SMCC Beacon 09/15/2015

Southern Maine Community College

Issue 1,Volume 13 September 15 2014

BY THE STUDENTS FOR THE STUDENTS

Campus News SMCC Clubs Pages 2-3

Other World Turbo Kid Pages 4-5

Op & Ed Finally Free!

Pages 6-7

Arts & Features Autumn Shows Pages 8-9

Sports Sports Update Pages 11-12

The “New”s of SMCC

By Garrick Hoffman Liberal Arts Major

W

ith the fall semester well into action and bounties of students, faculty, and staff alike still lamenting on what seems to be a complete absence of parking spaces despite the creation of new ones, the word “new” seems like a fitting adjective to apply to everything SMCC-related. After a summer of extensive construction, as well as new policies and systems being implemented, there are plenty of new features around campus.

NEW SYSTEMS AND POLICIES

SMCC and Sodexo recently partnered with Portland-based company We Compost It! to host a brand-new composting system in the Dining Hall. A receptacle now stands by the trash and dish station in which students discard their food scraps. Last semester, Sodexo had run a trial period to see how much waste was generated in a week in order to determine whether a compost system would be worthwhile.

Evidently it was, because in five days, a total of 1750 pounds of waste was generated, including food and paper waste.

According to their LinkedIn page, “WE COMPOST IT! is a local organics collection and composting company that serves restaurants, schools, hospitality, and health care facilities throughout Southern and Central Maine. Our mission is to reduce waste and renew local soils by transforming food scraps to compost to grow tomorrow’s food and flowers. Since 2011, We Compost It! has converted more than 10 million pounds of organics to nutrient-rich compost.”

Rachel Fisk, Unit Marketing Coordinator for Sodexo, said, “We wanted to educate the SMCC community on the benefits of composting and how by doing so dramatically reduces our carbon footprint. ...Let’s make a difference together one step at a time.” Thanks to We Compost It! and Sodexo, SMCC now joins the ranks of Maine schools (including universities and K-12 schools) to host a compost system.

One might say a celebration is in order.

Furthermore, under the command of the Maine Community College System (MCCS), SMCC finally began to install and enforce the smoke- and tobacco-free policy.

Signs pervade the campus to remind wouldbe smokers that this policy is now in effect.

Smokers - which include students, faculty, and staff alike - are now at risk for penalties if they are found smoking on campus.

SMCC is now the last college in Maine to put said system into effect.

According to the SMCC Facebook page, “SMCC’s new smoke- and tobaccofree policy goes into effect...to promote a healthy working and learning environment. ...For more info, students and employees can go to the ‘Smoke- and Tobacco-Free Initative’ link on My Maine Guide on the MySMCC portal.”

The smoking ban includes more than just cigarettes (or cigars, if those are one’s cup of tea): it also includes vaporizer pens.

Because of this, students who smoke may now have a reason besides the frustrations of parking to be...well...frustrated. And some have voiced their outrage, promising in last semester’s Beacon issues that they will continue to smoke within the perimeters of campus despite any risk of punishment, while others have

Above: The Proftones, a band with SMCC professors. At right: the Brunswick campus BBQ. waved their flags of support. Many have questioned the efficacy of this new policy, as it is something that now needs to be enforced by SMCC and its security team, and some students will likely continue smoking. Fortunately for smokers, smoking cessations will be made available to extinguish (or reduce) their habit if they choose.

NEW FEATURES

After the summer construction, new features are seemingly ubiquitous around campus. The Learning Commons, including

Damnationland

the tutoring center and the silent study area, have been significantly modified to include new signs, computer stations, as well as desks and seating. The Academic Achievement Center (AAC) now combines the writing tutors with math tutors into the same location, whereas before the two were segregated in different rooms of the AAC. (Continued on Page 2)

FromSMCCto

By Alexander Balzano Communications & New Media Major

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oing from graduate to intern has been a fast-pace yet exciting journey. Having just graduated SMCC this past May with a degree in Communications and New Media with a focus in filmmaking, I decided to take the Senior Capstone class. This class is essentially a self-designed course meant to be for a portfolio piece and many students usually end up doing an internship through this as you must fill up a certain amount of hours.

With the assistance of my adviser and local horror filmmaker Corey Norman, I was able to intern with Damnationland,

a Portland-bred horror film festival.

Damnationland is one of the biggest film festivals in Maine and is invite only, each year employing some of Maine’s most talented and creative film directors to put their own spins on horror in their own short films.

My overall job with Damnationland was to put together a short behind the scenes featurette of all of the films and the process behind each one. I did this by filming behind the scenes for most the films and conducting interviews with the director of each film.

This has been a challenging yet rewarding experience as I’ve had the opportunity to be self-directed with this project. It was up to me to schedule

interviews, coordinate with the directors and make time to make the different shoot times for each film. Overall, it’s been a very rewarding experience and will be beneficial in my path towards making a career out of this medium. I would encourage anyone to take part in some sort of an internship experience with whatever field they’re in as it can give you real, on-the-job experience and make important contacts once you do make your start.

Everyone should go see Damnationland, which premieres at the State Theatre in Portland on October 16th, just in time for Halloween!

Alexander Balzano, pictured at right.

THE SMCC BEACON | September 15th | 2015

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An Invitation From CeSIL IMPLORING STUDENTS TO JOIN OR BEGIN CLUBS, HOST EVENTS, AND MORE!

By Dierdree Glassford

N

ew to the school? Looking to meet new people? Do you already miss being a part of the student government, or a drama club, or even just having a game night with your friends?

Believe it or not SMCC has some of the best student organizations around, and they are right at your finger tips!

Where do you find out about it all?

The CeSIL Office! The CeSIL Office, which stands for Center for Student Involvement and Leadership, is the place to find out all of the information you might need in order to become really involved in the community here at SMCC. From learning about what type of clubs we have available to join, to understanding how to be a part of the decisions made by the student body, the CeSIL Office has all that information and more!

There are also many different events and activities that occur throughout the year, and we would love for you to be at them! The annual Halloween dance will be coming up in October, with many fun things in store! We will also have the

Winter Carnival! Are you interested in being able to lead a team in the future, whether it be through work or in class?

Understanding how to be an effective and confident leader is something that is very important in today’s society. Many people find that when they have great leadership skills they are able to relate better to their peers, and it comes in handy if you were to ever be put into a managing position.

The Emerging Leaders program, led by a board of active and strong leaders from Southern Maine Community College, offers a semester’s worth of leadership training to students interested in honing their skills. You learn about all different aspects of leadership, from how to plan and organize your everyday life, to how to run and plan an event, to how to work with well with others. For already active leaders as well as people just starting their leadership journey, it is an amazing way to get your feet wet and push yourself. If you have an idea that you would like to have the school do, or have suggestions for change, you can always come over and chat with us and we can help you become involved in the decision making process.

The students at SMCC have a voice, and when we work together, that voice is heard.

Wouldn’t you love to be a part of positive change and improvement here at SMCC? If there was something you LOVE and are very passionate about, but you can’t seem to find a student organization that is available for that passion, you can even start your own club! Just a few guidelines to meet and you could be the next President of the Biking Club, or the Cooking Club, or whatever else you think people would love to be a part of!

