Seth Dorman

For The Maine Campus

Self-fulfillment is our generation’s dominant cultural narrative. It’s assumed on campuses everywhere. Two of the most elevated tropes of this narrative are adventurous world travel and apocalyptic romance: to be independent and enjoy multi-cultural adventures, and to find the perfect soul mate, who is never boring or disappointing and will compliment and complete you in every way. One of the lowest — yet most ubiquitous — expressions of this narrative is the “selfie.” This master narrative is clear: self is ultimate. Self-fulfillment is the road to joy. Follow your dreams — and no one else’s. More than any other group of people, college students are products of this narrative and serve to advance it. But much of the time we are unaware just how completely we have accepted it, and how dangerous its ramifications are.

I get the strong impression from a lot of folks that I exist to make myself cool: to build myself up like I am my own résumé, to have experiences, learn skills, achieve self-actualization, etc. Here at school it is as though we are all trying to build ourselves into our ideal, to make ourselves marketable and likeable. Even as we work to make ourselves attractive, we cling to an ideal of individualism. We want people to respect, admire and like us, as long as it doesn’t cost us anything personally. We desire affection, as long as it serves us and doesn’t demand the sacrifice of our own dreams. We want community for the sake of what it can provide for our individualistic, self-centered image. This is the master narrative of our generation.

This narrative breaks down in inconsistencies because it is a fiction — the universe does not revolve around us. Centering our focus, energy and attention on ourselves is contrary to the nature of the universe. It would be like the planets deciding to orbit themselves rather than the sun; it would cause significant problems. Humanly speaking, this leads to burnout and disappointment, because we were made to be fulfilled with more than ourselves. It also leads to relationship problems, because two people who are trying to be friends while prioritizing their own self-fulfillment will inevitably clash. Exploitation, no matter how well hidden, causes difficulties. This doesn’t mean life is to be one long, joyless sacrifice of our own dreams for those of others. I don’t think we are meant to be pushovers, nor are we meant not to dream and not to endeavor to achieve those dreams. But the restless pursuit of self-fulfillment is not the path to real joy.

If the master narrative of our generation is wrong and has such disastrous ramifications, we need a new master narrative. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus makes a painful, striking statement. He says that the way to gain life is by giving it away — that the path to joy is the path of self-sacrifice: “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” In the Gospel of John he says, “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me.” Following Jesus means dying for those who do not deserve it. Paradoxically, it is here — in dying to self in order to live for Jesus and others — that fulfillment is finally felt and joy is finally found. This narrative causes people to pour themselves out in love for others. This is the narrative our universities need.

Brett Salter

For The Maine Campus

In an egregious attack on the capitalist system, the American government has managed to bring itself one step closer to shattering the free market. I am referring, of course, to the statement released from the U.S. Treasury Jan. 31. In the statement, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew expounds on the new program dubbed myRA. This retirement program, as Jack calls it, is described as zero fee and risk-free. You merely deposit your own money into a Treasury security and begin accruing interest. You can even withdraw at any time, without cost. Sound familiar?

Of course it does; the Obama administration has “designed” a federal savings account. Welcome to the fall of capitalism. This new institution will no doubt open the floodgates for a torrent of policies that harm our current economic structure. Emperor Barack Obama has allocated many rights and powers to the federal government before, and after the insurgence of Obamacare, we appear powerless to stop the momentum of his socialist sentimentalities. Banking must remain a private industry if the free market is to survive. And evidence in the form of Social Security is a constant reminder that the government is an incompetent retirement agent. Every paycheck stands as testament to the disarray of the broken and underfunded program.

Speaking of Social Security, what prevents the government from raiding myRA funds to repair the collapsing system? They employed that strategy in the past, and it devastated the program in the first place. Instead of taking accountability for their mistakes and cutting spending, legislators and executives would rather fool their constituency into covering the damage out of pocket. But Lew assures us that the myRA “will be backed by the full faith and credit of the United States,” so they cannot just wantonly abuse the account balances. I wish I were reassured. Who is responsible for that guarantee? I did not realize the American government was a self-sufficient, profit yielding establishment. Unfortunately for the American taxpayer, this means every citizen will be held responsible if the federal government loses the assets invested in the program. Bernie Madoff could not put himself in such an advantageous situation. And soon, even opponents of the scheme will find difficulty in not participating.

The financial burden could swell uncontrollably, and the result would present itself in the form of heavier taxes. Investing in a myRA would be almost compulsory at this point, since otherwise you would be paying for a system for which you receive no benefit. This daring incarnation of extortion is unacceptable in the realm of business. Apparently, the code of ethics that binds industrialists does not apply to elected officials. We are obligated to condone the government brazenly perverting its economic power instead of making it answerable to its crimes.

