations (Alaska...

Northern California...), but definitely has its own “feel” or something. I wonder if everyone there is miserable.

This poem was written about the day I visited Miami for about four hours. It was not what I expected Miami to be like, but then again my only thing to go off of is Miami Vice, or that Welcome to Miami song.

Miami, or how the Supernatural become Au-Naturale When we arrived in Miami, we decided to visit a record store that was in the Arts District.

My Northeast sensibilities moved like plates in the Earth trying to form a new Nation in my mind but instead was transported to the Little Haiti of Miami, where witchcraft and Voodoo presented themselves as if they were on large billboards with ceremony candles to make them plain to me.

I lost a pack of Marlboros and about a mile down the road a guy asked me for a cigarette and I said, “sure.”

They were not on my persons so I looked at him like, “Oh, I lost them.”

“Marlboros. Reds. They are back there,” he said, pointing in the direction I came from.

I ran back really fast and left my lover there with him. He asked if we were train punks and he said we looked madly in love.

They were still there.

I snatched them up and ran back.

He was right.

How did he know?

Miami was a weird occult nightmare, like if Voodoo Societies decided to start selling products to tourists in the “nice part” of Miami.

That same day I also called out an Italian pervert who was taking pictures of grrl’s behinds. He was crummy at trying to lie and told me I was crazy.

By Patrick Doyle

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rts &Features

Page 10 ¤ September 9, 2014

Guardians of the Your Creativity Is All You’ve Got really, it’s all you have left. Besides the theoretirealism, Futurism, Neoism, Situationism, yada yada.

NO cal idea of property, your possessions, you have

If you don’t create, why aren’t you? Even knitting a Galaxy Meets virtually nothing on this planet besides the body, mind, etc. blanket is creative. Decorating your iPad with stickers or Luckily though the body and mind can produce luscious something . . . I don’t know. I don’t have the answers, otherthe Avengers

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very summer has one major blockbuster movie that leaves its’ competitors in the dust. A few years ago, that movie was the Avengers.

This summer? Nothing could compare to Guardians of the Galaxy. The funny part, they were both made by Marvel Studios. Combining the boom for superheroes with the excitement of space age travel, Marvel has shown a great sense of humor with their films, and staying on par with the action that follows. Marvel finds a way to outdo itself with every movie they make, each one more memorable than the last.

What I love about Marvel is their ability to combine science fiction with comedy and action in every film they create, while leaving logical explana-

tions behind every fandom, making it seem as though what we see on the film screen could actually happen in reality.

The film begins by telling the origin story of Peter “Starlord” Quill, who, as a child, was abducted by an alien spacecraft shortly after his mother’s death. Twenty six years pass in an instant to the present day, where Peter has become a notorious outlaw, running from the law, all while listening to his mix-tape, “Awesome Mix: Volume 1,” which was given to him by his mother. Perhaps this could be the best compiled movie soundtrack I’ve heard in my life.

The film follows the story of Peter and his Motley Crue of unintentional partners as they fight off the armies of Thanos, and as they struggle to protect a legendary orb that gives its wielder astounding power.

It’s been greatly hinted that the Guardians of the Galaxy will eventually meet the Avenger’s in future films to fight the overwhelming power of Thanos. What I believe would make the film unforgettable, is to stage a dance off between Iron Man and Starlord.

The first scene in the film of an adult Peter (Starlord) shows him dancing to his mix-tape as the opening credits roll. Robert Downey Junior, no stranger to the dance floor, would definitely make a great addition to a crosser film when the two forces combine to beat overwhelming odds.

Chris Pratt, the actor playing Starlord, has shown incredible dancing ability, the kind that we should definitely expect more from the character.

As for who would win? That’s a question only Marvel can answer. Will they? It’s unknown. I know for certain I won’t be missing any of Marvel’s films to come.

By Nicholas Miller

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works of creativity, or downtrodden conflicting works of idiosyncrasy; it’s really up to you.

The point is your productive prowess is your job to the world. Everything sucks, right? Real drag, that Earth, huh?