Student Senate Synopsis

By Erik Squire Education Major

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

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

SECTION EDITORS

Ashley Berry Managing Editor

Megan Provost Campus News

Ashley Berry Op & Ed Dierdree Glassford Arts & Features

Illaria Dana Other World

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Alexander Balzano Dan-Herley Mathieu Kora O’Han Muhammad Raza Hali Sarah Erik Squire Tyler Tanch Ian Ziller SPECIAL THANKS TO Cheyenne Roberts Graphic Designer Luke Cameron Graphic Designer Hannah Martin Illustrator Kenneth Reddinger Photographer Jennifer Lague Media Consultant Chuck Ott Editorial Advisor Rachel Guthrie Publications Advisor

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

T

he Student Senate conducted its second meeting of the semester last Wednesday, and it went straight to the last minute. We covered everything from the Senate budget for the fiscal 2015-16 year and approved three finance requests. We discussed an official Senate Training, and swore in two new members (Jeremy and June).

The three finance requests we received were from ASTEP (Artists Striving to

SMCC News (Continued from Page 1)

The tutors are now one big, happy family in one big, happy living room, working feverishly with students who seek their help.

In addition, brand-new maps of campus are found in a multitude of locations to help guide those who are unfamiliar with it. The countdown begins until the winter drowns them in snow, and they effectively become mini sled mountains.

NEW STUDENTS & MYSUCCESS

This past summer SMCC hosted a program lasting three weeks, titled MySuccess, that is designed to aid and prepare incoming students for their first college semester, as well as to support them through graduation. Under MySuccess, students receive a full scholarship to take part in the program, as well as $500 in scholarship funds toward their fall semester upon finishing the summer program and first semester activities. Students “prepare for college-level math and English courses, meet...advisors and peer mentors, earn [their] first college credit, and experience

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The CeSIL Office is dedicated to offering you more at school, and we want to give you the opportunity to get involved, find what you are passionate about, and see you succeed! So stop on by our office at Springpoint Residence Hall and let us invite you to join our community!

Below: A student signs up at the Beacon table at the SMCC Welcome Back BBQ

End Poverty) and it was for a special trip Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.

The budget that was approved by the Senate consists of $100,000. It is made up of a large fraction of your student activity fee and is divided between 10 line items. The two largest line items are for student organizations ($40,000, used for clubs) and student activities ($37,000).

We also created a great new item line over the summer for the Student Involvement Project Fund. The Fund is for students who are non-Senate members to apply for when

they want to put on an activity or invite a speaker that elicits student involvement.

Finally, the Student Senate will be putting together a training for Senate members to learn all about the Constitution, the operating procedures, proper conduct, and how to best represent constituents. It will be held on a Friday two weeks henceforth from 10am-3pm.

Those who are interested in becoming a Student Body Representative, please contact Erik Squire at: msenate@smccme. edu.

college life,” according to the MySuccess webpage.

Two Beacon writers participated in facilitating the WISH workshops for two groups of MySuccess students. Each group contained about 20 students. In these WISH workshops - which stands for Workshops In Studying Here - students receive information that helps them with note-taking skills, testtaking skills, and studying skills.

Each workshop lasted an hour, and the opportunity proved to not only behoove the students but the writers themselves since they, as experienced SMCC students, felt it was good practice for presenting before a group of people. This particularly felt beneficial to Erik Squire, who aspires to become a high school teacher, but both writers were delighted that they had the opportunity to help and speak before new (there’s that word again), incoming students, since they understand what it’s like to arrive to college and feel unsure of what to expect. Because of this, the first exercise was to have every student in the room close their eyes. The Beacon writers then said, “Now put your wallets on the table.” When the laughter subsided, the real question was, “Who here is nervous about

college?” Those who raised their hands gave the affirmative, and there were more than one.

NEW EVENT AT “WELCOME BACK” BBQ

On Thursday, September 3, SMCC - per tradition - hosted a barbeque to welcome back returning students and to welcome new ones. The BBQ featured lunch at no cost for everyone, tables for the myriad SMCC clubs to promote themselves, and - as Director of Residential Life and Student Involvement Shane Long has so eagerly awaited - a live band consisting of three SMCC professors: Mike Bove (English), Kevin Kimball (math and physics), and Steve Strand (business). In previous “Welcome Back” BBQs, there were mechanical bulls and “rock walls” to climb for thrill-seekers in the crowd. Long had had the idea of hosting the band instead for some time, and he was delighted to see the show come into fruition.

The day was hot and humid, but at least the rain decided to arrive after the band and tables had disa ssembled. Nature can be merciful sometimes.

Campus Exposed

By Megan Provost

write and have people actually read it! I’m also going to be the new section editor for Campus News, taking over for Erik Squire! But enough about me.

With the welcome events out of the way, it almost seems like there isn’t anything going on around campus anymore. We all sulk around, attending our classes and eating at the dining hall, like nothing exciting is happening around us.

I’m here to tell you that there are tons of things happening! Maybe you had no idea, but last Friday there was a movie night in the Spring Point lounge (with free pizza), and on Saturday there was a video game night from 7pm-12am! Now you may have missed these events, but there are plenty more for you to attend in the future.

For example, there’s yoga in the HUB yoga studio every week, Monday through Thursday from 5:30-6:30pm, and dodge ball on Monday and Wednesday nights from 9-10pm in the HUB gym. There’s

H

ello students of SMCC! With a new semester comes many new activities and events (such events which will be spoken of later). These events are held for new students and old.

They’re a great way to meet new people, push your boundaries and step out of your comfort zone.

Speaking of new people, my name is Megan Prevost. I’m a first year student here at SMCC and I couldn’t be more excited to be writing to you at this very moment. I live on campus in Spring Point Residence Hall and I’m currently studying Biotechnology. I say currently because I have changed my major many times from English to Pharmacy and now to Biotechnology. Let’s just say I have many interests. A huge interest of mine is writing, which is why I sought out the Beacon newspaper; what a great way to

even free bowling, Tuesday nights from 6-8pm at Easy Day Bowling on 725 Broadway in South Portland. That’s just right down the street!

Now, to ensure that you don’t miss anymore of these wonderful events, you can do a few things. First of all, look around; there are usually signs hanging up around campus announcing things like a movie night or a game night (these things are sometimes even taped to your door if you live on campus). But if you don’t see anything, check the Beacon’s Campus News section; there will probably be news here about some activities happening around campus.

Or if you’re looking to get word out about your event or activity, let me know at meganeprevost@smccme.edu and I’ll help you spread the word by putting it in this very paper!

Midcoast Campus Welcome BBQ is Abuzz

By Rosemary Harkenrider-Crossman

O

n Thursday, September 3rd, while students, staff and faculty enjoyed a welcome back barbeque on the South Portland campus, listened to the Proftones, comprised of SMCC professors, and marveled at the ocean’s spray students on the Midcoast campus in Brunswick enjoyed a barbeque of their own, accompanied by the Blue Angels buzzing through the sky.

The U.S. Navy Blue Angels returned from a four-year hiatus to the former Brunswick Naval Yard, which closed in 2011, and put on an airshow for an expected audience of 70,000 over the two-day show.

Midcoast campus students (from left to right) Jake Lipetz, Rosemary Harkenrider-Crossman and Isabel Drehobl seem to be unaware of the Blue Angels flying by until the jets sound passed by.

A NEW WAY TO COMPOST

S

MCC welcomes another new feature to the campus: The Rocket, a compost contraption that will be put to use by horticulture and culinary students to turn food waste into compost.

According to the company website TidyPlanet.co.uk, “The Rocket Composters are designed to recycle food wastes from catering or food service on site.

By recycling these wastes on site the need for costly collection and disposal for the waste is eliminated and a usefulendproductisproduced instead.”

