By Seth Dorman

World revenue generated by pornography in 2006 was $97 billion. According to an article in the Surgical Neurology International journal that dollar figure is “more than Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo, Apple and Netflix combined.” Is this mere entertainment or free expression? Recent research has provoked some to start calling pornography “the new narcotic” because it functions similarly to addictive drugs, only more powerfully. With the advent of the Internet, pornography has become affordable, accessible and anonymous. Thus it is no surprise that it has become an epidemic. In America, there are an estimated 2 million cocaine addicts, 2 million heroin addicts and 44 million pornography addicts. This is no innocent addiction; it is distorting and destroying people and relationships. In itself, it is the symptom of a deeper problem.

According to William M. Struthers, a professor of psychology at Wheaton College, pornography uses “the same neural circuit, has the same effects with respect to tolerance and withdrawal and has every other hallmark of addiction.” Pornography triggers dopamine, which in turn causes addiction. It is like a pathway in the brain: as it is used, it becomes more permanent. The occasional footpath soon becomes the four-lane highway. It becomes the primary way the brain interacts with sex. Because the brain tissue involved with sex is especially malleable, these pathways eventually become almost permanent. Porn literally reshapes the brain. It is also permanent, as author Morgan Bennett writes in her article “The New Narcotic”: “Another aspect of pornography addiction that surpasses the addictive and harmful characteristics of chemical substance abuse is its permanence. While substances can be metabolized out of the body, pornographic images cannot be metabolized out of the brain because pornographic images are stored in the brain’s memory.” Pornography is dangerously addictive.

Besides being at least as addictive as cocaine and heroin, pornography is at least as dangerous — not only for the person using it, but for society as a whole. It trains its users to objectify human beings, encourages selfish views of sex, undermines marital intimacy, implants harmful expectations for men and women and can increase the chance of infidelity. Patrick Hough, assistant director of the Witherspoon Institute, says in his article “The Social Costs of Pornography,” some studies show that because of pornography, “[c]hildren, adolescent boys in particular, are more inclined to violence, aggression and sexual coercion of peers, are more susceptible to sexual coercion by peers and adults. Adolescent girls are more inclined to tolerate emotional, physical, and sexual abuse.” Pornography warps those who use it and has negative effects on the surrounding society.

However, pornography itself is a symptom of something deeper. Pornographic addictions are caused by desires. In order to deal with the symptom, one needs to deal with the underlying cause of the symptom. The cause of pornography is not a loving, controlled, selfless sex drive, but lust — the impulse to gratify sexual desires at the cost of the objectification of human beings, for sexual gratification with no connection to committed love. To be free of the symptom, this desire must be checked and defeated by stronger desires: a commitment to loving and respecting people as people, a desire to respect ourselves as people and a view of sex that is inextricably bound with selfless, marital, committed love. Maybe we can become addicted to that. But if people are honest with themselves, unless they get outside help, they probably won’t be. Some paths are too well worn to change on our own.

By Katherine Revello

Time to throw a flag on the field — the frenzy surrounding the name of the Washington Redskins has reached ridiculous levels of irrationality.

The president is apparently more concerned with shaming the nation over a sports team’s use of a slur that no one finds offensive, despite not having an issue branding his opponents by the slur “Teabaggers” than actually dealing with the fiscal nightmare he, by not presenting a budget, and his party leaders, by stalling bills in the Senate, helped create.

But let’s take politics out of the equation for a moment and point out something really important — this is a completely faux controversy.

Aside from the Oneida Nation, few Native Americans are actually offended by the term. And why would they be? Oklahoma is Choctaw for “red-people.” Across the nation, many predominately Native American schools have Redskins as their mascot. Yet, there is no national outcry over these instances.

Why? Because the term is not a slur. Historically, Native Americans described themselves as red as a matter of pride and to distinguish themselves from the “pale-faces” who they increasingly came into interaction with.

This is not to say that the term has not been an ugly racial epithet in some instances; obviously it has. But not in the case of the football team. The Redskins name was bestowed as an honor to then-head coach Lone Star Dietz, an American Sioux.

Why is it collectivism is decried as being ultimately bad when it comes to judgments, yet in speech there are no reservations about doing so?

In a court of law, intent is an important factor when it comes to adjudicating, and rightly so. So let’s apply the same principle to speech and condemn sentiment on a case-by-case basis depending upon the individual’s intent.

We can already see the result of the opposite — national, frenzied malice directed against a term that is generally considered to be inoffensive.

And really, shouldn’t any point that is prefaced by, “I know the facts don’t support my argument, but…” be branded irrational and swept from the stage of public debate?

Besides, names don’t change the nature of things. Truth is not somehow created by the clever twisting of words; it transcends language, as any honest broker can determine for themselves.

That’s the beauty of language. And even when some appellation is uttered with bombastic vehemence and venom, it is only truly derogatory to the extent that the person lets it be. Clearly, the Native American community at large has not chosen to be offended. So why are we?

Let the free market sort it out. Because the free market responds to what the greatest set of consumers deems most meritorious. And if a majority of factually ignorant but well-intentioned individuals decide they don’t like the name of the team, they’ll stop patronizing the franchise and self-interest will force them to change.

It’s almost guaranteed that someone, somewhere is offended by or can find contention with pretty much anything that’s said. There’s only one way to fix that — unbroken silence until the end of time. And that’s not a strawman. Because any time words or terms are banned, speech is silenced.

