The University of Maine’s 2014 Commencement is May 10, with ceremonies at 10 a.m. (College of Education and Human Development, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Division of Lifelong Learning and Maine Business School) and 2:30 p.m. (College of Engineering and College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture) in Harold Alfond Sports Arena.
Motorists in the Orono area will encounter heavier traffic than usual throughout much of the day. Anyone attending Commencement should plan to arrive early. Doors open at 8 a.m. for the morning session and noon for the afternoon session.
Both ceremonies are ticketed events. All students marching were offered up to five guest tickets, provided they were picked up by the April 25 deadline.
Guests attending Commencement are urged to park in the following parking lots: Collins Center for the Arts, Belgrade, Steam Plant, Hilltop and Buchanan Alumni House, where six shuttle buses will transport them to and from the arena.
Captioned, live video streaming will be available for both the morning and afternoon ceremonies.
Backpacks, large tote bags and strollers are not permitted in the Alfond Sports Arena.
Spectators are not allowed on the arena floor for any purpose, including photos. Only professional photographers hired by the university with proper credentials are permitted to photograph the ceremony from the floor.
Vehicles with handicapped plates or placards can be parked in the Satellite Lot behind Alfond Stadium. There will be a designated handicapped drop-off area on the side of the Alfond Arena, where University Volunteer Ambulance Corps personnel will be available to assist attendees.
Visitors are reminded that the University of Maine is a tobacco-free campus.
WABI (Channel 5) reported on a new scholarship fund started by the Maine Steiners, the University of Maine’s oldest a cappella group. With the establishment of the Maine Steiners Vocal Music Scholarship Fund, the group became the first performing arts student organization to establish an endowed scholarship fund with the University of Maine Foundation. “We decided we just wanted to give back to the school’s performing arts and the university which has given us so much,” said Morgan Cates, the group’s business manager, who also spoke about the group’s diverse members and vocal influences. WABI also interviewed Robert Laraway, the Steiners’ music director, who spoke about the high standards the group holds when taking on new members and their drive to always be better musicians.
WABI (Channel 5) reported the Black Bear Food Guild, a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program that is organized and managed by students in the University of Maine’s Sustainable Agriculture program, is offering CSA shares for the season. The guild is selling full ($475), half ($300) and quarter ($175) shares. Shareholders can pick up fresh produce each week from mid-June to October at the university’s Rogers Farm.
The University of Maine student group Male Athletes Against Violence will sponsor an event at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 30 in Alfond Arena to raise awareness about relationship violence.
The event, Unwrapping the Not-So-Sweet Truth of Relationship Violence, also will be an attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the largest number of candies unwrapped at one time.
The current world record of 614 candies unwrapped at one time is held by Tarleton State University.
The event, which is free and open to the public, will include speakers and information tables by Spruce Run, Rape Response Services and the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence. For those participating in the record book event, wrapped candies will be provided.
For more information or to request a disability accommodation, contact Sandy Caron, 207.581.3138.
The Black Bear Food Guild, a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program that is organized and managed by students in the University of Maine’s Sustainable Agriculture program, is offering CSA shares for the season.
In an effort to increase accessibility to fresh, seasonal produce for all members of the community, the Black Bear Food Guild is offering full, half and quarter shares. The 2014 season marks the first time the guild will be offering quarter shares, which are recommended for one person and an ideal choice for students. Quarter shares cost $175. Full shares are $475 and will feed four people, and half shares are $300 and will feed two people.
Shareholders can pick up produce each week at the university’s Rogers Farm. The guild’s season runs from mid-June through early October.
A limited number of shares are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Those interested in purchasing a share for the 2014 season should email the Black Bear Food Guild at blackbearcsa@gmail.com.
Since 1994, students have farmed two acres of MOFGA-certified organic vegetables and cut flowers on Rogers Farm. The farmers for the 2014 Black Bear Food Guild are Laura Goldshein, Lindy Morgan and Abby Buckland.
University of Maine Student Life LGBT Liaison Services announces that a stand-up comedian, concert and documentary will be part of Pride Week, scheduled for April 7-12 on campus.
Pride Week begins at noon Monday, April 7, with a flag raising on the Mall. It concludes at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 12 in North Pod with a drag show featuring Ivy Winters, a contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 5.