A full-feature story that will host information about The Rocket in greater detail will likely be featured in the next Beacon issue.

Volunteers Needed!

If you are available on Monday-Thursday and would like to volunteer with us, please email us at captainscupboard@smccme.edu.

We need: • Front Desk Volunteers • Inventory Coordinator and Committee members • Fundraising Committee

tions of ip r c s e d us For les, drop these ro an email! you to help rd s u lp e a H e Cupbo en! keep th op

THE SMCC BEACON | September 15th | 2015

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EXAMINING ADDICTION: OVERDOSES TAKE THE LIVES OF MAINERS

By Illaria Dana Liberal Arts Major

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ddiction has deep roots in our society. It would be hard to trace these roots to a specific time, to the first addict. There was a BBC radio special narrated by Iggy Pop about William S. Burroughs, a writer and a junky. The special discussed how Burroughs had influenced other artists, including Bob Dylan and Neil Young with his manic stream of consciousness found in Naked Lunch. His book, Junky, gave readers one of the public’s first insights into intravenous heroin use from his own experience. And as readers, we were shocked, shocked and enamored.

This is not a glamorous subject, though it pervades art and film. Reading or watching the film adaptation of Requiem for a Dream or watching Drugstore Cowboy is beautiful, touches the spirit, until addiction mames, kills, and drives the characters into prostitution, into a death that no one would want or wish for anyone else. It takes them down, hard.

The existence of addiction in our culture as art leads to an important question - what drives people to use? Is it a dissatisfaction with the way our lives operate? It is a feeling of loneliness? Now, heroin is being discussed in the press.

There were 204 deaths due to overdose in Cumberland County in 2014. You can find articles in Bangor Daily News, The Portland Press Herald, The New York Times, and The New Yorker about addiction, to name a few, and these articles state that the rate of addiction is growing.

As a reader, one can discern a shift.

Families are discussing the lives of the people they loved who have died instead of trying to hide the addiction. Their hopes seem to be to reach the people who are suffering, to tell them they are not alone, and to inspire addicts to seek treatment.

Another important aspect of discussing their loved ones’ addictions is to remove the stigma about drug users which isolates them from the community.

Above all else, addicts cannot recover alone, in shame and secret. I spoke with a former intravenous heroin user, a 24-yearold man. He cited a supportive community as being integral to his ability to stop using. He also spoke about the Needle Exchange in Portland, located at 103 India Street, as being an important resource for addicts. He said, “Above all, addicts are stigmatized. Some people believe that the Needle Exchange condones drug use, but I don’t know what would have happened to me if I hadn’t been able to get clean needles. The interactions I had with the people who worked there were always pleasant. Being an addict is like having a disease, and when you go to the Needle Exchange, you are still sick. You’re still using. But you are in contact with people who are living normal lives and who want you to get better. A lot of addicts aren’t fully aware of the risks of sharing needles, and this place is important for them, too.”

The Beacon will continue to speak to community members who suffer from or seek to treat addiction. If you are suffering, you are not alone, and there is hope and help available for you.

Welcome to the Other World

By Illaria Dana Liberal Arts Major

W

elcome, new and returning students and faculty! My name is Illaria, and I will be the editor of the Other World section of The Beacon.

It is exciting to begin this new year and this new role on campus. A huge part of my experience here has been learning how to integrate diverse subjects, relationships, and aspects of myself through the lens of being a student. It is important to be aware of what is happening on campus, in the state, and in the national and international communities. This section will focus on events outside of SMCC and will try to relate these events to being a student.

Much of this process will be assumed by you, the reader.

I am studying education at SMCC and am enjoying my investigation of other schools across the country. I plan to transfer next year. Education is an interesting subject, for it focuses on how the brain acquires information. This process never ends. Just as our brains are changing, forming new connections with the practices we undertake, our personalities and interests are always changing. It can be daunting to stay informed with all of the sources we have access to and with all of our duties.

In David Foster Wallace’s book, The Pale King, he says that, “Information per se is really just a measure of disorder.” The first goal of the Other World section is to discuss a relevant, ordered selection of events and opportunities for you to think about.

The second goal is to provide a mirror for community members to examine

themselves as individuals and as members of the world. We will cover a broad variety of topics in this section and hope that you as readers will be able to synthesize these events into a deeper understanding of yourselves. We hope that you will ask, “What does this have to do with me? How can I change what is going on as I become more informed?” Carl Jung, the founder of Jungian psychology, said, “Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens.” I wish all of you success throughout this semester and your lives to come.

If you have interest in writing for the paper or opportunities that you wish to share with readers, please contact me at illariardana@smccme.edu.

Self-Reflection in “Turbo Kid”

By Illaria Dana Liberal Arts Major

T

he film opens with a shot of water.

It is not the water that we know.

It moves like smoke, rolling on itself. It is a moment of beauty. We learn that the setting “Turbo Kid” is a dystopia where many people have died due to an unexplained explosion. The water is contaminated. Only the rugged, the lucky and grotesque, the people with strong survival instincts, are alive.

The film centers around an adolescent boy who lives in a bunker. He scavenges, riding through abandoned playgrounds, concrete jungles, mounds of dirt and weeds looking for tools and amenities.

He collects pink flamingos of the lawn decoration variety. He takes an old piece of gum, making a comical face as he bites down, and uses it to hold up a poster of his idol - the protagonist of a comic book called Turbo Man. He dresses like turbo man in a red helmet with a yellow star.

The movie is humorous and exaggerated. Its fight scenes are filled with obviously fake blood spurting for a ridiculously long time and spits high into the air. We laugh when someone dies. Villains exist in a gang that dresses like extras from Mad Max with bone headpieces and hockey pads. Picture a gang who kidnaps and murders on stunt bikes.

Turbo Kid meets a girl who shakes with enthusiasm (causing more laughter) who we find out is a robot, a friendship model.

He comes to love her, and their only kiss is beneath a spray of enemies’ blood.

The plot involves revenge. It is revealed that the main villain who murders people to filter their blood into drinking water is also a robot of the corporate variety. The villain says in the final dramatic scene, “You made me. People made me. But my maker isn’t here. I am.”

With the beauty of the cinematography, the sincere and sweet romance (all questions about portraying the lead female character as a friendship model robot placed aside), the awkwardness, gore, and nods to the post-apocalyptic action movies before it, Turbo Kid offers an interesting emotional and visual experience. One is repulsed while laughing. One is also forced to think

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about deeper themes.

Is the idea of a polluted world one we are comfortable with? Indeed, we live in a world where not everyone has clean drinking water. When the villain is revealed to be a capitalist robot, what does this say about our values? Violence is prevalent and exaggerated. Why do we

as viewers laugh at this violence? We are defined by our struggles. We have the help and love of friends. But we are alone in many ways, including in how we decide what we want to do in this world. Are we comfortable with the world we have been given, or is there room for us to help others and change the way the world works?

Brief Voice For the Sea

By Hali Sarah

R

ecently, by chance, I attended a seaweed festival in Portland, Maine. At the title, I thought it was going to be pretty lame. During my attendance, I quickly realized that this is a new age movement (if I may define it as such). Turns out, seaweed has all types of benefits to our bodies and the earth!

I learned that at the rate of our food consumption and the depletion of nutrients in our soils, biologists forecast agriculture to be severed by 2070. They say that many thyroid diseases stem from low levels in

iodine, and table salt is the only source for our iodine. However, it is reported that seaweed is the savior “ocean vegetable” that can solve all our problems. It is theorized that seaweed accommodates all of our minerals and iodine is included.