Yes, maybe that makes a few people feel better about themselves. But pushing speech into the shadows has serious repercussions, namely masking true antagonism. It might be messier, but surely exposing bias and hatred to the light of day, where it can be seen, understood and avoided, is a much more wholesome alternative.

 Amidst the cacophonous finger-pointing of Washington’s government shutdown drama, certain ongoing and weighty arguments have been glossed over. Locally, these include a recent anti-domestic drone use march staged by Buddhist monks and nuns from the Nipponzan Myohoji order.

Admittedly, this doesn’t seem like the most gripping of issues, as no matter how loud the furor between Congressional politicos raged, martial law was nowhere near being instituted. However, the increasing affordability of drone technology is leading to an increased use of drones by private individuals.

In a state like Maine, which is blanketed by vast expanses of unnavigable wilderness, it’s easy to see how drones could be of use. Remote areas of the state could become much more accessible, an undoubted asset in search and rescue missions. For ecologists, drone surveillance could reveal much about the habits of wildlife in the state.

But the Fourth Amendment guarantees that citizens be free in their persons, properties and effects from unreasonable searches and seizures. When drones traverse airspace adjacent to private property, it’s easy to see how civil liberty-conscious citizens and groups become uneasy, especially in the wake of revelations regarding the National Security Agency’s recording of phone conversations.

The relative newness of drone technology means there are few laws regulating how they may be used in domestic airspace, lending credibility to privacy concerns.

As alarming as the threats posed by privately owned drones may be from a surveillance standpoint, there are others, even more eerie — and this is domestic drone strikes.

Real concern began when Anwar al-Awlaki, an al-Qaida recruiter and American citizen was killed in a drone strike in Yemen. The administration justified this violation of the Fifth and Sixth Amendments by stating that his alleged involvement in planning terrorist attacks fell within the caveat carved out in the Fifth Amendment that, on the battlefield, the right to a fair trial is negated.

But al-Awlaki was not killed in the middle of an actual, physical battle. In this context, ‘on the battlefield’ meant being involved in operations within a terrorist organization. This, to many, seemed to enlarge the exception within the Fifth Amendment and could possibly mean drone strikes could be carried out on American soil.

Hence Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s 13-hour filibuster of John Brennan’s nomination for CIA director aimed at forcing the Obama administration to state unequivocally that the battlefield does not extend to the United States and that drone strikes will not be used domestically on citizens.

While the administration eventually caved to the furor raised by Paul’s argument, they did so begrudgingly. And left room to walk back that position in future, should the need arise.

And it’s not hard to imagine such a situation. Only a few months ago, the argument could have quite easily been made that drones should be used to search the city for the Boston Marathon bombing suspects and, if necessary, have taken them out to save lives.

As easy as it is to get behind a position similar to this, does it withstand reason?

Not if you buy into the slippery-slope argument. Once one exception to civil liberties has been made, precedent has been set. And once set, precedent is nearly always expounded upon. Equivocation is the death of absolutes. And civil liberties, inalienably granted to the American citizen, are pretty absolute, which is why the discussion, though seemingly irrelevant to the general populace, should gain seriousness and traction in the public sphere.

The University of Maine General Student Senate funded Alternative Breaks $9,000 after 90 minutes of debate, funded three other organizations in the total amount of $10,000 and welcomed two new senators to the GSS during their 24th meeting of the 34th session on Oct. 1 in the Memorial Union’s Bangor Room.

Alternative Breaks funded $9,000, “fishy” account discovered by EBC

The GSS approved an amended funding request of $9,000 by Alternative Breaks to be used for travel during their upcoming annual service trips.

According to the resolution, the organization has planned nine trips for the 2013-14 school year. Eight will occur in the spring and one during the winter. Destinations include Florida, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

The total estimated cost of all trips is over $39,874, up $8,000 from last year due to an additional trip.

Also in the resolution, it says the organization expects to collect $26,610 in fundraising this year, up $1,000 from last year, and dues are set at $200, although the the club strives to accommodate all levels of financial stability and offers others ways to pay including through scholarship.

The vote to pass the amended funding request, 19-7, was one vote over two-thirds and came after approximately 90 minutes of debate, questioning and proposed amendments.

Alternative Breaks initial request was for $11,930 — just over $100 more than what UMSG, Inc. funded them last year — but after passing the organization’s resolution onto the GSS, it was discovered by several Executive Budgetary Committee members that Alternative Breaks had $15,000 in a “gift account” that they had not declared as part of their funds, essentially proving EBC no reason to fund in full.

The amount request was then cut down to $6,600.

Club coordinators Sen. Morgan Kinney and Kelly Covey spoke on behalf of Alternative Breaks and explained the “gift account,” which they say, “comes from our most successful fundraiser.”

“We need money in case of emergencies,” Kinney said. “I see it as totally irresponsible if we don’t have more than zero dollars in our account at any time.”

Kinney says the group raised over $25,000 last year, which is why the organization projects around $26,000 for this year.

Kinney reminded the body of the evident limitations of fundraising revenue around the area.

“There is a ceiling around this area … we all know it,” Kinney said. “We fundraise year-round and we get what we can.”

Kinney is a member of EBC, but abstained during the committee’s recommendation vote because of an obvious conflict of interest. She was one of all eight EBC members to do so.

Vice president Ortiz and Sens. Ryan Hall, Justin Conant and Jake Dumas — all members of Alternative Breaks — participated, voting “Yea.”

President Dao and vice president for Financial Affairs Raymond Updyke also voted “Yea,” while the only member to vote “Nay” was vice president for Student Organizations William “Nick” Smith, who later explained that he “thought [Alternative Breaks] should have received more money because of the large amount of fundraising the organization already does.”