Alison Grillo, “New York City’s Woman Trapped Inside A Woman’s Body,” will perform a stand-up comedy routine at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 8, in DP Corbett Room 100; Magdalen & Greane will be in concert at 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 9, in North Pod; a NOH8 Photo Shoot to promote marriage equality will be held 12-4 p.m. Thursday, April 10, in the Rainbow Resource Center in Memorial Union; and “God Loves Uganda,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, will be screened at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 10, in DP Corbett Room 100.
A complete schedule is online. To request disability accommodations, call Chelsea Barker, 207.581.1439.
The Bangor Daily News spoke with Robert Dana, UMaine’s vice president for student life and dean of students; Dick Young, UMaine auxiliary operations director; and members of the University Volunteer Ambulance Corps (UVAC) for a report about a recent increase in the number of alcohol-related ambulance transport requests for UMaine students. Young said when responding to alcohol-related calls, UVAC volunteers evaluate the student to make sure they are safe. Most of the calls for help come from friends and residence hall staff, he added. Dana said the Medical Amnesty and Good Samaritan reporting program, which started in 2010 to encourage students to report extremely intoxicated classmates, may be playing a role in the increased numbers. “It makes a safer community — a closer community,” he said of the program.
WABI (Channel 5), I-95 Classic Hits (95.7 FM) and WVII (Channel 7) reported the University of Maine New Balance Student Recreation Center was named one of “The Coolest College Recreation Centers in America” by Men’s Health magazine. The feature touts that the facility, open since August 2007, offers ski and snowshoe rentals for the surrounding 20 kilometers of groomed trails in the DeMeritt Forest, as well as a 20-person hot tub, a large pool leisure area with hot-water-jet bench seating, co-ed sauna, more than 100 cardio and weight machines and a view of “the rustic Maine countryside.”
Men’s Health magazine has named the University of Maine New Balance Student Recreation Center one of “The Coolest College Recreation Centers in America.”
The feature touts that the facility, open since August 2007, offers ski and snowshoe rentals for the surrounding 20 kilometers of groomed trails in the DeMeritt Forest, as well as a 20-person hot tub, a large pool leisure area with hot-water-jet bench seating, co-ed sauna, more than 100 cardio and weight machines and a view of “the rustic Maine countryside.” The $25 million facility is the second of 12 entries in this ranking.
“The distinction of making the Men’s Health list affirms the standing of UMaine’s New Balance Student Recreation Center as one of the best in the country. This distinguished list of university recreation centers represents the best of the best,” says Jeff Hunt, UMaine’s director of campus recreation. “We here at UMaine are proud to add this distinction to honors our facility has received beginning in 2007.”
In April 2013, Best College Reviews named the University of Maine’s New Balance Student Recreation Center as No. 7 on its list of the “25 Most Amazing Campus Student Recreation Centers.”
The New Balance Student Recreation Center also received the 2009 Special Mention for Excellence in Architecture by the American Institute of Architects: New England and was included in the 2008 Athletic Business Architectural Showcase.
Additionally, the facility has been awarded Silver Certification under the U.S. Green Buildings Council’s Green Building Rating System, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
New Balance Student Recreation Center memberships are available to UMaine students, community members and the general public.
University of Maine students will be able to sample cuisine from Germany, Greece and the South Pacific region at three resident dining locations during UMaine Dining’s Taste of the World event on Thursday, March 27.
During the annual event, menus and decor in each of the dining facilities are transformed, often in consultation with students or other resident experts from the university’s international community.
This year, Greece will be featured at York and the South Pacific will be the theme at Hilltop. A taste of Germany at Wells Central will be showcased as UMaine’s entry in the special event category of the National Association of College & University Food Services dining awards.
A few examples of the authentic German cuisine menu are speckknoedel (bacon dumplings), kirschsuppe (sour cherry soup), sauerbraten (pot roast), wiener schnitzel, knockwurst, bratwurst and vegetarian brats. Classic German desserts will also be available such as schwarzwalder kirschtorte (black forest cake), bienenstich kuchen (custard-filled bee sting cake) and apfelstrudel (apple strudel).
UMaine Dining uses local foods and produce. Part of of UMaine Dining’s mission is to raise awareness of the value and sustainability of supporting locally sourced produce and products.
Although aimed primarily at resident students, anyone in the UMaine community can enjoy any of these all-you-care-to-eat menus for a small entrance fee of $11.00 per adult and $5.50 per child 12 or under. The international fare will be served during dinner starting at 4:30 p.m.