They are using seaweed in soils to replenish them and are fighting to make a stance with the burden of government regulations who seem to be so rooted in tradition that new age ideals are often outlawed.

Along with our soils, implementing seaweed in our diets is also a mission.

Finding different, easy ways to add seaweed to our diets is in the works.

Naturopathic practitioners and everyday people have found that different types of seaweed are better for distinctive health issues and report amazing cures that include shingles and acne. Recently, I have begun to add seaweed into my tubs and have found it beneficial.

To find out more on the benefits of seaweed and hear directly from seaweed activists visit seaweedcoucil.org.

The Importance of a Firewall

By Tyler Tanch

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ith the majority of users surfing the web, many are at risk to intrusion and potential malicious behavior. Malicious behavior being anything from receiving files infected with spyware or malware, to outsiders gaining access to your personal files; including stored digital payment information and saved logon credentials.

Just as you would lock your doors at home to protect your belongings; locking your computer to protect your personal data is just as important. Unfortunately, ensuring your computer is protected is not as easy as turning a lock. However, there are many ways to implement security on your PC. One effective way to do this is to ensure you have an up-to-date firewall enabled on your computer.

Consider the firewall a gateway between your PC and the outside world

Microsoft HoloLens

By Muhammad Raza

I

n January of this year, Microsoft unveiled Windows 10 and with it surprisingly also introduced a new device called Microsoft HoloLens. It’s a headset that uses augmented-reality technology and resembles a Google Glass device. It implements a technology that Microsoft calls Windows Holographic.

For many of us who are wondering what exactly is augmented-reality technology, it’s basically computer-generated imagery that is super-imposed to the user’s view of the real world.

HoloLens hardware is a cordless visor that wraps around the user’s head and features a built-in CPU and GPU. It has advance builtin sensors like an energy-efficient depth

and at this gateway, the incoming traffic is filtered. Traffic that is allowed in depends on whether it meets the specified criteria. Most common criteria consisting of: the type of traffic and the legitimacy of the source.

Additionally, the level of filtering depends on what kind of network you are connected to. A user in the workplace connected to a local network experiences minor filtering; since that most of the traffic is internal, and trusted.

Whereas, if that same user brought their PC to Starbucks and surfed the web; there would be a much higher level of filtering.

Ensuring the integrity of your firewall is significant and will be beneficial to securing your device.

Similar to most software, the firewall on your personal computer needs to be updated frequently. As hackers adapt

camera with a 120 x120 degree field of view that captures video and sound. In addition to a high end CPU and GPU, it also has a Holographic Processing Unit (HPU), a co-processor which efficiently integrates data from various sensors.

This allows the HPU to perform tasks such as spatial mapping and gesture recognition, along with voice and speech recognition. The HPU is capable of processing “terabytes of information from the HoloLens’s sensors in real time” according to Alex Kipman, the chief inventor of HoloLens.

Much like Google Glasses, HoloLens uses

with technology and subsequently develop new methods and techniques to compromise your security, firewall updates are released to combat these approaches. Since these internet threats are constantly evolving, keeping your firewall up to date with the latest software is vital. Another way to ensure the integrity of your firewall is to incorporate antimalware/anti-virus software on your PC. Anti-virus freeware can be easily retrieved online and will provide you with the needed protection.

Leaving yourself vulnerable to malware attacks also presents the possibility of your firewall being compromised. Some malicious activity actually targets the firewall configuration files on your computer to attempt to modify and allow unsolicited traffic.

As you can imagine, this would greatly increase the chance of your personal data

being stolen.

While more and more people transition to paperless transactions, the odds of data compromise are always increasing. According to Gemalto, a digital security firm, roughly 1 billion data records have been exposed due to data breaches. Personal records varying from credit card numbers, social security numbers, and email addresses. Although hackers do not commonly target personal PCs, the possibility is evident and clear.

It is up to you whether you want to prevent that possibility from turning into an opportunity. Despite the fact that preventing all attacks may be out of your reach, utilizing your firewall accordingly will greatly reduce the risk of your personal information landing in the wrong hands.

Tyler Tanch is a member of the Computer Technology Senior Seminar course and is planning on a career in the software development field. For a digital copy of this article visit : tylertanch.com/ firewall.

transparent HD lenses that lets you see the environment around you but it can also project three dimensional images on those lenses which gives an illusion of a free standing hologram in your physical space. Not only that but you can anchor that hologram to any point within your environment and walk around it as if it were a real object and get a full 360 degree view of it.

So what can HoloLens be used for? Well, for a number of things. For example, it can be used for turning a flat surface into a television screen, playing games, building a prototype of an object before building the real thing with a 3D printer (some working examples were shown during the windows event). The applications are endless. One great application for Hololens which was demoed was using Skype to get input from a person remotely. Let’s say you want to assemble a table. You can talk to someone on Skype who can guide

you. They will see what you are seeing as they walk you through the whole process, highlighting parts to what goes where as if they were with you.

HoloLens has been in development for the past five years and is expected to be released later this year; however, it is not the only candidate in the augmented reality headset market. A company called Magic Leap Inc., backed by Google, has been working on a similar product and uses “Digital Light Field Technology” to create holograms. It is not certain as to when that product is going to be available, but one thing is for sure: Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality headset technology is here to stay and time will tell as to which one is successful. The future definitely looks amazing and full of information readily available in front of you.

Muhammad Raza is a member of the Computer Technology Senior Seminar course and is planning on a career in Information Technology. http://muhammadraza.com/article.html

(Not So) PRO-ACTIVE Advice

By Kora O’Han

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fter a semester sabbatical, I am back, snitches. I wanted to swear right there but my editor would probably end my career after this column. Not that there is much to it to begin with. Let me be honest with you. This is a Pro-Active Advice column. It’s proactive like the adjective, so these problems may or may not be based on real life but here’s to anticipating your drama. If you could relate to it, then that’s just peachy keen. C’est bloody la vie if you can’t. I’m not here to strike your fancy. Letters to the editor are oh so welcome.

Dear Anonymous Advice Giver, I have fallen in love with someone I shouldn’t be falling in love with. I have that Buzzcocks song on repeat on my Spotify playlist and I can’t stop listening to it. And I just can’t stop thinking about her. When I first met her, I never thought that we’d mesh together as well as we did. Due

to complicated circumstances, we decided not to pursue a relationship but we can’t help colliding every time we meet. I don’t know what else to do.

Carl Junior Hey Carl, I don’t know what else to say to you besides the obvious “Why do you even?” but I’m sure that you have said that to yourself a million times before. All I can then say is this: I hope that she is worth the “it’s complicated” relationship limbo you’re putting yourselves through. It’s tough, man. Fight if it’s worth it and don’t if it isn’t. If all else fails, let it go. It will hurt, but after all the rain, you’ll see the sun come out again.

Dear Anonymous Advice Giver, I think I’m royally screwed. It’s the second week of school and I think I have run out of time to drop a class I’m not enjoying. Is my situation redeemable or have I dug myself

a really deep hole for the rest of the semester?

A typical college student Dear Hole-Digger, Fortunately for you, your hole is not that deep. You’ve got two choices here: either “drop” the class by 5 pm on Wednesday, Sept. 16th and receive 50 percent of your money/student loan back or find a way around it by changing your attitude about it. However, if your instructor is a total dick, you are pretty much screwed.