After further discussion of the “gift account,” Kinney and Covey defined the fund as a place rollover funds have been put following the end of every fiscal year, thus increasing its amount annually.

Sen. Corey Morton agreed with Alternative Breaks’ use of the account, saying it “proves sustainability, which is a good thing to have for a student organization.”

VPSO Updyke disagreed.

“Something fishy was going on here … for some reason, [Alternative Breaks] neglected to ever include the rollover amount,” Updyke said. “Is it because we’ve always had a large number of EBC members who are also in Alternative Breaks? I don’t know, but we shouldn’t be funding a group just for them to put that money away for next year.”

Ortiz continued to voice his thoughts about the financial situation, but also saw no mischievous activity.

“It was how our auditors saw it … I don’t think [Alternative Breaks] had any intentions of hoarding this [fund] all this time; it was just missed,” Ortiz said. “My opinions about this group couldn’t be better. My brother was a member, and now I am but my discretion comes strictly for monetary purposes.”

Sen. Alicia Bolduc later moved to amend the resolution back to Alternative Break’s initial request amount of $11,930.

This brought up a brand new problem: the GSS’ lack of funds until November when this year’s student activity fees are added to unallocated, which VPFA Updyke estimates will be around $130,000.

After Updyke finished explaining the GSS had about $27,000 for the next 4-5 weeks, president Dao advised the body go against funding Alternative Breaks their initial request of $11,930, regardless of what members thought about the “gift account,” and agree on an amount under $10,000 if funding anything ends up being an option.

“I think it’s a bad idea to give the full amount this week,” Dao said. “It’s not only going to be hard to fund large funding requests from now, but even the office budgets will add up quickly.”

Sen. Lee Jackson didn’t agree.

“If you remember, we told groups to come in early so they can get their funding before we run out of unallocated rollover … why penalize them?” Jackson said. “Precedent is just about as strong as my paper cup here … follow the rules and vote however you wish to vote.”

When asked for a minimum amount they would need to walk away from UMSG in order to book flights and time sensitive travel expenses, Kinney said $9,000.

“Flight costs are projected around $14,000,” Kinney said. “That’s from simply online research, which means the price will probably go up when our travel agent books the trips — it almost always does.”

Sen. Bolduc’s amendment failed shortly after, allowing Sen. Ariel Bothen to amend the resolution’s amount to $9,000, which was later passed by the GSS.

Ski & Snowboard, Wilde Stein & Tennis Club funded; Best Buddies main motion fails

The Ski & Snowboard Club, the Wilde Stein Alliance for Sexual Diversity and Tennis Club also received funding.

The GSS approved a funding request of $2,400 by the Ski & Snowboard Club to be used for “bus trips during fiscal year 2013-14,” according to the resolution.

The Ski & Snowboard Club has planned eight trips for this winter — five to Sugarloaf in Carrabassett Valley and three to Sunday River in Newry — with each trip expected to cost approximately $800 and seat 60 members.

Club president Shelby Caret, a fourth-year new media and business administration student, and club vice president and treasurer Chad Flinkström, a third-year student, spoke on behalf of the organization.

According to Caret, the club requires $25 dues per member — which is a $5 increase from last year — and has fundraised about $1,800 already this year.

The $2,400 will cover three of the eight trips. Last year, the group received funding help from UMSG, Inc. for two trips.

The GSS approved a funding request of $1,000 by the Wilde Stein Alliance for Sexual Diversity to be used for “artist fees” during their annual hosting of “Coming Out Week” from Oct. 21-25, according to the resolution.

Rebecca Kling, a transgender artist and author of “No Gender Left Behind,” will perform and organize a workshop on Oct. 24. The requested amount is expected to cover roughly half of Kling’s artist fee.

Wilde Stein president Kaiya Hansen, a third-year chemistry student, spoke on behalf of the organization.

Hansen says Wild Stein will also be receiving funding for “Coming Out Weekend” from the Program Fund and Residents on Campus (ROC).

The GSS approved a funding request of $1,000 by the Tennis Club to be used for “indoor court fees” during the club’s 2013-14 fiscal year, according to resolution.

In order to hold indoor court time in Bangor from mid-October to April, the Tennis Club must pay a $2,000 fee.

Club president Hunter Morancy spoke on behalf of the organization.

Morancy says court fees nearly doubled last year, forcing the team to cut practice time in half to keep playing. The team pays for tournaments out-of-pocket and regularly books trips close to members’ houses to avoid hotel costs.

Sen. Jackson proposed an amendment to raise the funding amount to $1,250, but it failed.

All three resolutions received unanimous, 8-0-0 “ought to pass” recommendations from EBC before reaching the GSS.

Near the end of meeting, Sen. Bolduc moved to bring a main motion forward to which she sponsored.

The main motion, by Best Buddies, requested $75 for an ice cream social on Oct. 3.

Club president Chelsea O’Meara spoke on behalf of the main motion funding request.

The question of whether or not the GSS could fund the event because students aren’t eating the ice cream was asked, and that’s when both president Dao and VPFA Updyke decided it would be best if Dao cover the cost through her executive fund.

The main motion failed, shortly after Sen. Morton said: “Let’s fail this so it can go through the proper loopholes.”

Senators join, Collins resigns, Ad-Hoc discontinued & Kiah wins

The GSS welcomed two new senators aboard. First-year student Harold Stewart and third-year communications and political science student Andrew Bracy are the newest additions to the body.