But there is a reason politicians avoid legal repercussions. Those in power would convince us that the national deficit and debt are our fault and that they are assuming control for the common good. In some ways, they are correct. We have afforded the government officials far too much power. We have allowed them to spend irresponsibly for decades without recourse. And finally, we have permitted them to flagrantly abuse the rights that their offices entail. It is time to draw the line and assert our power as citizens of a free nation. No longer can we idly endure the rampant intrusions of the government that plague our beautiful America.

Romany Melek

For The Maine Campus

Slaves were not born slaves and tyrants were not born tyrants. By forfeiting power, slaves create themselves and tyrants are created by the existence of slaves.

Egypt has been ruled by tyrants over its history, especially since 1952 when the military took over, ended the kingdom and converted Egypt into a republic.

Traditionally, Egyptian presidents have been supplied by the army. Mubarak was one of the heads of the military in the 1970s and the vice president in 1975.

Mubarak assumed the presidency in 1981, following the assassination of President Anwar Sadat, but he was not elected. To this day, I do not know how or why. Was it because he was the vice president when the president was assassinated? Or was it because he was one of the heads in the 1973 Yom Kippur War?

Less than one year after Mubarak was named the president of Egypt, several singers and dancers participated in a 10-minute song praising Mubarak. More importantly, the song says, “We chose him and we promise loyalty to him,” however, Egyptians did not elect or choose him. They woke on Oct. 14, 1981 to a new president in office. That is that.

Many songs praising Mubarak on TV and radio were frequently heard from 1982 through 2010. Not because he was a great person — he was not — nor because he had great achievements as a president — he had not — but just because he was a president.

This is how Egyptians have been since about 4500 B.C. Egyptians praise and obey the pharaoh until he oppresses, suppresses, steals from and enslaves them. Egyptians love pharaohs.

As I said last week, Egyptian Defense Minister Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is planning to be Egypt’s next president. He has a great opportunity to succeed.

El-Sisi is most probably going to succeed for several reasons. First, Egyptians love pharaohs and a military president is the best example of this. Second, El-Sisi is very smart and knows how to make and execute his plans. He is also an eloquent speaker and says what Egyptians want to hear. Third, the ongoing agreement between the military and media is working.

The media in Egypt are very influential. They know that, and they use it. Approximately 40 percent of Egyptians are illiterate and such people are easily affected, persuaded and mobilized by songs and work of media, which are being watched for an average of four hours every day.

People sang for Mubarak shortly after he became the president and until he became a tyrant. Last week, a famous Egyptian producer gathered four singers and made a song for El-Sisi, proclaiming “We want you.”

The conclusion of the song suggests that Egyptians really need El-Sisi, and only El-Sisi, to fulfill his national duty and become president. What happened with Mubarak is now happening with El-Sisi but even before he comes to office.

I feel very disappointed because I thought Egyptians had changed since the revolution of 2011. I thought they learned the lesson and knew how freedom felt.

It seems Egyptians missed being slaves and missed having a tyrant.

I hoped I would go back to Egypt one day to see a free country and free men. It seems that I was building castles in the air.

Another milestone has been reached for the townspeople of Orono and Veazie in their campaign to clean up the water being supplied to them by the Orono/Veazie Water District (OVWD) following two town meetings this past week. On Monday, Jan. 27 the town of Veazie held a meeting to discuss adding 10 water quality test sites in various homes following concerns about the levels of trihalomethane (THM) that were measured late last year. Another town meeting was held on Wednesday, Jan. 29 in Orono.

This meeting was attended by the board of trustees for the OVWD and involved the interviewing of a possible candidate to add to the board as well as a progress report from the OVWD regarding their efforts to clean up the town’s water.

Trihalomethane is a carcinogen that is created in water lines when the chlorine that is put in the water during the treatment process combines with organic matter in a pipe. During the first three quarters of 2013, the THM count in the water from the OVWD was compliant with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). However, during the last quarter the water tested exceeded the maximum limit by a significant margin, sparking residents of Veazie and Orono to raise their voices.

Veazie resident Joan Perkins has started the grassroots movement after learning about the problem from nursing students at the University of Maine who presented information regarding THM levels at a Veazie town meeting last fall.

“The one test site for Orono and Veazie, for the entire district has been in Veazie prior to Oct. 1 of this year,” Perkins said. “It’s ludicrous to say that one sample represents what everybody’s getting. That’s the problem.”

To be compliant, a water sample must be taken from a standpipe or water main that is on the outskirts of the district, the idea being that water on the outskirts of the town would be sitting still in the pipes longer than water that is closer to the general population. Theoretically, if the standing water in these pipes meets regulations, then the water that is flowing much more could only be cleaner. Currently, the EPA regulated maximum level for THM in water is 80 parts-per-billion, or ppb.

After receiving a high reading from the Veazie test site, the water district proceeded to test at its secondary test site in the Memorial Union, which also brought a very high reading. Since then, OVWD has been flushing the water pipes in an effort to keep water from standing in the pipes for too long. This has brought the THM level back down to 47 ppb, which is compliant with EPA regulations.