I’m kidding. If your instructor is a total dick, you could tell him/her to stop being one in a civil manner. If he/ she refuses to change, you could report him/her to the department chair and let them handle the matter. Honestly though, I’m a huge proponent of enjoying the classes I take but once in a while I have to bite a goddamn bullet for a required class. Chat with your adviser and see what they think for a second opinion. I might just be full of fluff anyway.

THE SMCC BEACON | September 15th | 2015

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SMCC: We’re Still Not Failures

By Ashley Berry Political Science Major

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allethub has recently released a study that casts Southern Maine Community College in a most unflattering light. In the study, they ranked 670 community colleges based on things like classroom experience, first-year retention rates, graduation rates, in-state tuition, and student-to-faculty ratio. Out of all the schools surveyed SMCC ranked very close to the bottom at 644 out of 650.

All of this data was compiled from sources such as the National Center for Education Statistics, the Council for Community and Economic Research,and the Center for Community College Student Engagement.

Although this data comes from sources that are legitimate, it is still only data. It is also worth mentioning that one of the sources has made a public statement in regards to the article.

The statement, released by the CCSSE, mirrors a policy statement that is a permanent fixture on their website.

“CCSSE opposes using its data to rank colleges. Each community college’s performance should be considered in terms of its mission, institutional focus, and student characteristics. Because of differences in these areas—and variations in college resources—comparing survey results between individual institutions serves little constructive purpose and likely will be misleading.” This data was gathered from an organization that has always been vehemently opposed to their data being used in a ranking system.

The recently released statement in response to the Wallethub article highlights the issues with the use of their data. One of the issues that was highlighted was that Wallethub used data that came from different school years, and reported them as though they were equal. This was an erroneous use of data according to the CCSSE because “each year of reported data is standardized based upon the most recent three-year cohort of participating colleges.”

The release of this article brings to mind a statement from Governor Lepage about the inadequacies of the Maine Community College System. Again the reason for this condemnation was based

Beacon Bone by Craig Stanley

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purely on data. Who says that statistics and data alone can label a school a failure?

What about the human experience? There are many students who can speak to the wonders of SMCC and other community colleges. SMCC has an amazing staff and faculty that pushes students to get the most from their education and from life.

This school has turned out some amazing students and has current students that push and work hard to ensure that SMCC helps fulfill the potential in all students. No matter what some financial website says, or even what this state’s own governor says, we are not failures.

Speaking directly to Wallethub: next time you release an article, make sure that the data used is accurate, and being used appropriately. This article is an example of reporting based on data that is used and presented inaccurately. That is an unacceptable decorum from a member of

the media. There also should have been some consideration toward the level of support that the community colleges on this list are given from the states. We can only continue to do the best with the support given. Considering the severe lack of support the MCCS has received, what has been achieved is magnificent and should not be devalued by some list of percentages and numbers on a financial website, or ramblings from someone with no background in education. They never talked to students or visited one of the named campuses. Those numbers represent very little in comparison to a person that is allowed to grow and develop into a wellrounded human being while attending a community college. Above all else, no number can compare to someone finding their passion through education.

Imploring Introspection

By Dan-Herley Mathieu “WHAT DOES THAT REALLY MEAN?” eah, it is America, it is freedom.

You can be whatever you want to.

Those are what most of us think America is all about and it is great, but I have something to ask you: What does that mean?

With that simple question I am asking you a lot. Are you doing what you are doing to be cool or because it is something that you really want to do? Why is being cool so important nowadays? Do you really think it is cool to be cool? I am not trying to judge anybody. Who am I to judge you, in fact? I am just a regular guy who wants to share his opinions with the rest of world.

What I am asking is, do you feel comfortable being yourself? Are you doing what you are doing because they are what you really want to do or are you doing them because of friends and relatives? Are you wearing this shit because you feel like wearing it for yourself or just because you

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have seen some popular dude wearing it?

Is that song what you really want to listen to?

Most of the time we get the “it is freedom, you can be anything you want” wrong. My understanding of it is to be true with myself, my beliefs and the values that I have. It personally means to me that I should hang with people that really motivate me to be at my best, not with the ones that think that I am just cool. It also means to me that I am free to strive to have the personality that I truly want to have, not the one that movies are selling to me.

Being cool for me is not always trying to please others, but always trying to please myself by doing the right choices that others will also enjoy. Being cool is not about doing what we see others doing; it is about what we do ourselves. We are all cool in our own ways. Stop trying to be cool so that you can fit in or so that those people might hang with you, please. Stop trying to be something that you already are, I am begging you.

The Perils of PC Culture

How Overzealous Political Correctness Corrupts Academia and Individuals

By Garrick Hoffman Liberal Arts Major

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he cover story of the The Atlantic magazine’s September issue of this year, titled “The Coddling of the American Mind,” has garnered a considerable amount of attention. One cause for all its attention is how potent with truth it is. Another is that it could quite easily be perceived as controversial or even offensive. To the surprise of the main author, Greg Lukianoff, very little hatemail toward him was generated, his inbox instead being flooded with positive responses. And thankfully so, because it’s an indication that many people acknowledge what corrupts us today especially within the borders of our schools.

The article broaches many topics that are interrelated and that, as Lukianoff argues, plague us within the classroom and beyond: trigger warnings, microaggressions, hypersensitivity, and logophobia - the fear of words. It also asks a question that encompasses all the material it covers: “What are we doing to our students if we encourage them to develop extra-thin skin just before they leave the cocoon of adult protection?” The fixation on these things (microaggressions, hypersensitivity, etc.) coalesce into a toxic recipe for the Millennial generation and our future, even though professors and administrators of the Baby Boomer generation themselves are guilty of perpetuating these. So what are these things, and why are they so perilous to academia and to the mental well-being of many?

As the author describes, trigger warnings are “alerts that professors are expected to issue if something in a course might cause a strong emotional response.” Microaggressions are “small actions or word choices that seem on their face to have no malicious intent but that are thought of as a kind of violence nonetheless.” Hypersensitivity and logophobia are self-explanatory, but when applying it to our culture, they refer to

the knee-jerk reaction committed by so many people to feel offended or disturbed by what are really innocent trivialities.

However, by describing someone as hypersensitive, there are people who will condemn you and label you as insensitive, and - perhaps worse - as a bigot.

A variety of comedians - some of which are fairly or even very liberal, such as Bill Maher and Chris Rock - have stopped performing at colleges altogether because students, rather than finding humor, are instead rubbed the wrong way. Professors have been suspended and

don’t admonish protecting those with phobias from their fears; they seek to ameliorate their conditions by exposing them - a technique that should probably be implemented virtually omnipresently.

And although there is indeed a presence of insensitivity and an absence of empathy in our culture (the sort of Trump-esque “Just get over it” drivel, for example), the hypersensitivity is possibly just as if not more damaging to our psyches than we really believe, and it oftentimes goes unexamined.

Essentially, in this over-the-top politically correct culture of ours, students of the Millennial generation are crusading to sanitize language in order to protect those whom needn’t be protected. And school administrators are actually abiding by these inane requests. This means modifying school curricula at the costs of the students, circumventing specific words and employing euphemisms, and even restricting and censoring what we really mean to say, which effectively abolishes classroom discussion and debate as if this will erase trauma and distress. The point of all of this is to preserve people’s fragile emotional states by shielding them from offensive and hurtful things, which, counter to what many of these students believe, in turn just cultivates logophobia and actually maintains psychological disorders like anxiety. As one responder to the article remarks, “The more people are taught that it is natural and healthy to avoid things that might scare them, but present no real threat of physical harm, the more people become divorced from the natural processes by which we have learned to understand and cope with fear.”