Yeah, yeah. Some say that creativity is a reaction against the banality of the world. Seems reasonable to assume that all creators do this jig, because we’re trying to make sense of a senseless world. Look at all the art movements: Dada, Sur-

wise I wouldn’t make art! If I didn’t make art I’d be stuck with the infamous Camus perplexities (Accept Absurd, Become Religious, Commit Suicide) and I don’t really have the time for that.

Okay, okay. I’m winding this up now. Just make things; anything.

By Patrick Doyle

Three Summer 2014 Reads Which Could Suit You Well For Any Season

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his past summer, I was able to get around to tackling a few books that I’m super pleased to have completed. Unfortunately, there’s a couple others that are still beckoning for my attention (Under The Banner of Heaven, by Jon Krakauer, and Cosmos, by Carl Sagan). Good thing books don’t audibly cry as a result of reader negligence, because the ones I didn’t complete would have probably been thrown off my roof by now. Hopefully I won’t treat my future crying children the same way. Only time will tell.

Here’s the short list that I can only suggest you read. Now it’s up to you to actually follow through with my suggestions.

Band of Brothers, Stephen Ambrose - An international bestseller that was subsequently adapted into a popular TV miniseries (which was produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg), Band of Brothers tells the tale of Easy Company, a component of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment and 101st Airborne Division during World War II. Beginning their jump training in Toccoa, Georgia, Easy went on to engage in some fierce battles throughout Europe, including battles in Normandy, France; Bastogne, Belgium; and eventually finding themselves in Hitler’s “Eagle’s Nest” in Germany, an incredibly opulent retreat for the Führer mounted above the town of Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps. At the center of the story is Major Richard Winters, who led his men throughout the most fearsome of combat conceivable. With a blend of horror, humor, anger, camaraderie and tenderness, not to mention the fascinating historical and nonfictional elements, Band of Brothers is one worth picking up, especially for the history/ war junkies out there.

Cujo, Stephen King - I’m so glad I finally got around to this one. Like King’s The Shining and Different Seasons, I was always so excited to return to this book after I finished a chapter. Although I loved it, it wasn’t quite what I expected, story-wise - I had always heard about Cujo, and I imagined a behemoth of a St. Bernard terrorizing an entire town and leaving lifeless, bloodied corpses scattered throughout the streets (which actually sounds a lot like another one of King’s stories, The Stand). But instead, the dog went on to terrorize just a few people in a small neighborhood, and the story also has a few sub-plots within it. Cujo himself isn’t a ¤

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Stephen King-typical diabolical beast, in that his madness becomes a result of a transmission of rabies after he’s bitten by a bat, rather than becoming possessed by some demonic entity.

There’s nothing supernatural about it, which strays from King’s typical horror works, especially the ones dating in the 70’s and 80’s, the latter of which Cujo falls into. And here’s a couple of fun facts about Cujo: the dog’s name was actually based on the nom de guerre (war name) of Willie Wolfe, a member of the Symbionese Liberation Army in the 1970s who went on to orchestrate the kidnapping and subsequent SLA integration of media figure Patty Hearst, which garnered a great deal of notoriety at the time.

Another fun fact: in King’s On Writing memoir, King informs the reader that the writing of Cujo was an experience he hardly remembers at all. He was intoxicated on alcohol during virtually the entire process.

Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk Okay, I can’t stress enough how important it is to read this book. Beyond its sheer entertainment value, it’s also a rattling counter-culture commentary.

Virtually every chapter contains at least one memorable passage. You may have seen the movie, but if it’s been a while, watch it again and you might recognize its message.

Centralized in the story is an unnamed protagonist who struggles with

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insomnia and goes on to seek his own self-medicated treatment: a radical form of psychotherapy. That psychotherapy? A weekly group meeting entitled Fight Club, conceived by the protagonist and his new friend Tyler where members find liberation from their 9-5s and vapid lives through vicious physical violence unto one another. It’s all in good fun for the members, however, since they’re all there for one collected purpose rather than out of animosity.