Just one week after winning an unopposed race for the position, Graduate Student Senate Representative Sen. Alexander Collins announced his resignation due to a schedule conflict.

The Graduate Student Senate (GSG) meets on Wednesdays at 1 p.m., a time that conflicts with Sen. Collins’ current class schedule.

President Dao announced the discontinuation of the Ad Hoc Committee on Community Associations and Representative Boards, a special committee created last spring to improve talks between UMSG, Inc. executives, the GSS and Community Association and Representative Board representatives.

Sen. Robert Kiah won the election for Fair Election Practices Committee (FEPC) Senator, beating out fellow Sens. Robert Eastman and Vanessa Degenhardt.

Water for ME granted prelim recognition

Water for ME Student Member Group — a non-profit organization whose purpose is to provide students concerned with water sanitation in the developing world opportunities to collaborate and help alleviate suffering due to lack of clean water — received preliminary recognition from the GSS.

Prior to the GSS meeting, the Student Organizations Committee (SOC) issued a unanimous “ought to pass” recommendation in favor of the club receiving prelim recognition during their Sept. 30 meeting.

Water for ME club president Bryer Sousa, a second-year chemistry student, spoke on behalf of the group.

“It’s not just a scientific effort … putting filtration devices is just a start … it’s also both an economic and political science effort,” Sousa said. “We’re going to enter high schools around the area, hold colloquies, bring in speakers and teach the importance of water filtration.”

“This project can’t be successful if we don’t pursue the most this university has to offer in terms of student organizations.”

Last April, Sousa was awarded a $10,000 Projects for Peace grant from the Davis Foundation to install biosand filters in 50 households in an impoverished rural region of Honduras. [bangordailynews.com/2013/04/17/news/bangor/first-year-umaine-student-wins-10000-projects-for-peace-grant/]

The group has a total of 15 members, which includes 13 undergraduates, one graduate student and one faculty member.

Buttarazzi’s BOT report

Representative to the University of Maine System (UMS) Board of Trustees Colin Buttarazzi gave his semi-monthly report on the board’s Sept. 23 meeting.

According to Buttarazzi, the BOT announced they’ve been making headway in their negotiations for collective bargaining. It’s been years since a deal has been made.

The BOT also brought up a question that will appear on the state of Maine’s upcoming referendum elections on Nov. 5. Buttarazzi says although the BOT can’t tell students how to vote, they wanted them to be aware of what the question entails.

A bond issue, Question 2 asks: “Do you favor a [$15.5 million] bond issue to enhance educational and employment opportunities for Maine citizens and students by updating and improving existing laboratory and classroom facilities of the [UMS] statewide?”

Buttarazzi says — according to the BOT — UMaine would receive $5.5 million of the share, and it would go toward renovating an estimated 10,000 square feet of classroom laboratory space in Little Hall, Boardman Hall and several others.

“Because of the high enrollment in the engineer program, it’s looked at as an ideal choice for the school,” Buttarazzi said.

The BOT said they would be attempting to attract ex-collegiate students who started their degrees and never finished to return to a UMS school to complete their education. Maine has one of the highest rates of populations without a college degree in the nation.

UMaine Rowing Club present

University of Maine Rowing Club presented to the GSS on their recent Head of the Merrimack race and regatta hosted by Essex Rowing Club on Sept. 28 in Methuen, Mass. It was the club’s first competition in over three years. [http://mainecampus.com/2013/09/29/umaine-competes-in-first-regatta-in-three-years/]

Club treasurer Tyler Averill, a fourth-year communication and sociology student, spoke on behalf of the group. Averill says contestants’ ages ranged all the way from high school to 65-years-old. Two high school teams from Maine competed: Yarmouth High School and another from the Greater Portland Area.

UMaine Rowing Club competed in both the Mixed Open 4+ and Men’s Open 4+ against Gentle Giant Rowing Club.

Exec, other reports

In his report, Ortiz said he informally brought up the issue of groups paying facility prices for on campus activities during his meeting with Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Robert Dana.

During the GSS’ Sept. 24 meeting, Sen. Jackson spoke out about the matter during debate over funding Men’s Club Ice Hockey $6,000. A large portion of the $6,000 will go toward ice time and maintenance

In his report, VPSO Smith declared that all sections of UMSG, Inc., excluding Financial Affairs, will be fully on OrgSync — “for all things except email” — once returning from fall break.

Financial Affairs’ plans to keep a paper trail will ultimately preclude them from fully using OrgSync’s capabilities.

VPSO Smith also announced that $50 prizes would be awarded to the “top pages” on OrgSync. Measures of contest include: look, activity, member contribution, etc. The competition will end on Oct. 10 at 5 p.m.

In his report, VPFA Updyke listed allocations under $1,000: $315 to Interfraternity Council’s (IFC) Alpha Gamma Rho for paint wars and $200 to Black Student Union, Ski & Snowboard Club, Green Team and Maine Society for Microbiology for office budgets.

Services Committee chair Sen. Morton said she spoke with both assistant director for security, parking and transportation Alan Stormann and a representative for Housing Services during the Auxiliary Services meeting.

Morton says, according to Stormann, “there is parking for everyone” on campus, but “it just may not be convenient.”

Stormann says there’s only been one parking lot completely filled this entire year.

Stormann also confirmed rumors about a possible parking garage being built on top of the current Collins Center for the Arts (CCA) parking lot, saying it will be built within the next couple of years.

