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the free press
University of Southern Maine Student Newspaper
Vol. 47, Issue No. 4 Sept. 28, 2015
usmfreepress.org
USM students weigh in on presidential candidates
Hannah Lyon / Design Director The chart above displays where the frontrunners for each party stand on the issues our nation is facing.
Sam Haiden Free Press Staff The time is coming, once again to decide who will lead this country. As we are approaching the primary elections in November, campus is all aflutter with the most recent political scandals involving our would-be future presidents. Now is the time that USM students will have to begin to make important decisions about how to vote. According to FOX, CNN and the Washington Post, Donald Trump is leading in the polls for the Repub-
lican Primary Election. Next in the polls is Dr. Ben Carson, a celebrated former head of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins. Having stated that Obamacare was the worst thing to happen to America “since slavery,” he has gained a gratuitous amount of support from grassroots conservatives. On campus, a quick survey puts Rand Paul, the son of Ron Paul, at the top of the list of republican nominees; however political analysts and the polls say otherwise. Pat Mahoney, a junior market-
the DNC polls to Hillary Clinton, he seems to have the favor of the voters: at least here on the USM campus. His platform is getting big money out of politics, and he seems to be pretty strict about who he accepts money from, putting Clinton’s association with super PACs in the spotlight. Michael Havlin, a UMass Amherst grad student and USM alumni who has been involved in many activist, political and policy issues in Maine, says he is “undoubtedly and proudly” voting for Sanders. Havlin succinctly summarizes Bernie’s political career as “one of fighting against established monied interest and for the people, and winning.” Trailing closely behind Sanders in the polls is Vice President Joe Biden; however Biden has not yet announced that he is running for nomination at all, as he deals with the recent death of his son, Beau. As political platforms vary drastically, so do the backgrounds of each candidate and their cultures and heritages. Two months from now, the parties will select their gladiators, to pit against each other in the partisan coliseum in November of 2016. USM students will continue to represent their ideals and political beliefs to the nation by way of voting.
ing major at USM described him as “the only adult at the table” amongst the GOP candidates, lauding his tax policy and making the statement that if Paul were president, “the constitution would mean something again.” Jack Forbush, a biology major, also supports Paul’s tax policies, adding an appreciation for the fact that Rand, “follows in the footsteps of his father.” When asked to scout a likely Democratic candidate, both students chose Bernie Sandnews@usmfreepress.org ers. @USMFreePress Although Sanders is second in
Lewiston-Auburn updates provide students real world experience
Krysteana Scribner / Editor-in-chief
Students group together to study human anatomy in the updated labs.
Krysteanba Scribner Editor-in-chief
Auburn college has finally completed their laboratory and practiIn modernized classrooms on cum/simulation spaces. These a campus that seems so separate classrooms, which resemble medfrom the rest, USM’s Lewiston- ical rooms of real hospitals, will
allow students to gain real-world experience while they work toward earning their degree. Nursing and Occupational Therapy majors will be the students most likely to use these labs to their fullest potential for learning both inside and outside the classroom. The hope for these new innovations is to provide a supportive learning center as students progress in their learning stages. In one classroom, hospital beds with all the necessary medical tools line the walls. Some of these beds even have life-like dummies that students can do things such as provide CPR, learn anatomy, check heart rate and much more. As part of a 15.5 million statewide bond, the ultimate goal of this project is to improve lab and classroom experiences for students, faculty and staff. After it
was approved by Maine voters in November 2013, $600,000 total was spent on the Lewiston-Auburn campus alone. Tammy Bickmore, Director of MOT and Clinical Instructor at the L/A Campus said that these new renovations allow for students to work together in ways they never could before. In one classroom, the bathroom wall was taken down and wheelchairs were added in. This area allows students to practice helping their patients in day to day routines such as brushing their teeth, going to the bathroom, etc. “When we first asked them to take down the wall, they thought we were crazy,” said Bickmore. “But this area has been exceptionally helpful in getting students to understand what it’s like to have to help someone with things they usually take for granted.”
Bickmore also explained that in addition to the simulated medical practices that students can perform on the dummies, one of the other newer rooms has diagrams, charts and models of the human body for students to use as an educational resource. “We really needed these updated labs in order to provide our students with the necessary tools when they go out in their career field,” said Blake Whitaker, an associate professor of Natural and Applied Sciences. “Every student I’ve talked to is very excited to have the opportunity to use the new labs, so we’re glad to be a University that can provide that for them.”
krysteana@usmfreepress.org y @Krysteana2016