Woven throughout the story are remarks and insights of anti-consumerism, materialism, and society; attacks on the American Dream; what God means; encouragement of social upheaval to subvert the hierarchy of America, and ever so much more. The book serves as a wealth of societal, cultural, and existential insights that could make you think twice about the very society, culture, and existence you inhabit. I’m sure the book is and has been dissected in some college courses by now. One of my favorite quotes: “I’d rather kill you than see you working a shit job for just enough money to buy cheese and watch television.”

So, reader, I implore you to explore at least one of these books. Do yourself a favor, wouldja?

by Garrick Hoffman

southern maine community college

The Local Sports Scene Portland Sea Dogs Playoff Adventure

By Sam Coombs

GAME 1: METS: 8, SEA DOGS 5 AT: NYSEG STADIUM SEA DOGS DROP FIRST GAME IN RUSNEY CASTILLO’S DEBUT In game one, the Portland Sea Dogs played well until late when they gave up the lead to Binghamton. Portland allowed the Binghamton Mets to come back and win in walk-off style 8-5.

Binghamton scored six of their eight runs in the final two frames to shock Portland who was on the road. The Sea Dogs, who have the best record in the Eastern League, dropped to 0-1 in the first round of the playoffs.

Sea Dogs pitcher Brian Johnson had a solid start on the mound pitching 7innings, with 6hits, 2earned runs, 8 strikeouts, and one walk. It was the bullpen and defense for Portland that couldn’t close out the game. The Bullpen surrendered 6 runs with only 2 being earned. It was the opposite showing for the Binghamton Mets, as starter Tyler Pill struggled to find the zone. Hansel Robles and Cody Satterwhite came into the game in relief, combining on three innings pitched, 2 hits, no runs and 6 strikeouts to shut down Portland.

Offensively, the Sea Dogs were led

by Carson Blair who was 3-for-4, Sean Coyle, 1-for-4 with a home run and David Chester who was 1-for-4 with a three RBI homerun. Rusney Castillo went 1-for-3 in his debut with the Sea Dogs. Castillo just recently signed a 7year, $72 million contract with the Boston Red Sox. Binghamton was led offensively by T.J. Rivera who had a monster game going 4-for-5 with five RBI’s and the walk off 3run homerun in the ninth to seal the deal for the Mets.

GAME 2: SEA DOGS 7, METS 0 AT: NYSEG STADIUM Play turned in Portland’s favor in the 2nd game of this playoff series Thursday. The Sea Dogs out played the Mets in every aspect of the game. The bats came alive, they were defensively sharp and pitching was on point as the Sea Dogs came out on top 7-0.

The Sea Dogs started early getting 5runs in the 2nd inning on five hits.

This big inning began with a Stefan Welch smash that traveled over the right field fence for a solo home run.

Later in the inning, Sea Dog 2nd baseman Sean Coyle homered to left field to take the early 5-0 lead. The Sea Dogs would never look back in this game and gained some momentum going home.

Portland got a strong start from Justin Haley who was 3-2 with a 1.19 era for the Sea Dogs this regular season. Haley finished the game with 6innings pitched, allowing 5hits, 8strikeouts, 1walk and no earned runs. A strong relief appearance was followed from Wilfredo Boscan who threw 3 strong innings.

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Defensively the Sea Dogs got a lot of ground balls for double plays and finished the game with no errors.

Heiker Meneses was strong up the middle, making a few flashy plays for his team and finishing with strong throws to keep Binghamton off the scoreboard.

Portland was lead offensively in this game by Coyle and Welch who both went 2-for-4 with two home runs in the contest. Mike Miller also finished 3-for-5.

The Sea Dogs headed back to Hadlock Field in Portland after this win to gear up for their first home playoff game in six years with the series tied 1-1 after this victory. It will be Sea Dogs fans first chance to see highly touted Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo up close and personal.

GAME 3: SEA DOGS 6, METS 3 AT: HADLOCK FIELD Fans got their first glimpse of the future Friday in the 5th inning when Rusney Castillo hit an RBI double to right field scoring Heiker Meneses in his Portland, Maine debut. This was a big hit for the Sea Dogs who lead 3-0 at this point on route to a 6-3 victory.