According to Stormann’s Parking Services bylaws, any student can park in commuter and faculty lots — not resident lots — after 4 p.m. and until 6 a.m.

As for Housing Services, Morton says the ongoing issues with first-year students living in triple rooms is going to be resolved by Thanksgiving.

Currently, there are 22 rooms with three students assigned. A 30 percent discount has been applied to a double room rate, which has in turn left many students wanting to stay in triple rooms to reap the reduced cost of living.

According to Housing Services department site through umaine.edu, first-year students assigned to triples “will be reassigned to double rooms as space becomes available through cancellations, and based upon date of housing application.”

Legal services liaison Sen. Tanner Adams reported on his first meeting with undergraduate student legal aid Sean O’Mara.

“[O’Mara’s] job isn’t always about consulting legal matter after-the-fact … talking to him before can both educate and prevent further incidents,” Adams said. “You can come in and talk with [O’Mara] about general rules of law … he encourages it.”

Adams said O’Mara is currently working on lessening the fierceness involved with the current discipline process when students get in trouble. The present system involves a letter being sent home, as well as a couple other actions, and O’Mara says it “seems too aggressive right now.”

It’s morning. The roads are extremely slick after being coated by a blanket of snow and freezing rain overnight. Someone has gone off the road on I-95 halfway between Houlton and Presque Isle. It’s not good. Paramedics arrive with the jaws of life, hoping that the trauma isn’t too severe. After removing the unconscious driver from the wreckage, the paramedic grabs their Google Glass and activates a chat with a doctor at Eastern Maine Medical Center, several hours away.

The doctor can now see the injuries firsthand and tells the paramedic exactly what to do to limit any potential complications while they make the long journey south to Bangor. It’s hypothetical situations such as these that have prompted Dr. Rafael Grossmann, a trauma surgeon at EMMC, to become a Glass explorer.

“Eastern Maine Medical Center, at any one time with one surgeon on call, covers an area larger than Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont put together,” Grossmann said. “It’s difficult to reach out to all these places, that’s why we use tele-medicine.”

Grossmann spoke on Wednesday, Oct. 2, at the Foster Center for Student Innovation on his experience using Google Glass to further his research in tele-medicine. Grossmann is one of 6,000 people nationwide that have been selected by Google to trial a pre-production version of Google Glass and provide feedback to the company on what Google Glass could be used for.

Google glass is like something straight out of Star Trek. It consists of a wrap around heads-up display that is worn like a pair of sunglasses. On the right side of the frame there is an arm that extends out in front of the frame with a small screen that simulates a 27-inch screen six feet away. It is basically a head-mounted computer with the ability to surf the internet, take pictures and video, and web chat among other things. It can connect to local wi-fi networks or tether to a bluetooth device or smartphone and feed off that device’s 3G or 4G network.

In February, 2013, Google created the Glass explorer program to allow professional consumers to trial Google Glass and provide feedback as to what the new technology could be used for in the professional world. Participants signed up by posting a 50-word message on Twitter with the hashtag “ifihadglass,” detailing what they would do with the product.

For his work with tele-medicine, Grossmann was given a pair and has grown to love the technology immensely.

“As soon as I saw Google Glass, I had a wild moment [and thought about] how this device can help treat patients in better ways,” Grossmann said. “I wrote my vision and my thought of how Glass would be a great tool for healthcare. I was lucky enough to get [Google Glass].”

Due to the wide area of Maine that EMMC serves, it is important for trauma patients that aren’t close to Bangor to have good on site attention so that their chances of living and making it to the hospital are improved. With Google Glass, Grossmann sees an opportunity to assist patients by treating them via video conference.

“[Patients] that can’t be treated at a local hospital need specialized care, so we used to use a phone to get a picture of the trauma.” Grossmann said. “The longer the travel time between the time of trauma and the time of decisive care, the higher the mortality. You need to extradite care in some way and tele-medicine is a way.”

The idea is that whoever is treating the patient can activate a video conference with their Google Glass and connect to whatever specialist would be best suited to assist the patient. The specialist would then be able to see everything that the physician is seeing, allowing the specialist to guide the physician step-by-step through the treatment process without actually having to be there.

On June 20, Grossmann put Google Glass to the test in the operating room for the first time. Grossmann was able to insert a feeding tube while wearing Google Glass and streaming the whole procedure from his perspective to an ipad in the other room. According to Grossmann, it was a simple experiment and a simple procedure, but it shows that Google Glass can be used by surgeons in the OR.

David Grant, a sophomore political science major and Glass explorer was also on hand at the event. After finding out about the Google Glass program David tweeted #ifihadglass with the idea of “revolutionizing the college tour experience.” To help with Grant’s idea, UMaine’s division of marketing and communications helped cover the $1,500 purchase price as well as back his efforts.

“This year I’m marketing the University through the mission of the division of marketing and communications,” Grant said. “We’re using tumblr to upload images taken by not only me, but Team Maine members who live the UMaine life … I’ve been taking photos when I’m playing intramural soccer or walking down the street.

“You can give someone a tour without them even being there,” Grant said.

As a member of the Glass explorers community, Grant posts feedback and ideas for possible updates on his google account along with other explorers. This allows him to contribute to the pool of ideas among the explorers as well as access to Google’s tech support program that posts new apps and updates that come down the pipeline. Grant is very optimistic about the possibilities of Google Glass.

“Some of the ideas [Grossmann] had hadn’t even crossed my mind. The sky’s the limit with these things,” Grant said.