According to UMaine’s Associate Director of Safety and Environmental Management Mike Sauda, there is nothing concerning enough about the readings to warrant further action from the university.

“We feel pretty good right now because they’re in compliance right now,” Sauda said. “At 100 ppb, if you drank two liters of water every day for 70 years, you have like a 1 in 1,000 increase chance of getting a cancer. So [the EPA] lowered it to 80 [ppb] and [OVWD] is in compliance.

“If I saw [high] numbers I’d be asking questions. If I’m not feeling good about the answers to those questions I’d take the tests myself,” Sauda said.

It is this lack of testing sites that has Perkins and so many others concerned. At the Veazie town meeting, the council approved funding to test the water from 10 private residences to get a better idea of the level of contamination of the town’s water. This action essentially overrules the power of the OVWD. Former OVWD Superintendent James Parker was at the meeting and disagreed with the town’s decision.

“There is no problem raising concern or questions, but to convince a council to use taxpayer money to fund a private group of ‘concerned’ citizens is inappropriate,” Parker said.

Building on the momentum gained from the Veazie town council’s decision, Perkins and about 20 concerned citizens attended the Orono town meeting two days later, a much higher attendance than what the council is used to. The council started by interviewing Jason Bolton, an Orono resident and UMaine graduate who has expertise in chemistry, food science and electrical engineering.

“We all drink water in this community. There’s always room for improvement. I feel like this is a good fit with my qualifications,” Bolton said. “I like this community a lot. I have a lot invested in it. I think it’s time that I start volunteering for this community.”

Following the interview, the Board of Trustees for the OVWD stood before the town council. Among these were current Superintendent Dennis Cross, Jay Fortier and John McCormack. According to Cross and the board, there are several issues that are causing the high THM levels.

According to Cross, the layout of the town is detrimental to a consistent flow of water in the pipes. With the number of dead end streets in downtown Orono, water doesn’t get enough movement and remains stagnant longer, leading to an increased risk of the chlorine in the water mixing with organics and forming THM. However, without a massive and costly construction project, this is not an issue that can be resolved.

Another problem is that chlorination is the best way to clean the water. In order to keep water clean while it is in the piping system, chlorine is added before and after treatment. Due to the poor quality of the current well site, much more chlorine has to be added than usual. Cross believes that a new well site is the solution to this problem and says that the OVWD is currently looking into digging a well site behind the cemetery on Bennoch Road. According to Cross, the OVWD has found that there is an abundance of clean water in this site. However, the potential site is located on private land and the OVWD is currently in negotiations with the landowner. Cross is hopeful that this could be the solution that the town is looking for.

“With the amount of time I’ve been here I’d like to be proud [of something] as I leave,” Cross said.

One alternative solution that has been proposed by environmental engineering firm Wright-Pierce is a switch to UV or Ozone treatment. This would involve using either ultraviolet radiation or ozone gas to sterilize the water and would mean adding far less chlorine to the water before it leaves the treatment plant. Cross disagreed with this solution, citing that it would only replace THMs with different byproducts as well as raising the current rates.

However, these methods have found success elsewhere in the state, with Bangor being a prime example. In the mid-2000s, the EPA adjusted the upper limit of allowable THMs from 100 ppb down to 80 ppb. This led Bangor to switch to ozone and UV treatment, which has lowered their THM levels significantly.

Director of the Maine Public Drinking Water Commission Roger Crouse sees such proven technologies as beneficial, but acknowledges that this is a statewide problem and that solutions vary greatly.

“Each system is independent,” Crouse said. “Solutions have varied a lot depending on the area.

“We don’t want to lose sight of the fact that [the OVWD] is getting better … A concern was identified and [OVWD] took tests and identified the concern,” Crouse said. “They have to mitigate that.”

There was also a discussion regarding reports of discolored water coming out of some home faucets. This was due to a major water main breaking on Kelly Road on Saturday, Jan. 25. According to the OVWD website, the pumping system started pumping water at a much higher rate to replace the water that was being lost through the broken main. The increased velocity from this water caused mineral deposits to break away from the bottom of some of the pipes, causing discoloration. Cross assured those in attendance that the water was safe to drink.

The OVWD is currently under a consent order to find a solution to the problem and Cross hopes to be able to find a solution by this summer.

When the council attempted to move on to the next item on their agenda, there was an uproar from the townspeople who wished to ask questions of their own. Although council meetings are open to the public, they are only open for people to attend and listen. This is a concept that the townspeople were not too happy with.

“As someone who’s paying for this, we have a right to speak,” one attendee said.

“You must take responsibility,” another said.

After taking note of the number of townspeople who were vocalizing their concerns, the Orono town council has decided to schedule a unique meeting where the townspeople will be able to directly question the OVWD Board of Trustees. This will take place Feb. 12 at 7 p.m., which is one day after the OVWD’s trustee meeting, which is also open to the public at the OVWD building in Orono.