Portland once again came out strong offensively with almost everyone contributing. Eight out of the nine starters for the Sea Dogs contributed with a base hit with Castillo and Mike Miller (2-for-4) leading the way.

After leading 3-0 after 5innings Binghamton stayed close scoring 2runs in the 6thinning off a double from Brandon Nimmo (Mets No. 3 prospect) who scored on a passed ball and one run in the seventh. The Sea Dogs would pull away in the bottom of the inning scoring 3runs started by a line drive single from Castillo. Miller followed with another single and Sean Coyle knocked in Castillo with an RBI base hit. After a pitching change by Binghamton 2 more runs scored for Portland and that scored would stand.

Portland went ahead in the series 2-1 win this win.

Rusney Castillo finished 2-for-3 in the game with a double, RBI and one run scored. Eduardo Rodriguez finished with a no decision but yet again another strong start. Since coming over in the trade for Andrew Miller, Rodriguez has gone 3-1 with a 0.96 era in the regular season and now tallying another good start allowing two runs on three hits and six strikeouts.

The Sea dogs hoped to end the series Saturday in Portland with Mike Augliera on the bump.

GAME 4: METS 11, SEA DOGS 4 AT: HADLOCK FIELD

The Binghamton Mets were eager not to make this game the last one of the season for their team in a battle at Hadlock field on Saturday. The Mets surged for 13 hits and walked 6 times in their 11-4 victory over the Sea Dogs.

Having all these extra base runners made it pretty easy for the Mets who scored 7runs in the sixth inning.

The bullpen for the Sea Dogs overall struggled to find command of the

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zone. After giving up a single to start this inning, Mike McCarthy would go on to hit Brandon Nimmo, give up a single to T.J. Rivera and walk in a run before being replaced by Pete Ruiz.

Before 3outs were made in this inning, 6 more runs would score on a walk, double and wild pitch. The Sea Dogs did everything they could to come back from this deficit and try to clinch the series but fell short.

In the bottom of the 8th, the Sea Dogs got their fans excited again when David Chester hit a long fly ball over the center field fence scoring himself and Kenny De La Cruz. The pitching efforts of Randy Fontanez for the Mets would shut the Sea Dogs down in the ninth and extend this series to its final game on Sunday at Hadlock Field.

One bright spot for the Sea Dogs was the 3 scoreless innings of relief from Madison Younginer who only gave up one

What:

When: Where:

hit in the final three frames. Offensively for Portland Heiker Meneses finished 2-for-3 and Chester 1-for-4 with two RBI’s.

In between publication date of the SMCC Beacon the Portland Sea Dogs will be playing game five at home 9-714: Results will be in the next issue

Photo By Sam Coombs

The Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) at SMCC welcomes all students interested in enhancing student leadership through self-exploration, skill development, and an examination of diverse leadership styles.

Weekly meeting from 4:00-5:30pm, on Tuesday afternoons from 9/16-12/2.

South Portland Campus, Howe Hall Seminar Room.

Space is limited, please tell students to sign up NOW. (Link to the application: http://bit.ly/ELPapp) ELP is free and open to all SMCC students, regardless of previous experience or current academic standing.

To find out more please contact: Shane Long at slong@smccme.edu

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SMCC Women’s Soccer Gets Under Way

Photo By Kenneth Reddinger

Girls Soccer Drop First Game SOUTH PORTLAND, ME- In the first action of the season, the SMCC girls’ soccer team matched up against a talented Dean College team in a home

matchup on Saturday. The Seawolves battled throughout this game with strong play from their freshmen who played in their first action for SMCC. The Seawolves would eventually fall 2-0 in this game.

Defensively, the Seawolves looked pretty strong in the first half and stayed competitive throughout the whole contest. They didn’t give up a goal until the 36th minute. Unfortunately they had few opportunities offensively with freshmen Katy Cyr finishing with the most shots (4) for the Seawolves.