Every bar has it’s own unique character. When the typical “of age” student thinks of where he/she wants to go that’s close by, the usual suspects are always right up there. The Roost offers that underground party atmosphere with it’s dull lighting and weekly live music. On a busy night, there is not a more tightly packed place in Orono.

Bear Brew on the other hand is more of the hangout for those seeking a club-like atmosphere. The upstairs dance floor is always playing the latest dance music and the lights capture that club feel, albeit on a much smaller scale than some of downtown Bangor’s hot spots. The downstairs and porch offer relief from the onslaught that is the dance floor.

Woodman’s offers a more sophisticated type of party. The live music is of a much more mellow and jazzy nature. The atmosphere is far more conducive to conversation with no crazy lighting. It also rarely gets crowded to the point of discomfort.

This last weekend I paid my first visit to Kingman’s in Old Town. Recently the bar has been trying to move more toward being a concert venue, resulting in changes such as a 9 p.m. opening time. This already puts it on the backfoot compared to the others which open at 4 p.m. In all honesty though, bars don’t reach their peak until after 10 p.m. anyway.

Perhaps my favorite thing about the place from an aesthetic point of view is the large mural that covers the left wall and the wall behind the stage. It’s an eye-catching and unique feature that gives the place an urban sort of feel. On the other hand, the pool tables were pretty old and sometimes the balls would get stuck in the table. A lack of pool sticks was also a slight annoyance, but at least it’s free.

I have yet to find a bar owner or manager that I don’t like, and Tim Taylor is no exception. He’s a chill dude that knows what he wants from his establishment. The fact that he also operates the rage bus is a huge plus as you can start at Kingman’s then rent the bus and continue your adventure somewhere else if the need arises.

The staff overall were a good bunch. The bartenders were very relaxed and conversational and the bouncer was more friendly than some that I have run into before. Tim is very involved with the bar and helped set the band up, even doing soundboard duties during the show.

Line of Force was a fantastic band. The upbeat tempo and grooves that were thrown in made it a joy to dance, sit, converse and drink. This is the type of sound and vibe that Tim is aiming for on a consistent basis, and it’s definitely a nice change from the cover bands that play at The Roost.

Then of course there is the Kingman’s Concert Series, which is aiming to get bigger and better acts over time. Aside from the concert series there are a number of other events that are held including open mic nights and post concert parties for Waterfront and Collins Center shows. The Electronic Resin Ball on Halloween night is something I’m looking forward to in particular.

Now for the brass tax: alcohol. The liquor selection is pretty decent and the barkeep knows some good mixes. My big gripe with the bar is that there aren’t any taps. Beer from the tap just tastes that extra bit better than it does from the bottle and it’s slightly disappointing that they don’t have that.

The beer selection itself is pretty good. If you want darker stuff there’s Guinness and for those looking for a strong lager Sam Adams is right there. I do wish there were more IPA’s but that’s just a personal preference, and after experiencing the rotating taps at Woodman’s I have become a bit more picky as of late.

These are minor complaints though, as Kingman’s isn’t trying to be a bar so much as a concert venue. On a personal note, I’ll probably hit downtown Orono more often because it doesn’t involve driving. However, if Kingman’s continues to get bigger and better acts they have the potential to become a major entertainment hub in the Orono/Old Town area.

Derrick Rossignol

Editor In Chief

My first musical love was U2, after watching the “U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle, Ireland” when I was in middle school. After a few uninformed years of literally listening exclusively to U2, I branched out and developed my tastes, today enjoying music that ranges from indie rock to 60’s Brazilian samba to Japanese ambient folk to alternative hip-hop and everywhere in between.

I strive to be an informed music consumer: I’ll give everything a chance for the sake of being knowledgeable about it, and expanding my comfort zone has led me to some of my favorite artists and songs.

Still, there are a few major genres that I haven’t really been able to enjoy. As far as country music goes, I can do pre-’80s country: Townes Van Zandt, John Denver and Jimmie Rodgers, to name a few I enjoy. But I can’t do today’s “pop country,” as I call it: I yearn for the days when country and folk were more closely related.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, metal, hardcore and similar genres have also eluded me. Until recently, the closest I have come to that area of music is stuff like punk group The Men and harder post-rock like This Will Destroy You and Red Sparowes.

I say “until recently” because, despite all the stigmas I’ve built against screamo and like genres, over the past couple months, it’s been starting to grow on me.

My roommate, with whom I’ve been living for four months or so, is really into the stuff: thinks bands like The Devil Wears Prada and Of Mice and Men. He’s not opposed to playing his music loudly on his speakers, and since I’m non-confrontational and don’t really care anyway, on it plays, with its increased tempos, fury of percussive activity, gravelly shouted vocals and general disregard for aural sensitivity.

Initially, I dismissed the music as noisy rubbish for emo kids with daddy issues — not that my roommate is that. It wasn’t until the other day when I was in the car with my roommate and a mutual friend of ours, whose musical tastes align with my roommate’s, that I started to gain an appreciation for the stuff.

A couple songs caught my ear, one of which I believe was by Of Mice and Men, although I can’t recall what it was called at the moment. Recently, I had been looking for something more high-energy: the new albums by Moby and Toro y Moi, as well as an older one by Sound Tribe Sector 9, had been in rotation the past few days. All three of those records are pretty downtempo and easy to vibe out too, but I had been “vibing” for too long and was vibing myself to sleep. Little did I know that the 5-Hour Energy my ears needed had been right under my nose this whole time.