Perkins is hopes that the pressure that the townspeople are applying can get the level of THMs as close to zero as possible rather than merely being compliant.

“It seems like the issue of THM has made their agenda and we’re hopeful they’ll keep it on their agenda,” Perkins said after the meeting on Wednesday.

“I’m pleased they’ve allocated time to this,” Perkins said. “We had a lot of new faces here tonight. Our grassroots campaign is having an impact.”

Madeline Shaw

For The Maine Campus

The University Volunteer Ambulance Corps (UVAC) will park their ambulance on the University Mall each day this week from approximately 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. to sell t-shirts for $10. Proceeds will go to Rape Response Services and the Spruce Run foundation to assist sexual assault victims and their families with services such as psychiatric treatment and safe houses.

“The biggest stigma [with sexual assault] is that no ones wants to admit it happened,” said UVAC’s Assistant Chief of Logistics Scott Cryer. “UVAC just wants to get it out there that it is an issue, and we’re here to help.” With every t-shirt purchase, UVAC will provide informational brochures that explain what constitutes sexual assault or relationship violence. The brochure will also include the appropriate contact information for reporting sexual assault.

“My door is always open for students, even if you have a friend who was sexual assaulted,” said Deputy Title IX Coordinator from the Office of Sexual Assault and Violence Elizabeth Lavoie.

In the spring of 2013, UMaine formed the Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Protection (SARVP) committee, which assists in identifying campus needs for preventing sexual assault. SARVP’s members include UMaine faculty, staff and students, as well four off-campus organizations.

All universities are required by the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1998, better known as the Clery Act, to have all crimes be submitted to their website. This upcoming October statistics will be available regarding sexual assaults from 2013.

Both Cryer and Lavoie predict that the reports of sexual assault will increase from 2012, where there were six sexual offenses reported to UMPD. Lavoie does not necessarily believe that there will be more cases of sexual assault, but rather more reports because students will know their resources better.

“A lot of people think it’s their fault when they’ve been sexually assaulted. But it’s not, and by having more people to turn to to talk to, the safer our community will be,” Lavoie said. UVAC hopes that this pilot campaign, Don’t Be Afraid To Talk, will be a success. If it is, they plan to launch a larger campaign in April for Sexual Assault Awareness month.

Liam Nee

Assistant News Editor

The University of Maine Student Government’s General Student Senate (GSS) held elections for three separate positions, funded two organizations a total of $3,795 and welcomed three new senators aboard during the 10th meeting of the 35th session on Jan. 28 inside the Memorial Union’s Bangor Room.

Pro Tempore Sen. Harold Stewart presided over the GSS in place of Vice President Ryan Hall, who was absent for unspecified reasons.

Sergeant at Arms, GSSR, Policy and Procedure Chair elected

Pro Tem Sen. Stewart presided over three elections for the positions of Sergeant at Arms, Graduate Student Senate Representative and Chair of the Policy and Procedure Committee during the Jan. 28 meeting.

Sen. Robert Kiah won the election for Sergeant at Arms, winning a two-way race against Sen. Devin Greenlaw who proclaimed “Vote for [Kiah]” during his pre-election speech.

Sen. Vanessa Degenhardt was unanimously elected the GSSR after Sen. Devin Greenlaw removed his name from the ballot during the position’s nomination period.

Sens. Sean Foley and Mindy Downing both ran for the position of Policy and Procedure Chair. Foley, the longer-standing senator of the two, was victorious.

Sens. Kiah, Degenhardt and Foley’s wins are pending Hall’s acceptance or denial.

Maine Masque, UMaine Geo Society funded total of $3,795

The UMaine Geological Society and Maine Masque were both funded just under $2,000 by the GSS during the Feb. 28 meeting.

Maine Masque received $1,935 from the GSS for “scenic, scripts and rights” in preparation for their upcoming performance “Crimes of the Heart” from April 9-13 in Hauck Auditorium. The play is a drama set in small-town Mississippi that focuses on a family attempting to understand their mother’s unexpected suicide.

Club secretary Kylie Wild and treasurer Sam Richie spoke on behalf of the organization, highlight the uniqueness of Maine Masque’s entirely student-run productions.

The expected total cost of the event is $5,185, and other sources of funding include $500 from Maine Masque and $2,750 from the Program Fund.

The resolution was amended for grammatical mistakes before passing.

UMaine Geological Society received $1,860 for “flights” during their “educational spring break trip in Arizona,” which is expected to include nine undergraduates and three faculty members, according to the group’s resolution.

Club Vice President Tyler Sullivan spoke on behalf of the organization, saying the total cost of the event is expected to be $14,088.

Other sources of funding include: $3,600 in club dues, $3,500 from the School of Earth and Climate Sciences and $2,000 from the club account.

Both resolutions received 8-0-0 ought to pass recommendations from the Executive Budgetary Committee prior to arriving at the GSS.