Possession of the ball was the biggest problem in the game for the Seawolves which resulted in them only

having nine shots as a team to Dean’s 30. SMCC Freshmen goalie Aime Worchester (Naples, ME) finished with a strong first performance tallying 2 saves in net. Dean was led by Alyssa Klotzbeecher and Rachel Mauricio who each finished with a goal.

Girls Soccer with Bounce Back Victory, 1-0 SOUTH PORTLAND, ME- Not far into the first half did the Lady Seawolves soccer team have their first lead of the season over Vermont Tech. The goal came by Zyrah Giustra unassisted to

SMCC Baseball Edges Bridgton in Opener Coach Lemieux excited for the season

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baseball started off their season on the right foot playing a close, entertaining game against Bridgton Academy, coming up on top 1-0. It was a pitching duel for both teams. Each team used a variety of pitchers on the day seeing what their teams had to offer. On the mound for SMCC was Dylan Morrow, Ian Boyle and Nate Boyle. Morrow started on the bump for the Seawolves

with both Ian and Nate Boyle in relief.

They combined pitching seven innings, giving up three hits, striking out seven and walking four. Nate Boyle continued his dominance on the mound from last season striking out five of the 11 batters he faced in three innings.

The loan run of the game came in the 2nd inning by Tucker Lee with a sac fly scoring Kyle Bussiere. This game shows the strong pitching that the Seawolves have this year in hopes to capturing another conference championship. “I was pleased with the way Dylan, Ian and Nate threw,”

SMCC Men’s Soccer Loses to Talented Dean College

face Bridgton Academy in their next contest.

Spencer Hoyts 27 Saves Not Enough SOUTH PORTLAND, ME- In the second contest for the men’s soccer team, SMCC would try to rally behind the effort of Goalie Spencer Hoyt who was making save after save for the Seawolves. Despite all those saves, SMCC would lose their second game of the season to Bridgton Academy 3-0 droppin to 0-2-0 on the season.

SMCC moved the ball well in this game but had few opportunities to score. They were led in shots by Quentin Ndayishimiye who attacked Bridgton in their defensive zone. In these first two games it has been a struggle offensively for the Seawolves as they are still eager to get their first

said SMCC head coach Jared Lemieux.

“Morrow and Nate Boyle both pitched successfully for the Old Orchard Beach Raging Tide this summer and have entered this season on a mission.”

SMCC had seven hits offensively but struggled to score and Bridgton’s defense was making plays in the field.

“Offensivly, the guys had great plate appearances and I have plenty of faith that this squad will be able to score runs,” said Lemieux. SMCC was lead offensively in this game by Alex Brown (USCAA First Team All-Conference) who was 2-for-2 and Phillip Langley

goal. “We need to increase our onetwo touch game and make all our passes quicker and more precise said Xavier Trask (Richmond, ME). “We need to work hard as a team to increase our level of play,” said Trask.

SMCC is looking to come back from these two losses as a team as the season progresses. “Our Expectations for this season are to win as many games as possible,” said Evan Meiller (Saco, ME).

SOUTH PORTLAND, ME- The SMCC men’s soccer team found themselves leading late in a game against Vermont Tech on a goal from SMCC’s Sean Jackson who hit from 30 yards out.

Vermont Tech didn’t score until the 71st minute of the game on a header from Matthew Brein. Quickly after, Vermont Tech scored again taking the lead away from the Seawolves and eventually winning 2-1.

the right corner of the net to take the early 1-0 lead. That lead would stand the rest of the game and would result in being the final.

Defensivly, the Seawolves played tough, not allowing the ball to be in their zone too often. Aime Worchester made 10 saves in the game to lead SMCC in goal. SMCC finished with 27 total shots as they were on attack from much of the game. The Seawolves record on the season is 1-1 and will face Hampshire College in their next game.

Vermont Tech was led by Jasmine Whitman with seven shots and Laura Flint in goal with 15 saves.

By Sam Coombs

who was 3-for-3.

“I am excited about our returning bats of Alex Brown and Jon Daniszewski this year, also having transfer students that have entered into the mix, SS Langley, IF Justin Ciszewski and OF Bussiere. I am also excited about our eager group of incoming freshmen who are chomping at the bit to make an impact right away,” said Lemieux.