It was when I realized that hardcore genres are essentially more intense rock music that I began to understand their appeal. Once you get past the social “Oh, come on, man: that noisy crap?” that comes with hardcore music, what you’re left with is something a little off the beaten path, and justifiably so.

Hardcore music offends the sensibilities of the casual rock listener because it is a lot to take in at once and takes a while to get used to. The onslaught of instrumental activity is like watching a colony of ants: they may appear to be chaotic, but they’re surprisingly organized while calculatedly working toward a clear goal. It takes getting past the initial illusion of disorder to understand that.

I challenged my roommate to give me an album that would get me into hardcore music. That job may be easier than he thinks: my ears are already opened and I’m ready to fill them with whatever joyful noise he wants to throw my way.

Stephen Lemont

For The Maine Campus

Amidst the recent explosion of the electronic dance music scene, there have been a number of disk jockeys who rely on guest appearances by vocalists to create radio-friendly dance anthems. Chicago-based music group Krewella takes a slightly different approach.

Krewella blends multiple styles and subgenres with EDM to create radio- and club-friendly pop and dance music. Consisting of sisters Jahan and Yasmine Yousef, as well as Kris “Rain Man” Trindl, the group has been active in the EDM scene since 2007. Their style is heavily reliant on catchy hooks and melodies. Jahan and Yasmine share vocal duties, while Rain Man takes the helm of laying down the beats. It is a unique mix of pop, electronica, house, dubstep, and drum and bass.

The group rose to prominence on the heels of their “Play Hard” EP, released in June of 2012. The single, “Alive,” garnered a lot of attention and the EP itself made its way to the top of Billboard’s Dance Radio Airplay chart. The success of the initial EP saw Krewella release a follow-up EP in December of 2012. “Play Harder” contained a new track, “Come and Get It,” as well as multiple remixes of two songs from the “Play Hard” EP.

While releasing the two EPs helped to bring their music to larger audiences, the group was also aided by frequenting the music festival circuit, particularly among festivals grounded in electronic dance music such as Ultra Music Festival and Electric Daisy Carnival.

On their debut major label release, Krewella includes three tracks from their previous EPs. “Alive,” “Killin’ It” and “Come and Get It” may not be new to old fans of the group, but the strength of each song makes it difficult to argue against their inclusion here.

While Krewella does a fine job of crafting songs on their own, there are a couple of guest contributions on two tracks. Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy and Travis Barker of Blink-182 fame guest on “Dancing With the Devil.” The song is one of the heavier tracks on the album and would appeal to fans of Skrillex and dubstep in general.

Pegboard Nerds also guest on the final track of the album, “This Is Not the End.” None of the guest spots overshadow the group, however, and every track has a definitive sound that lends itself only to the Krewella namesake.

The most impressive of the new tracks on the album is “Live For the Night.” Opening the album, it quickly sets the tone for the record. The song is a party and club anthem, focusing lyrically on living in the moment and taking the night by storm. Expressing the sentiments of many young adults, the lyrics sarcastically reference there being no need to sleep, because you can “sleep when [you are] dead.”

Most of the songs featured on “Get Wet” carry similar sentiments. The music expresses ideas and notions of being young, wild and carefree. The group clearly knows the audience they are playing to, and they seem happy to humor them. The songs carry enough of a melody to remain radio-friendly, while at the same time incorporating aspects of EDM that maintain an edge.

As a whole, the album flows well. As they state in the opening track, they “live for the night,” and their music reflects that. Each song melds into the next perfectly and the record is a great soundtrack for a night out on the town.

Often, electronic music artists are passed off for creating music that can’t be reproduced live by “real” instruments. With the rise and revival of the electronic music scene, it would seem as though it is time for those preconceived notions to be a thing of the past. The production is fantastic and credit should be given where credit is due. Krewella has successfully created pop music that dives into multiple styles of electronic dance music and does so impressively.

“Get Wet” is a strong major label debut from Krewella and should solidify itself as a go-to weekend soundtrack for months to come.

Grade: A-

Derrick Rossignol

Editor in Chief

Bob Marley, “

Derrick Rossignol

Maine’s king of comedy,” made his way up to the Collins Center for the Arts on Friday for his annual visit to campus, once again performing to an excited crowd.

The Bangor-born comic has appeared on various late night television programs and even holds the world record for longest continuous standup comedy routine. He opened his set by saying how tired he is of all the “nice weather talk” he’s been hearing and the outdoor activities is inspires.

“My wife’s like, ‘Do you want to go apple picking today?’ ‘I do, but first I want to go out and slam my head in the car door,’” Marley said. “What am I, an immigrated worker? I’m not risking my life and limb for a Macintosh. I could go to Shaw’s and get one for $1.99, a whole bag. They’ll give them to me [and] I got a cart and everything, nice and safe.

“The funniest thing is the apple orchard has a sign that says ‘We’re open 9 to 5.’ Really? You’re gonna move the trees inside, bub? You’re open all night, really, you dink,” he continued.

Marley also spoke on how strange he thinks old people are, saying that they “love illness” and talking about it.

“‘Oh God, did you hear about Phyllis?’ ‘No, what’s the matter with her?’ ‘Hospital. They put a stint in her vagina. I guess they had a hard time getting it in, I don’t know. Needed to get a running start or something,’” he said, mocking a conversation between he and his mother.

According to Marley, “the only thing they love better than illness is death.” He also talked about their difficulties in explaining how distant relatives are related to him.