GSS welcomes three new senators

Three new senators were sworn-in by Stewart to begin the Jan. 28 meeting. The addition of third-year student Garret Sullivan and first-year students Downing and Derek Vigue increases the total number of senators to 28, according to President Aaron Ortiz — seven away from filling the chamber.

Sullivan is a financial economics student involved with SPIFFY Investment Club and Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. Downing is a finance and accounting student focusing on legal studies.

Buttarazzi’s BOT report

University of Maine System Board of Trustees Representative Colin Buttarazzi issued his latest rundown of the BOT’s most recent meeting held on Jan. 27 in Bangor.

Buttarazzi began with the “negative” aspects of the report, highlighting a recently discovered financial shortfall: the BOT has a $30 million structural gap in its budget. According to Buttarazzi, this kind of gap is considered “long term” and “cannot be fixed quickly.”

Buttarazzi reminded everyone in attendance that, despite the gap, the UMaine campus was “doing very well” compared to other UMS institutions.

The “positive” aspect of the meeting, according to Buttarazzi, was mentioned during the latter half of his report: the BOT finally reached a successful ratification of a collective bargaining agreement sometime within the past couple of weeks after “a lot of disagreement.”

“[The BOT’s] going to have to redo [the collective bargaining agreement] in about a year because of how long it took for them to decide it,” Buttarazzi said. “But this is great progress.”

Buttarazzi also said the UMS is looking to help out prospective non-Maine resident military veterans by possibly offering them in-state tuition at any of the seven system institutions, which would both commend the students for their service and also increase enrollment at the universities.

Exec reports

In his report, Vice President for Student Organizations Andrew Prusaitis said the Student Organizations Committee would be “taking a bigger role on campus,” attending regular meetings of various groups and also helping orientation programs, like Team Maine, with freshman classes.

In his report, Vice President for Student Entertainment Patrick Fortier-Brown announced that a spring concert would “most likely be held the night before Maine Day,” April 31. Fortier-Brown also reaffirmed his negotiations to collaborate with Bangor’s Waterfront Concerts, but also added 91.9FM WMEB, the campus radio station, and Campus Activities & Student Engagement to the mix.

In his report, Vice President for Financial Affairs Justin Conant listed one allocation under $1,000: $262.50 to Strong Mind-Strong Body for their “coffee hour.”

Bearfest representatives speak; Int’l Affairs Assoc. presents

Bearfest co-chair Jamie Steven introduced the GSS’ guest speaker for the Feb. 28 meeting: Andy Brown, a local resident and dispatcher at the University of Maine Police Department.

Brown told the story of his son Camden, who was born prematurely and suffered from complications within his abdomen at a very young age. Brown and his family first moved to Portland to begin Camden’s treatment, then moved into the Boston Children’s Hospital for several months.

“I know you guys are all busy and don’t have much money to throw around as college students,” Brown said. “But if you can reach out and pick up the pace for Bearfest, you can help kids like my son live a normal life.”

The International Affairs Association presented on its recent trip to Montreal for McMUN 2014, a model United Nations assembly hosted by McGill University.

According to the speaking representative, the conference, which included over 1,400 students, is the only trip IAA plans on attending this year — a scheduled trip to Cornell University was cancelled.

1/25

12:13 a.m. Every man for himself

Matthew Sinderson, 19, was summonsed for possession of alcohol by a minor by consumption. Sinderson was with two other people who were helping him walk up Long Road. University of Maine Police Department officers on patrol saw that Sinderson was visibly intoxicated and attempted to stop the three friends. Sinderson and the two others fled through the DTAV complex. The other two were able to escape, but Sinderson was too intoxicated and was apprehended by the officers. Sinderson’s alcohol content was .24.

12:14 a.m. Play fight club

UMPD officers on patrol saw several individuals who appeared to be fighting in the south end of the Memorial Gym parking lot. The officers approached the group of six and found that they were only “play fighting.” Officers also found that all of the members of the group were underage and all of them were drinking. All of the group members — five males and one female — were referred to Judicial Affairs for the incident.

1:46 a.m. All talk, no walk

Keith Shields, 19, was summonsed for possession of drug paraphernalia. An R.A. at Knox Hall called UMPD after hearing Shields in his room talking to friends about smoking marijuana. Officers made their way to Shields’ room and found eight people inside, as well as a faint odor of marijuana. The officers recovered a grinder, but nothing else was found.

1/26

1:40 a.m. Not a drop

Taylor Berube, 18, was summonsed for illegal possession of alcohol by a minor. Berube had just walked into Gannett Hall with a bottle of Fireball Whisky when a R.A. saw her and stopped her. The R.A. then called the police, who issued the summons.

1:45 a.m. Rough night

Elijah O’Connor, 18, was given a summons for possession of liquor by a minor by consumption. An R.A. in Somerset Hall reported an intoxicated male in a bathroom on the first floor. Upon arriving on the scene, officers found O’Connor laying on the sink. After vomiting in one of the stalls, O’Connor admitted to drinking that night. After an evaluation by UVAC, O’Connor was summonsed and referred to Judicial Affairs.