SMCC will open up at home on Wednesday September 10th against Eastern Maine Community College.

First pitch 4:30 p.m.

By Sam Coombs

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Derek Jeter ties Lou Gehrig on Yankees all-time hit list, 2009.

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s Derek Jeter enters the final leg of his playing career this season, it is important to reflect on some special things he did in his career. Whether you’re a Red Sox fan, Rays fan or Mets fan you have to respect a player like Derek Jeter who, in the wake of the steroid era, has presumably done things the right way.

The Yankees are a team with so much history and have the most championships in Major League Baseball with 27. There have been many great players from Lou Gehrig to Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Micky Mantle, Reggie Jackson but none have more hits as a Yankee then Derek Jeter.

On September 9th 2009, Derek Jeter was facing the Tampa Bay Rays in a division game where all the fans in Yankee stadium knew he had a chance to tie the record if he had a good game.

He needed three hits and three hits is what he got. Jeter finished the game 3-for-4 with a double and a stolen base after he had been in his worst slump of the season going 0-12 in his last 12 at bats. It was in the 7th inning when Jeter tied the record on a single off Jeff Niemann of the Rays. On this night when Jeter tied Gehrig’s record, Yankee Stadium erupted in great pleasure as they got to witness history, which is something Yankee fans strive to see.

Derek Jeter stood on first base as the

L Photo By Kenneth Reddinger

The Seawolves showed some strides of improvement in this game holding a lead for the majority of the contest. SMCC goalie Spencer Hoyt finished with eight saves and defensively the Seawolves played hard all game. The Seawolves drop to 0-3-0 with this loss and are slated to play Hampshire College next.

By Sam Coombs

UPCOMING

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September 9th Today in Sports History

fans gave him a standing ovation on this night, respecting the acts of Lou Gehrig as a Yankee but also praising one of the cities favorites, Derek Jeter.

They both stood at the top of the list at 2,721 hits.

Jeter started this game with a bunt in the first inning trying to start off with a hit after he had been in a slump. He then followed with a groundout and ground ruled double for his second hit of the evening before tying the record.

Jeter on this night also recorded his 300 steal as a Yankee which moved him into second on the all-time Yankee list. It was a terrific night for Derek Jeter’s career, he was quoted saying, “It’s just mind boggling to know my name is next to his (Gehrig).” “What an ovation I got from the fans,” he said, “I’ve been trying to do it for them.”

In the next series against the Baltimore Orioles would be when Jeter broke the record off pitcher Chris Tillman. Since 2009 Jeter has gone on to break many other records. He has announced this season that it will be his final season in the MLB and with the New York Yankees. Jeter has been going on a farewell tour and trying to lead his team to a playoff berth in his final MLB season. Derek Jeter to this day since passing Lou Gehrig now has 3447 career hits which is 6th on the alltime list.

It is highly evident that Derek Jeter will go down as one of the best to ever play the game of baseball. September has always been a good month for Derek Jeter trying to push his team to

September 9, 2014 ¤ Page 13

the playoffs and ultimately World Series berths. It will be an exciting month for baseball fans to see what Derek Jeter brings to the table to end his his-

toric career. All eyes will be watching Derek Jeter.

BY SAM COOMBS

SMCC Grants Students Summer 2014 White Water Rafting Trip

EVENTS

SOUTH PORTLAND, ME- The SMCC boys faced one of their toughest opponents to start the season, playing the Bulldogs of Dean College. Defensively, SMCC has a young group which put together a good effort however Dean’s offense, possession and foot skills would be too much to handle as the Bulldogs went on to win convincingly 7-0 in this home opener.

SMCC freshmen goalie Spencer Hoyt finished the game with 6 saves and Wadhah Al-Shammari had three shots. Dean was led by Javan Phillip who had three goals, Filipe Freitas with two goals and Marcos Tavares also with two. This was a good test for the Seawolves and will help them in the long run as the season progresses.

The Seawolves drop to 0-1-0 and will

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et me tell you why I’m so delighted and fortunate to be a student here at SMCC.