Maybe it’s time that universities reconsider succumbing to these students out of fear of retaliation. And maybe it’s time these overzealous PC monsters do some extensive examination, introspection, and re-evaluation, instead of being so quick to charge people with completely erroneous accusations.

God forbid they come across something offensive.

“In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.”

- GEORGE ORWELL even subjected to lengthy investigations on grounds of utterly preposterous allegations from students. Many of them actively avoid teaching the “wrong” - yet significant - material, out of fear of being charged with some false nonsense that could threaten their reputation and career.

Students will plead for completely unreasonable modifications in curricula.

Just one example included a request for Harvard professors to not teach rape law, and “in one case, even use the word violate (as in “that violates the law”) lest it cause students distress,” as the article describes. Indeed, the very students who accuse professors of microaggressions are oftentimes the perpetrators of aggressive behavior, and will seek retributive measures to punish those who don’t abide by their twisted moral code.

In psychology, professionals will employ various techniques such as “flooding” to mitigate their patients’ phobias by exposing them to their fears.

But in our word-sensitive culture, we aim to circumvent word choices and shield people from “emotional damage” instead of cultivating an emotional resolve (via “exposure,” if you will). Psychologists

Socialism, Communism, and Social Democracy

By Ian Ziller History Major

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ommunism and socialism are two different but related philosophies.

Although in economics they share similar ideas, true communism has never existed. Communism is a utopian idea that there will be no government and that people will simply help one another.

Socialism, on the other hand, is where the government controls the resources

and distributes the resources fairly; in most cases with basic human nature it is not done fairly. However, there are some governments that claim to be communist like China and the Soviet Union. They, however, are closely linked to socialism and are not really communist, but actually tend to be authoritarian governments.

We also must consider social democracies in which the government retains capitalism but the economy is heavily regulated and the government is

very much involved in the lives of people.

It is a system in which there are heavy taxes on people but at the same time the government provides many social services and programs for the people.

Complete socialism is where you eliminate capitalism and have the government in complete control of the economy and distributing all resources. These are the main differences between communism, socialism, and social democracy.

SMCC Goes Smoke-Free ...Finally

By Ashley Berry Political Science Major

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he fall semester of 2015 has brought some exciting changes to Southern Maine Community College, the most important being that the campus is finally tobacco/smoke-free. It’s a little late in the game, as SMCC is one of the last college campuses to institute this ban.

Better late than never.

In 2013, the Maine Community College System (MCCS) declared that all seven campuses had to transition to being smoke-free, and they had to come up with a self-imposed deadline. SMCC’s idea of a reasonable deadline was August of 2015. It seems like an excessively long period for something that should have been instituted without a mandate having to be put into place.

It has been proven that cigarette smoke is not only unhealthy for the person smoking, but also anyone standing around them. There are now studies coming out that are indicating third-hand cigarette smoke is harmful. This third-hand smoke can settle in walls, fabric, and pretty much anything else. In an article released by National Geographic, a scientist from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory said, “Third-hand smoke is harmful to our genetic material,” citing specifically a nitrosamine found in tobacco known as NNA, which has been shown to alter DNA.

Honestly, it’s one thing if a person wants to put dangerous chemicals into their body, which will inevitably lead to the morbid onset of cancer, heart disease, or one of the many other diseases and illness related to smoking. However, if a student is walking around campus puffing away, they’re putting all the students around them at risk, without really even asking for consent. How many people walk up to students around them and say, “Hey, do you mind if I expose you to toxic chemicals because of my disgusting habit?” Absolutely no one does that and honestly it’s not acceptable.

Considering the abundant amount of students that are still seen smoking on campus, it’s evident that the mandate isn’t going to change much of anything. The only hope is that punishments are dealt out accordingly and with consistency, otherwise it seems that inconsiderate people will continue to not care about how their habits affect others.

THE SMCC BEACON | September 15th | 2015

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Autumn Shows and New Releases

By Garrick Hoffman

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f you’re an audiophile, bibliophile, cinemaphile, and livemusicphile such as myself (indeed, that I just coined that last term), you’ll be ecstatic to know what kind of entertainment is to unfold this fall season. That is, if you’re into the same music, books, and movies as me. So here’s what you can look forward to – if you’re me. Or if you’re you, who’s into the same things as me. All right, all right.

REJOICE, ALL YE METALHEADS

Metal giants August Burns Red released their newest album Found In Far Away Places on June 30 of this year, and like any band who releases a new album, they’re touring to support it. On November 28, they’ll be playing at The Palladium in

Worcester, MA. Bring your friends and your A-game. I’ll see you there.

In other metal news worth headbanging to, Parkway Drive, AKA the rockers from “down under,” are releasing their fifth studio album, Ire, on Friday, September 25. Although the first two singles from this album are – at least to me – a bit uninspired, I’m nonetheless eager to get my paws on the album and my ears on the music. Their album Deep Blue is undoubtedly one of my favorite metal albums of all time, a masterpiece of the genre. And I don’t use “masterpiece” frivolously.

In support of Ire, Parkway is traveling all the way from the depths of Australia to tour North America. In fact, they’ll be playing at the House of Blues in Boston less than two weeks before August Burns Red’s Worcester show, on November 15.

I guess as a metalhead I’m a bit spoiled.

Let’s just hope I can hear ABR after Parkway attacks my ears with chaotic exuberance.

CLIMB THE CEILING OF THE WORLD

If you’ve read Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air, this movie is up your alley.

Everest, with the release date set for Friday, September 18, tells the story of the 1996 Mt. Everest disaster that ended in tragedy.

Six lives were lost, frostbite struck its victims, and inconceivable adversity – physically and psychologically - befell climbers after a despotic storm swept through an expedition up the mountain. Although the movie isn’t a direct adaptation of Krakauer’s book, it nonetheless embodies the many accounts of what happened that day, giving the audience an unnerving and dramatic experience as we live vicariously through the actors. It should be one of adventure, but ultimately of suspense, thrill, and tumult, our hearts galloping as the climbers inch towards the summit and experience the unfathomable.

CITY AND COLOUR COMES TO NEW ENGLAND

It’s aboot time.

Canadian folk/acoustic musician Dallas Green, under the moniker City and Colour (the “u” proves the Canadian-ity, and I’m sure you can put together the significance of his moniker), is coming to play two shows in Massachusetts in December,

and is releasing a new album, If I Should Go Before You, on October 9. To anticipate the release, City and Colour has released three new singles, with one of them be-

Dallas Green of City and Colour ing particularly infectious: “Lover Come Back”. Please, someone help pry this beautiful gem out of my brain before I lose it or sing it in public without knowing that I’m even doing it. On second thought, I’m just gonna listen to it on repeat instead.

City and Colour is a paradox: three of his albums have gone platinum (meaning they’ve sold over 80,000 units, according to certification by Music Canada) and some of his most popular songs are played in public places here in America, yet it seems hardly anyone knows about him. It’s shocking his music isn’t popularized on the radio in America more.

City and Colour plays the Calvin Theatre in Northampton, MA on December 4, and the House of Blues in Boston the next night, December 5, with opening band Bahamas. Do you have your tickets yet? I know I do.

IS HIRING

Campus Safety & Security Department

We are currently accepting applications for the 2015-16 Academic school year and have opening for Fall employment regardless of experience or major.

We offer flexible schedules to work around your classes during the day and try to be flexible for changing schedule needs.