1/28

10:43 a.m. Hit and run

A female student crossing the road between Jenness and Neville halls was hit by a green car with an unknown license plate. She was not injured, but was hit hard enough to be knocked down. The driver got out and apologized and then took off. The student believes that she knows the identity of the driver.

ALERT: The University of Maine Police Department would like to post an alert regarding butane hash oil, a derivative of marijuana that is far more potent. Smoking the substance requires a butane torch, which is a safety hazard in the dormitories; students are advised not to smoke the substance and to keep paraphernalia associated with it out of dorm rooms.

Danielle Walczak

Staff Writer

A University of Maine graduate and faculty associate of archaeology’s interdisciplinary research on the late Ice Age early human civilizations in the Peruvian Andes won an international prize.

Kurt Rademaker, associate faculty member of the Climate Change Institute, won the Tübingen Research Prize for Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology. The German University awards the top doctoral student internationally from a mix of subject areas including ecology and archeology.

By studying high-elevation sites in Peru, Rademaker’s work focuses on the development of human adaptations and interactions with their environments, looking at the reciprocal changes between humans and their environments.

His major finding, after about 10 years of research, is there was Peruvian life at 14,700 feet elevation around 12,000 years ago. Living in theses conditions is challenging business but not impossible. For Rademaker, his work is multi-faceted.

“It’s good to know how we got where we are now; we’re interested in our own history,” Rademaker said. “The other part of it that has relevance for today is that humans have impacted environments all over the world in ways that are profound. The history of these impacts goes back very far into the past. When we want to understand an environment and how to manage it well we have to understand the history of the environment. That includes how humans have impacted it through time.”

Despite a “distorted” perception of what life was like in the Andes, Rademaker and others collaborated to help clarify their understanding of this land before he began his research. The human civilizations were located on high plateau lands above a deep valley surrounded by ice cap-covered volcanoes. The temperatures were about 10 degrees Fahrenheit colder than they are today, but not unbearable.

Life in the Andes was more bountiful than Rademaker first believed. The plateau lands were grassy, filled with wetlands and bogs, as well as camelids, wild descendants of llamas and alpacas.

“It’s like the Serengeti up there,” Rademaker said.

There were all the essentials for life: food, shelter in the form of rock caves, volcanic glass for tools and plenty of plants, perfect for fire-burning.

“Finding sites [in the Andes] in hindsight is not all that unexpected, considering what’s there. But it’s been there for such a long time it was assumed that at such a high altitude and being so cold at the end of the last Ice Age, it would be impossible to live there. What we found is that’s just not true,” Rademaker said, calling the residents of the area “some of the toughest people” he’s ever met.

Rademaker’s work is multidisciplinary, gathering researchers from as far as Canada and Germany and UMaine graduates and students. Each member brings a different piece to the puzzle. This interdisciplinary approach is something Rademaker said he learned from his work with the Climate Change Institute, which gave him the research “problem of a lifetime to work on” in the one place he’s always wanted to study. This initial project brought him to Peru, which jump-started his award-winning doctoral research.

“I think that I think that way because of coming through the Climate Change Institute, where you’re trained to be multidisciplinary and to think about different dimensions of a system and I think that training is one of the most valuable things we have at the University of Maine. A lot of our departments at Maine are interdisciplinary and we do that really well,” Rademaker said.

Tübingen University has a prestigious archaeology program working on subjects ranging from Paleolithic sites in Europe to sequencing the Neanderthal genome. Rademaker never thought he’d even win the Tübingen prize.

“They’re doing serious cutting-edge work and a nod from them in my direction for my work is so rewarding. These people are doing such amazing work,” Rademaker said. “It’s just so encouraging to have the work I did recognized by a program like that.”

With an extra push of reinforcement, Rademaker’s research has opened many new questions, which draw him back to Peru and at-large South America.

“There’s a whole continent full of questions that need answering,” he said.

During different archaeological digs, Rademaker and his team found tools made not of the volcanic glass typical of that location but of stone cobbles which are only found at lower elevations.

Rademaker said this led him to think that these civilizations may have lived in more than one place, moving to high or low elevation throughout their lives based on season or starting in the lowlands and bringing their tools with them to the plateaus as they moved.

The “nature of this connection” will, according to Rademaker, tell the story of how South America was first settled.

From this data Rademaker can glean information about the duration of human settlements in this area. Have there always been humans and water? Have there been dry spells forcing humans to live elsewhere?

The answers to these questions will help current residents in the high Andes deal with issues like melting ice caps and climate change, happening right before their eyes, questioning their way of life. For Rademaker this is a true boon to archeology.

“That makes archeology really fun — studying the old stuff — for sure. It’s like puzzles that you’re working out and people and that’s great,” Rademaker said. “But when that knowledge can also be directly useful to living people, not just information that’s interesting but can actually help them in their lives, that’s a bonus.”