In late June of this past summer, I received a message from a fellow student who informed me that there was a white water rafting trip just days away, that there was a sudden berth in the original gang of participants, and that I now had an opportunity to go. My response? Verbatim: “I’m very down. …this sound killer!” I had never gone white water rafting before.

The perks? SMCC would cover all the expenses, including the cabin for two days and two nights, the food, and the actual rafting itself. All that was required from the participating students was their insurance information.

The trip was signed up with Northern Outdoors, a company that not only harbors a resort, restaurant, and the cabins, but also hosts the trip itself with a staff of well-trained guides.

Here are just a few adjectives I could employ to describe our rafting trip: exhilarating; wildly fun; intimate; unforgettable. But even with the indubitable exhilaration as one might expect from such a trip, there were nonetheless moments of serenity found throughout.

If my memory proves true, there were eight of us students who participated. Going into the trip, I knew but one person, Saman Baghestani, the founder of Sopo Books who not only acquired the funding for and facilitat-

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ed the trip, but proved to be a consummately organized and helpful team player. So, knowing only one person, I had a feeling I’d be cultivating new friendships with this group of strangers.

Arriving at our site at Northern Outdoors in The Forks, Maine, my brain was overloaded with nearly uncontrollable ebullience. I couldn’t wrap my mind around the provisions. You see, my preconception was that we’d be spending our next couple nights in a rustic cabin, maybe equipped with a stove and some bunk beds and a table.

I even brought my sleeping bag and pillow. But upon entering the cabin, which was perched on a hill overlooking a river that was semi-obscured by the many trees in the backyard, I found it was, indeed, a bit rustic, but clad with charm and many unexpected provisions: a full kitchen (yup, dishwasher included, folks), three rooms (including a master bedroom with a hot tub in its bathroom) with cozy beds, an inviting communal space, and a porch that overlooked the river.

And…what?!...a washer and a dryer that ended up being found useful more than once. The place looked like it was designed for kings and queens seeking rustic hospitality.

And then these beguiling feelings were compounded when we went to the resort and brewery center: outside there was a sizable hot tub, a ¤

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Dead at the Drive-In

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ast May, Dead at the Drive-In premiered at the Saco Drive-in and followed through into an afternoon/ evening festival on Saturday. Metal bands started playing at 3pm including David Shaffer, who is a featured actor in the movie Hanover House, The Restless Atlantic, Lord Earth, Destination: Void, Heart-shaped Rock and Clubber Lang. Dead at the DriveIn started off the day with a small clustering of and was filled to capacity later in the evening. A man made up professionally to look like a zombie sold t-shirts for the movie How to Kill a Zombie. Dead at the Drive-In t-shirts were sold in the snack bar. People walked around and socialized, played frisbee and some zombies were even kicking around here and there.

Sheridan Giordano, lead singer of Heart Shaped Rock, belted out her dark metal blues while dressed in a blood spattered wedding dress. When the music ended at 7pm everyone who was out mingling headed to their cars, and flipped on the radio to 88.1 FM.

Buck Savage in: City of the Damned and Root of the Problem were the first short films shown. Both could be put in the category of campy, humorous horror for sure, adding a level of the absurd to the first 2 films was that in between films little kittens were projected on the screen meowing how much time there was till the next film started. Patrons beeped their horns in applause to show their enthusiasm after each show.

Root of the Problem made us all never want to go to the dentist again while the next short film, Say Goodbye made us want to go find an exorcist.

This set the tone for the supernatural spooky nature of Hanover House, which was still to come. But, first we watched How to kill a Zombie and fulfilled our need to see dead things get torn to shreds.

Not until about 10:30pm did the opening scenes of Hanover House hit the big screen.

We all beeped our applause, laughed at the little kitties and waited with baited breath to finally get a chance to see this film. When it came on I was surprised at the quality of the movie experience. It was better than a lot of movies I’ve seen even though it was made with a small budget. The story revolves around a possessed house that lures its prey into in. Once the house has chosen you there is no way to leave alive.