Campus Security is serious work. Our officers are trained, courteous, and professional. SMCC Officers can expect to: • • • • • • • •

Complete active patrols around the campus Issue students, faculty and staff parking permits and SMCC Identification Cards Maintain strict confidentiality at all times.

Answer a variety of calls for security service (i.e.: medical, theft, loud noise/parties, building access, traffic control, etc) Enforce parking regulations Ensure buildings and property are secure Learn great customer service skills in a professional environment Have promotional opportunities for advancement

SMCC Security provides extensive training for you to complete all tasks in a safe and effective manner. Come join our diverse team!

Applications are available at the Security Office 741-5553.

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Dining With Dierdree

By Dierdree Glassford Liberal Arts Major

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ello everybody! Hello readers!

This summer has been full of so many adventures, from visiting family in Canada, to swimming in the local watering hole, to getting together with friends and family. All of it simple, relaxed, and always accompanied by food.

Now this summer I got the chance to eat all over, from the best hot dog stand in Portland, ME, to one of the best steak houses in Ontario, and they all had one thing in common: they were delicious!

This year my goal is to find the best places to eat, at the best costs, for people that have a budget on their wallet and not their level of taste and excitement! Here and there I hope to invite you all to eat vicariously through me, bringing the meal home, where it’s a lot less expensive and still super delicious.

This summer I was able to host an amazing birthday party, for myself and for the love of my life. What I found was that there were so many options when we sat down at home and made the meal together,

from the heart, for the heart. Like anyone else I LOVE a good night out on the town, and that is where most of my articles this year will cover, but I decided that I wanted to bring people home where we get our own hands dirty and can be proud of the meal that we come up with, whether it’s Pinterest worthy or not.

My favorite of the summer was the good old potluck. Where has the tradition of potlucking gone? More and more these days I see people willing to order in Dominoes than to make something fresh, healthy, and capable of sharing at home. I love when a meal comes together that everyone was a part of. At my birthday bash this summer I invited a few close friends that could make it last minute, and we threw together an amazing dinner. From a friend who brought melt-in-your-mouth pulled pork sandwiches that he made in a crock pot, to an amazing bean and rice mix that was so homey and filling, we could barely stand up from the table after! Which did not bother me one bit.

All over the world one of the key elements that keeps coming up as what brings people together is good food and company.

Mealtime is when we all reconnect over something comforting and nourishing with people that hold the same qualities. I will always remember those hilarious moments when my sister threw mashed potatoes across the table, or when my Mom squished cookie crumble ice cream cake into my hair at an introduce-the-boyfriend-to-the family dinner. Nothing stopped the laughter, the giggles, the memories from pouring through. Now I am not saying I want a repeat of fishing cookie crumbs out of my hair in the shower, but a repeat of those amazing memories and the chance to make more? That I’ll take any day.

So, whether I venture out on the town this year, or stay home and make a meal for close friends, I will cherish every moment, and every delectable bite.

So stay tuned and gather round, because the eating has just begun!

‘Til our next bite!

Dining Dierdree

By Garrick Hoffman

Awesome peoplewanted!

Build marketable and desirable skills in leadership, communication, collaboration, experience, and awesomeness!

Both The Student Senate and SMCC’s Honor Society are looking for team members that are looking to do great things and really go places.

Alpha Chi Nu, SMCC’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society (the one that brought you the Captain’s Cupboard), is looking for a fresh dynamic officer team for the fall semester. That means: This could be your opportunity to do BIG things! Please come to our current officer meetings to get acquainted with the team and what we do.

Meetings are every Thursday between 12:15 and 1:15 @ The Captains House.

Please contact us by e-mail for more info: mphithetakappa@smccme.edu

The Student Senate is looking to fill more seats on the Senate floor. This is your opportunity to step up and offer thorough representation for the student body here at SMCC. We can make powerful changes and positively impact the welfare of the campus and its students (academically and otherwise). Be that person… find the leader in you.

Senate Meetings are Wednesdays from 4:30-6PM in Jewett Hall Auditorium.

There are approximately 20 Student Body Representative seats available to represent our population of 5,000 students, and only two of those seats are filled.

Please contact The Center for Student Involvement and Leadership for more information regarding the Student Senate: cesil@smccme.edu

SMCC Constitution Day Lecture

The Far-Reach of the U.S. Constitution into Public Schools Susan J. Hillman, Professor, University of New England Thursday, September 17, 2015, 12:30-1:30 p.m.

Jewett Lecture Hall, SMCC South Portland Campus

When one muses on the nature of our existence, on the enigma of the cosmos, on this “grand design” in which we dwell, it’s not hard to be engrossed by wonder. And that is the basis of this poem.

“MARVELS” Don’t want to survive Just to stay alive Marvel at the fact That not all meets the eye The finite and the infinite Mountains collapse within a minute Rainbows and brimstone All contained within it To exist is surreal Feeling lucky to feel ‘Cause we’re all one among billions On this spinning wheel

THE SMCC BEACON | September 15th | 2015

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10 THE SMCC BEACON | September 15th | 2015

Beyond SMCC and still a Seawolve

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ith the start of a new academicyear, new dreams and aspirations for success on the baseball and softball diamonds, the soccer pitch, the basketball court and even golf links begin to formulate in the minds of the student athletes. There has to be a certain level of satisfaction that accompanies working towards your own personal goals, making the team, contributing and playing well in order for the team to succeed. From the moment the student athlete steps on campus their focus is on training in order to win. It is a valid definition of success, but it is only one definition and maybe even a flawed one.

If success has a few definitions, maybe even more than a few, one of those definitions probably has to do with sustaining your playing career. Regardless of how many victories you are a part of, the number of championships you won - or could have won - there is something extra special about keeping your dream of playing actively alive.

Jacob Loveridge, who came to SMCC from Chertsey England and played 3 seasons on the men’s basketball team,

signed with the Surrey Scorchers of the British Basketball League (BBL). Last season Jacob played for the Division III Thames Valley Cavaliers who are in the European Basketball League, based in the UK.

Jacob, who is a class of 2014 Seawolve alumnus, shared the court with teammates such as: Westbrook native Jose Nouchanthavong, Veteran Scott Proudman and 2015 graduate Atencio Martin.

Jacob will bring a skill set and knowledge base that was developed here while playing in the highly competitive Yankee Small College Conference to the British Basketball League when he takes the court as a Surrey Scoarcher. In a recent Surrey Scorcher press release announcing Jacob’s signing, he stated, “I am excited to be back home playing for Coach Creon and the Scorchers…and am focused on improving my level of play and am excited to see what the season has in store for myself and the team.”

Loveridge’s journey started in 2007 when he signed with the Heat Juniors at the age of 14, and featured in the BBL squad on numerous occasions. The league

is composed of 12 teams, which are located in England and Scotland. The BBL’s season tips off on September 18th.

To follow Jacob and the Scorchers, a Surrey Scorchers Google search will take you to their web site where you’ll find streamed Scorchers games, their Twitter link, Facebook page, be able to sign up to their newsletter and shop for Scorcher items.

of you who bike it, The South Portland Greenbelt Walkway - which starts at Bug Light - will take you right to the complex.

In a press release from August 21st, Athletic Director Matt Richards stated that, “We are constantly searching for new ways to enhance the student-athletes’ experience here at SMCC and we felt the move to Wainwright was the best way to fulfill this need for the soccer teams.”