The Maine Aqua Ventus program reached a critical milestone on Tuesday, Jan. 14 when the Maine Public Utilities Commission approved the term sheet for a pilot offshore wind farm. The commission voted 2-1 to support the term sheet, which means that Maine Aqua Ventus is one step closer to receiving electric ratepayer support for its experimental offshore wind turbines.

Maine Aqua Ventus represents a group of local companies who have come together to support the Advanced Structures and Composites Center and its goal of creating floating offshore wind turbines to harness the colossal amount of energy created from offshore wind. The consortium is made up of Emera, Cianbro and Maine Prime Technologies and is currently competing with seven other groups for funding from the Department of Energy (DOE) in a race to harness the energy offshore wind can provide.

Dr. Habib Dagher, director of the ASC Center, is optimistic about Maine Aqua Ventus’ chances.

“As far as I know, we’re the only project of the seven that is competing that has a term sheet that’s been approved,” Dagher said in an interview with the Maine Campus. “It’s a big project. I think $130 million is the latest estimate, so it’s a big, big deal.”

Dagher, along with representatives from Cianbro and Emera, will present to the DOE on April 7 and 8 in the hopes of receiving $46.6 million to fund the pilot project. If the DOE approves the project, work will begin on building two full scale VolturnUS wind turbines that will float two miles south of Monhegan Island.

“The information from the success of the 1:8 scale [VolturnUS] will be going into our proposal to the Department of Energy,” Dagher said. “We can tell them we built one. It survived the winter months; it did everything it was supposed to [do] according to our calculations. We have evidence to show that we have this technology and that it does work.”

These turbines will be eight times larger than the floating turbine launched off the coast of Castine in June 2013 and will be connected to the Maine electrical grid, costing taxpayers 23 cents per kilowatt hour, which is roughly equivalent to an extra $0.75 per month per person.

The test site off the coast of Monhegan Island was chosen due to its lack of interference with coastal communities and ecosystems. If all goes to plan, the two windmills will be launched in 2017 and will be monitored until 2022, at which point the Maine Aqua Ventus will apply for more money from the DOE to pursue the next step in the plan.

“It’s a 20-year plan that we have. The end goal is to have five gigawatts of offshore wind [harnessed from] the Gulf of Maine by the year 2030. That’s five nuclear power plants worth of wind,” Dagher said. “When you have such a big project, what you do is break it up into pieces. So we broke it up into phases … By breaking it up into phases — crawl before you walk, walk before you run, so to speak — [we are] minimizing the engineering risk.”

It is this careful approach to the project planning that netted the approval of MPUC Chairman Thomas Welch and Commissioner David Littell. However, Commissioner Mark Vannoy voted against the term sheet approval, citing the potential future costs of electricity. With the commercial-scale project estimated to cost around $1.8 billion, Vannoy questioned the economic feasibility of the project.

Dagher still believes the project is more than worth the risk.

“This is yet another natural resource, a huge natural resource that we have that we haven’t taken advantage of,” Dr. Dagher said. “If you were to build floating VolturnUS wind turbines using the same amount of concrete we have in the Hoover Dam, we could harness four times the amount of electricity of the Hoover Dam.”

Vannoy is not the only person who is critical of the proposed wind farm. James LaBrecque is the owner of Flexware Control Technologies in Bangor, which deals with advanced refrigeration units and heat pumps. LaBrecque also acts as a part time capstone advisor to students in the college of engineering and is a technical advisor for Gov. LePage on energy. LaBrecque also believes that wind energy is not the right route for Maine.

“You need 47 Mars Hill Mountains in each of Maine’s counties to heat [434,000] homes on a cold winter night,” LaBrecque said in an interview with the Maine Campus.

“I don’t get involved in policy, just the nuts and bolts of the matter,” LaBrecque said. “There could be a situation where we say ‘this is a bad energy deal,’ but on the political front it could bring millions [of dollars] to the state.”

LaBrecque argues that although there is a lot of energy to be harnessed from offshore wind, it is highly inefficient compared to heat pumps and smart grid technology, particularly when considering Maine winters.

According to LaBrecque, the only time having offshore wind would be beneficial would be during the winter months when houses need far more electricity for heat. During the rest of the year homes don’t use as much electricity, meaning that excess electrical energy created by the turbines would have to be stored. Because electrical energy doesn’t store as well as natural gas or oil it would be far less efficient.

“You still need oil for those cold days, the coldest parts of the year because the liquid fuel in your cellar is equivalent to seven Maine Yankee nuclear power plant running for 30 days,” LaBrecque said. “One gallon of gasoline has 36 kilowatt hours of energy whereas one Nissan Leaf has 660 pounds of batteries that only stores electrical energy for 24 kilowatt hours. So you get less energy storage from 100 times the weight.”