Later in the summer, Hanover House, as well as Natal, two films

created and directed by SMCC’s own Corey Norman, and How to Kill a Zombie were shown at the Emerge Film Festival which took place at the Franco Performance Center in Lewis-

ton on June 13th. Needless to say, that night was also an evening of fun and horror.

ing our guides’ every command. At one point on the river, we were even permitted to hop out of the raft to do some swimming and some floating, letting the river carry us with no effort.

If you chose the latter, you could feel like Superman soaring in the air but beneath the surface of the water. We were admonished to keep our feet up so as to not catch ourselves on any insidious rocks, which could prove to be perilous. Eventually we were even given the opportunity to guide our own floatable kayaks, which many of us didn’t cease to take. I know that when I took my opportunity, this was of the utmost serenity for me, as I emancipated myself from the group for a bit in favor of solitude and reflection, which as an introvert I need.

And of course, the trip came to an end. I don’t think any of us wanted it to. I still felt like I was just getting started. Not to say that the trip was short lived; I think we all got our filling. I think it was just the pleasure of floating on the river and the thrill of it all that left some of us hungry for more. But all good things do indeed come to an end.

Just because we were off the river didn’t mean it was the complete terminus to the entire trip, however. We got to watch an entertaining video that the

Northern Outdoors folks hastily made that day of us. When that was done, we SMCC students played a game of aquatic volleyball in the pool, having a blast and doing our best not to disturb the pool-side patrons, which wasn’t really easy. At night, we did some more cooking, some more hanging and chatting, played some cards and gazed at the stars, listened to the Into The Wild soundtrack (not for the first time that trip), and called it a day, leaving the following morning to return home.

On behalf of the group, I want to thank Saman for his many successful efforts to make the trip happen, and of course SMCC for making the trip possible to begin with. We’re all incredibly grateful, and I know that the trip was one of the best of my life. I’m sure others in our gang could say the same.

I knew I went to school here for a reason.

(Please identify that last remark as only 25-40% sincere.)

By Jennifer Lague

Whitewater Rafting (Continued from Page 13) pool with a volleyball net, and many tables for dining, and inside there were a number of couches, an arcade, a restaurant, and a bar, among other offerings. To this I had to remark to a fellow student, “God bless you for inviting me.” I guess I was feeling so ecstatic that I forgot my secularity for a moment there.

After a night of eating, chatting, enjoying the camaraderie of each others’ company, and doing yoga poses on a log in the river that resulted in the untimely death of my camera, we woke early for breakfast to begin the entrée of our trip: a day of white water rafting.

First, at the resort center, we and the many other people rafting for the day were given a ten- or fifteen-minute tutorial of what to expect, what to equip ourselves with, and how not to die on the river. When those formalities were over with, we were loaded up on a bus, oars in hand and dressed in our helmets and lifejackets, and taken away to someplace magical, which actually didn’t end up being Hogwarts but rather the river, which is just as magical. One of the employees, whose name was Ryan and who later became the guide for my raft, spoke from the front of the bus as we traveled to our destination. He not only kept the southern maine community college

crowd busy with interesting information of the area that would be fitting on the bottoms of Snapple caps, but with an abundance of laughs, as well.

We students were all divided among different rafts, so we all had different experiences with different guides. Collectively, however, we tackled some beast-like rapids early on and throughout, stopping at one point on a little sandbar-like area for a lunch with one’s choice of steak, chicken, or salmon, and plenty of other provisions. Scattered here and there on the side of the river were employees with video cameras, capturing the intensity of the moments, and of course capturing all the child-like, exhilarated miens of the raftees as they passed on by through some furious rapids. At another juncture, all the rafts pulled over for a gaze-worthy waterfall for the raftees to delight in. The SMCC students gathered in the center of it for a few pictures that showcased our thrill of being part of the trip. And it was here at this waterfall that I saw, pulling up in a kayak, a friend whom I had met and last seen in Hawaii in 2013. I think our brains may have simultaneously exploded as a result of the surrealism of the moment.

And so we moved on, taking on more rapids with gusto and obey¤

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By Garrick Hoffman

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