The move opens up the scheduling for practice and increasing the exposure of the SMCC soccer teams, as Wainwright has 5 soccer fields, 5 softball fields, 2 baseball diamonds, 3 football fields, 3 frisbee fields and even a hurling field. For those of you who haven’t heard of hurling, this sports reporter wasn’t introduced to it until he landed in Ireland. It is an Irish game resembling field hockey, played with a shorter stick with a broader oval blade, is the national game of Ireland and may date back to the 2nd millennium BC. Now there’s a sport with some history.

Speaking of a sport with history, the golf links were buzzing this summer as the SMCC Athletics and Foundation Annual Golf Tournament hosted its annual golf outing at Prouts Neck Country Club in Scarborough. Students, staff and members of the Athletics Club volunteered, making sure the 104 golfers that participated had grand morning and not a good walk spoiled.

Highlights from the morning included sharing the 5th and 6th fairways with two bald eagles and watching the younger golfers drive the ball into the bordering county. SMCC’s Greyson Waterman, who is on the Seawolves golf and basketball team, won longest drive of the day. Greyson also was one of 132 golfers who qualified for the 96th Annual Maine State Amateur Golf Championship, which was held at the Waterville Country Club. Waterman joins

SMCC alumnus Tommy Stirling as the 2nd SMCC golfer to participate in the amateur championship.

As you can see, the SMCC Athletics Department and the Seawolves Athletic

The Inside Scoop

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s the fall semester creeps ever so slowly forward (for some that is), and the summer fades over the horizon like a stoutly hit 7 iron, here’s a chance to highlight some of what the SMCC Athletics Department has accomplished over the summer.

On the personnel level, Sabrina Best returns to SMCC as the Lady’s Head Softball coach. In a press release from July 7th Athletic Director Matt Richards writes, “I’m extremely pleased to have Sabrina take over the softball program. She brings a wealth of experience coaching and understands the passion of being a member of the Seawolves family.”

The press release further states that Sabrina “has been extensively involved with the athletic department since graduating from SMCC. She currently serves as the Treasurer for the Seawolves Athletic Club and she spent three seasons serving on the Lady Seawolves basketball coaching staff.

She served as an assistant coach for two seasons and the interim head coach for one.

Best also has strong ties to both the softball and South Portland communities, serving as the Maine Junior Olympic Commissioner for ASA Softball and working full time as the Leisure Service Manager for South Portland Recreation.”

If your interest lies in following the action that happens on the soccer pitch, best be noted that the home games for the Seawolves soccer teams are now scheduled at the Wainwright Recreation Complex located at 125 Gary L. Maietta Parkway in South Portland.

According to Google Maps, Wainwright Recreation Complex is 4.5 miles and 12 minutes form the South Portland campus. It is an easy drive for those with vehicles, Broadway to North Richland Street to Highland. For those

Right: Jacob Loveridge battles it out under the boards against Eastern Maine during the 2012-13 season. You can see Jacob and the Surrey Scorchers at the Scorcher’s website.

Club keep the programs lively and vibrant.

See you at the upgraded baseball and softball diamonds, at the Wainwright Sports Complex, in the new bleachers in the Hub, and of course on the links.

THE SMCC BEACON | September 15th | 2015

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Seawolves Take to the Pitch The Diamonds Remain Quiet The Beacon Sports Staff

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hile the baseball and softball diamonds here on the South Portland campus have yet to see any play, the women and men’s soccer teams have been battling it out on the pitch. To date they have accumulated a 3-2-1 record overall with both teams taking to the pitch against University Maine-Machias on Sunday the 15th.

The Seawolves softball team starts their season on September 19th when they travel to Rutland, VT to play YSCC foe, the College of St. Joseph. The Seawolves baseball team starts their season against Bridgton Academy when they travel westward on September 17th. Both teams will open their home season when they take to the diamonds against University of New Hampshire club teams on September 20th.

The Men’s soccer team started their season on August 30th when they battled against the Community College of Rhode Island. The men hung with CCRI throughout the first half keeping the ball out of the net and walking into the break tied at nil-nil.

The second half turned out to be all CCRI as the Knights found the back of the net 4 times. The Wolves hung tight for the first 9minutes at which point CCRI continued its offensive onslaught.

Drew Martin, the SMCC goal tender, saved 11 of the 19 shots that CCRI placed on net. While CCRI was finding its offensive grove, they remained stingy on defense, allowing the Wolves only 1 shot.

The Men Wolves took to the pitch 6 days later to face The Knights of Vermont Tech and walked away with an energydraining 1-1 tie. Rawanda native Steve Rwendeye ruffled the back of the net for the Wolves shortly before the 1st half ended.

The Wolves held the lead for the majority of the second half until the Knights’ Troy Girard equalized at the 72:47 mark. Martin recorded 10 saves.

The Lady Wolves opened up their season against Vermont Technical College on the 5th, scorching the Lady Knights 8-0. Kym Hendrix, who hails from

Waterboro, started the onslaught at the 12:26 mark and was followed as 4 more Lady Wolves padded the lead. Sarah Clough (a goal and an assist), Lourdes Palacious (a goal), and Hannah Fields (two goals) rounded out a healthy first half for the Lady Wolves.

The second half saw the Lady Wolves rack up 3 more goals, capping an 8 goal outing while maintaining the shutout.

Tori Cormier scored at the 8 minute mark and was followed by Zyrah Giustra and Samantha Cleaves.

Four days later, the Lady Wolves were back on the pitch against YSCC foe and reigning champion New Hampshire Community College, maintaining an early season undefeated streak after a one/nil victory.

Unlike the match against Vermont Tech, scoring was nonexistent until the 87 minute mark when SMCC midfielder Hannah Fields forwarded a corner kick to Sarah Clough, who followed with a ripping low crossing pass to Kym Hendrix who put the final touches on a wonderful series of passes, putting SMCC on the board.

The Men Wolves returned to action on the 7th, picking up their first win of the season against Ben Franklin Institute of Technology. SMCC got on the scoreboard first at the 12-minute mark with a chop shot that landed in the left hand corner of the basket.

The Wolves increased their lead when Sean Jackson finished off a precision pass from Even Meiler four minutes after the Wolves’ first goal. Two goals from Douglas Cloutier in the final ten minutes of the first half padded SMCC to 4-nil.

As the second half unfolded Ben Franklin took advantage of an SMCC defensive lapse, netting the ball twice in a 3-minute period and cutting SMCC’s lead in half. SMCC’s Harrison Charwood secured the victory for SMCC with a

goal to give the Wolves a 5-2 win.

The Men Wolves traveled to Bridgton Academy on the 10th and was unable to find the net and dropped a 2-0 decision in Bridgton. The Men Wolves record stands at Lady Seawolves celebrate 1-2-1. after tieing U Maine

Both the Machias in the first half.

Lady and Men Wolves took to the pitch on Sunday the 13th, squaring off against the University of six teams. Paul Smith College finished Maine-Machias. While the games could as the top team, followed by SMCC, and not be covered in fullest for this issue, the finally with NHTI taking third place. men Wolves won their contest 2-0 and the

Teammates Ville Wourenjuuri, who ladies fell 1-2 in the early game of the day. comes to SMCC from Helsinki, Finland, The men’s record improved to 2-2-1, while tallied a final score of 86 and was followed the record fell to 2-1.

by Nicholas Conley (97) and Brian

In golf, the SMCCs men’s team Gallaher (105). traveled to Concord, NH, opening up their 2015 season. Greayson Waterman placed third overall, scoring 84, leading the Seawolves to second place out of a field

Harrison Charwat controls the ball in Sunday’s action against UMaine-Machias