Instead of focusing on wind, LaBrecque believes that there are far better alternatives. Heat pumps are refrigeration units that take air from outside and energize it so that it can heat homes. These pumps operate at 300 percent efficiency, meaning that, without disobeying the laws of physics, they can electrically convert the cold air coming into the pump and release it as hot air n the other side. According to LaBrecque, some heat pump units developed within the last couple of years have been capable of pulling heat out of air as cold as -400 degrees fahrenheit.

“Four hundred thirty four thousand [households] in Maine have oil,” LaBrecque said. “If a plant goes down in the winter, with a smart grid you can shut down a bunch of heat pumps and the house reverts back to oil. So now, all of the electrical generators can be utilized which will drop the cost of electricity below what it is today.

“You can draw 40 percent more electricity across power lines in the winter than you can in the summer because the lines are refrigerated,” LaBrecque said. “If you have twice the amount of kilowatts going over the lines, your distribution cost is going to be halved because the [energy] cost is fixed.”

One other alternative that has been explored in the past is large scale hydropower from Canada. Hydro-Quebec is a government owned hydroelectric facility that is capable of producing up to 36,000 megawatts of electricity, 98 percent of which is created through use of water. Also, their export price for electricity would be the same as natural gas, which is lower than the 23 cents per kilowatt hour offered by offshore wind.

“The people of this state … all think windmills are going to replace oil. It’s coming from an uninformed public,” LaBrecque said. “Everybody wants a simple solution. Just build this great big mammoth thing and our problems are gone. People don’t have a perspective of what they’re buying here. People don’t understand that they aren’t going to get off oil by building these windmills.”

With so much money on the line, it is important to proceed with caution with projects such as this. A failure could leave Maine in worse condition than it is now. However, if this venture into offshore wind is successful, it could revolutionize the alternative energy industry on a global level and create an entirely new market with thousands of new jobs here in Maine, catapulting the state to the forefront of global alternative energy: a truly exciting prospect.

Danielle Walczak

Staff Writer

The School of Performing Arts brought 90 musicians together Friday night to perform for students, faculty and alumni in its Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein benefit concert, which brought Hauck Auditorium to near capacity.

About a year ago, fourth-year music education student Ben McNaboe came up with an idea to bring together the whole School of Performing Arts to raise money to help them continue their work.

“I think that in general among student bodies when we’re all together all the time, that common experience is really important and there wasn’t anything as cohesive as this has become. Raising money is a great motivator,” McNaboe said.

A four-student board with two faculty advisors organized the entirely student-run production. McNaboe was the music director, conductor and PR chair.

On Friday night musicians and vocalists including The Maine Steiners and Renaissance, UMaine’s male and female a cappella groups respectively, sang show tunes from Rodgers and Hammerstein.

The duo is responsible for some classics of what is considered “the golden age” of musical theater. For 18 years they delivered masterpieces like “The King and I,” “the Sound of Music” and “Oklahoma!” Rodgers and Hammerstein, who have collectively won 34 Tony Awards and  15 Academy Awards, have “made a constant and extraordinary impact on the culture of American people,” according to McNaboe.

Morgan Cates hosted the concert and provided interludes and historical background of each play between songs.

The show opened with Ira Kramer, who recently starred as Prince Charming in the Penobscot Theater’s production of Cinderella singing “It’s A Grand Night for Singing,” along with Robert Gelinas and Molly Abrams.

“It’s really timely,” said Liz Downing, a flute professor and faculty advisor for the board. “It’s an important time of the year, we all need a pick-up when we come back from break.” Downing also played in the ensemble.

Selections from “The King and I,” “Carousel,” “South Pacific,” “The Sound of Music” and “Oklahoma!” were performed. The applause began before the most songs could come to a close, especially those of vocalists Hope Milne and Justin Zhang.

McNaboe said the event was a great opportunity to shine a positive light on the School of Performing Arts.

“I think when people see students working to pull something like this off to better their own program, that speaks really loudly,” McNaboe said.

“This is a way to have a great time while contributing to the School of Performing Arts for all they do because the School of Performing Arts is a great recruiting tool for the university,” Downing said.

McNaboe and Downing stressed the level of professionalism integrated into the entire performance.

McNaboe said it’s been a great learning experience for everyone involved. In a professional manner he scheduled his rehearsals like that of the Bangor Symphony Orchestra or any professional group.

“It’s almost like an internship, it’s a step out into the real world with real hands on experience right here at UMaine,” Downing said.

Despite the success of this year’s rookie event, McNaboe expressed he is already looking forward to next year in an interview before the show.

“I’m really excited for a lot of our faculty to come to the show, not that I think that faculty doubt our abilities or what we can do as a group, but I think they’re going to be really impressed. This show is going to set a new bar. I mean I think it’s really going to show ‘look what we’re capable of,’ now we can’t go back,” he said.

“I think it’s going to set a new bar; why can’t we do something like this every year?”