“‘You know Donald, right? Aunt Theresa’s cousin Margaret has a sister, Beverly, and her grandmother Delores had a brother, Carl, and he had a brother […] He knew Donald. They were in the Air Force Rangers together,’” Marley said.

Marley, a known Boston sports fan, talked about the Boston Bruins starting their season recently and the environment inside the TD Garden, the venue where the team plays their home games.

“I don’t know if you’ve ever been to the last row of the Garden, but that is [sung] ‘a whole new world,’” Marley said. “Rows 0 to 15, the guys in alligator sweaters [are] talking about traveling back down to the cape. ‘I hope it’s not back from Ducksbury.’ Rows 15 to 40, it’s all middle class people with their kids: ‘You’re going to get a souvenir tonight, Jimmy. Aha! We’re making memories, that’s what we’re doing.’

“By the time I get with my kids to the last row of the Garden, it was like the bar in ‘Star Wars,’” Marley said, mimicking the music from that scene of the movie. “There are guys peeing on each other, somebody having a baby. Bill Buckner’s sitting with us; you know, s—– seats.”

Although he likes the restaurant, Marley said the only thing he doesn’t like about Dunkin Donuts are the constant additions to their menu.

“I am not going to have dinner with you, Dunkin,” Marley said. “You’re doing a great job, but shut it down at noon.

“They’re relentless about those items […] ‘Fresh frittata, Coolatta, Dunkin Hunkin Bunkin Tater Tot,’” Marley said, mimicking a drive-thru worker.

“‘I want you to take the s— from the pot, Dunkin. Put it in the cup, you silly bastard,’”

Opening for Marley was Krazy Jake, the comedian who performed before Marley at last year’s CCA performance and is currently filming a reality show for Animal Planet.

Christopher Burns

For The Maine Campus

On Friday night, the Lord Hall gallery space ushered in its latest exhibition with highlights from the Department of Art faculty. Opening amid the high profile dedication of the new Wyeth Family Studio Art Center on Sept. 29, the fall exhibition at the University of Maine Museum of Art on Oct. 3, plus the well-received MFA art show, “Without Borders Fest X,” closed on Sept. 27, provided much competition.

The opening reception on Oct. 4 proved inconspicuous, yet received a warm reception from those in attendance. This fall’s faculty exhibition features the work of professors Alan Stubbs, Andy Mauery, Ed Nadeau, Kerstin Engman, Michael Lewis, Nina Jerome Sutcliffe, Owen Smith and Wayne Hall.

The work featured represented a diverse spectrum from oil painting to sculpture, from mixed media to photography and craft. However, the highlights of the show consisted primarily in the oil painting medium, although many of the artists used novel approaches in both form and materials – in particular, Engman’s use of roofing felt as a canvas.

The diminutive crowd at the opening afforded Friday’s guests an intimate atmosphere, complementing the night’s themes of nature, identity and home.

Of particular emphasis at the faculty exhibition was an expression of Maine. All but a select few works took Maine as their theme, exploring the vast aesthetic country of the Pine Tree State. While the faculty of the art department came from across the country, their sensibilities have rooted firmly into the rural, natural rhythms of the state.

Many of the works evoked a mythos of place. Nadeau’s oil paintings of river bridges and rural routes revealed a well-directed attention to detail and bought an almost photo-realism to the canvas. In these quotidian scenes, he captured a sense of the comic and dramatic in rural life. The approach of an impending storm created tension as the cars on the bridge awaited inundation.

Engman’s produced some of the most impressive work from the clearly talented faculty. Her oil paintings, which dominated the center wall, demonstrated near-surgical precision with every brushstroke. Each stroke was short and controlled, allowing Engman to reveal the subtle gradation and change in color, with emphasis on the relation between light and darkness in nature. Overall, her palette tended towards the darker colors of fall. For instance, “Bramble Series – Violet with Orange” used a reduced palette with an impressive use of line. In contrast to her stunning, visually intoxicating nature paintings, were more intimate scenes. In “My Mother, My Daughter,” viewers look in on this domestic scene where two generations sit together, the grandmother smiling affectionately and the granddaughter looking toward her, her face slightly obscured.

Moving away from these scenes from the hinterland, Sutcliffe explored the Down East coast. Her work demonstrated an environmental imagination and consciousness in these paintings lovingly referred to as “Homage to the Ocean.” Within these painting were embedded texts from Elizabeth Kolbert’s research on ocean acidification and Henry David Thoreau’s musing on the tidal zone.

The other artists explored themes of Maine in quite a different way. Hall, a sculptor and wood-worker, presented several works of artisan furniture — a bench, ottoman and chair, among others. What proved of immense interest with both Hall’s and Smith’s work was it spurred a questioning of the traditional ontology of art. Hall’s use of craft and technical art, and Smith’s acquisition of Van Gogh reproductions seem to ask what is a work of art and what ought to be considered a work of art? Is the Van Gogh reproduction any less of a work of art than the original?

In a continuing engagement with hair, Mauery brought another series of works with hair as a medium to Lord Hall. This latest set of sculptures used common hair treatment products to maintain them in a rigid posture, with threads weaved through them creating pictograms of animals. In many ways her continued experiments with hair engaged with the greater notion of identity. For many, hair is a sign that shows spiritual, ethnic and social beliefs. To wear it long, short, or not at all, becomes an expression of personal identity.

The work on display showed the level of technical proficiency and eye for subject matter possessed by the art faculty. With new studio space on campus, it will no doubt be conducive to reinforcing this level of quality among the students who are safely in their hands.

The faculty exhibition runs from Oct. 4 to Nov. 15.