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UMSG holds final meeting of semester and discusses leadership transitions

The University of Maine Student Government (UMSG) held its 13th and final meeting of the semester on April 29, led by President Keegan Tripp and Vice President Memphis Peterson. The last meeting of the 2024-2025 school year was marked by preparations for the remaining days of the school year. Throughout the meeting, many graduating executives and senators said bittersweet goodbyes to the Senate and shared reflections on their time as members of the organization. 

Club Maintenance and Guest Speaker

The Waste Minimizers Club, now with 120 members and several events under its belt, was unanimously approved for final recognition by the Senate. 

This meeting featured two guest speakers, UMaine Vice President of Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer Kelly Sparks and Counseling Center director Angela Fileccia. Sparks is departing the university in mid-June to become Vice Chancellor at the University of California Berkeley. She discussed the university’s ongoing efforts to balance the system budget amid continued uncertainty regarding the off-and-on nature of federal funding for university programs and the graduate school under the Trump Administration. 

Fileccia, who shared that she has been working hard to dispel myths and misconceptions about the counseling center (including reaffirming the fact that the counseling center is free for both undergraduate and graduate students), encouraged the continued use of their programs by the UMaine student body.

Executive and Periodic Reports

President Tripp, who is returning as president next year, called this most recent session the most productive he had seen during his time at UMaine, and wished luck to all graduating seniors departing UMSG.

Vice President of Financial Affairs Oliver Bois reported that UMSG will begin the next academic year with roughly $244,000 in their budget, including rollover from this academic year.

Representative Board Reports

Representative Palace Appiah issued one final reminder to assist with the annual Maine Day Meal Packout hosted yearly by the Honors College, which was held in the Field House from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on April 30. 

Representative Zachary Wentworth of the Senior Class Council encouraged graduating fourth-year students to attend the events being held by the Class of 2025 Council and the Hearty Maine Farewell.

Other representative board officers, including Representative Jon Guzman of the Student Heritage Alliance Council, Representative Danny Tanaka of the Student Athletic Advisory Council, Representative Dylan Demerchant of the Commuter and Non-Traditional Students Board and Representative Kaidar Donenbayev of the International Students Association discussed leadership transitions within their respective organizations.

Representative Kass Belaya of Wilde-Stein reminded members of the Lavender Graduation being held on May 3rd in the Coe Room, and stated that students who cannot attend yet wish to receive a rainbow graduation cord should contact him.

New Business and Special Orders

There were eight resolutions brought to the floor at this meeting by Senator Nate Feng of the Policy and Procedure Committee. All of them were procedural, and seven of them were chiefly internal in purpose. Three passed to reestablish the Senate’s special committees, which expire at the end of the year and must be reapproved until they cease to exist, or are organized into permanent committees. These committees are the Mental Health, Food and Dining Affairs and the Undergraduate Student Symposium committees. Tripp expressed his hope that some of these committees would become permanent standing committees in the future. 

The remaining resolutions allocated funds to the Maine Outing Club for storage of gear, modernized internal evaluations of executives to reflect standard practice, standardized UMSG governing documents surrounding the language applying to its executive team, amended the timeline for the Leadership Scholarship award and allowed UMSG to automatically return unused allocated funds back into its budget.

During Special Orders and Announcements, Peterson shared his last words in the role, expressing his pride in the Senate’s hard work during his years with the organization and his gratitude for the respect he was treated with by other members of UMSG.

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UMSG holds final meeting of semester and discusses leadership transitions

The University of Maine Student Government (UMSG) held its 13th and final meeting of the semester on April 29, led by President Keegan Tripp and Vice President Memphis Peterson. The last meeting of the 2024-2025 school year was marked by preparations for the remaining days of the school year. Throughout the meeting, many graduating executives and senators said bittersweet goodbyes to the Senate and shared reflections on their time as members of the organization. 

Club Maintenance and Guest Speaker

The Waste Minimizers Club, now with 120 members and several events under its belt, was unanimously approved for final recognition by the Senate. 

This meeting featured two guest speakers, UMaine Vice President of Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer Kelly Sparks and Counseling Center director Angela Fileccia. Sparks is departing the university in mid-June to become Vice Chancellor at the University of California Berkeley. She discussed the university’s ongoing efforts to balance the system budget amid continued uncertainty regarding the off-and-on nature of federal funding for university programs and the graduate school under the Trump Administration. 

Fileccia, who shared that she has been working hard to dispel myths and misconceptions about the counseling center (including reaffirming the fact that the counseling center is free for both undergraduate and graduate students), encouraged the continued use of their programs by the UMaine student body.

Executive and Periodic Reports

President Tripp, who is returning as president next year, called this most recent session the most productive he had seen during his time at UMaine, and wished luck to all graduating seniors departing UMSG.

Vice President of Financial Affairs Oliver Bois reported that UMSG will begin the next academic year with roughly $244,000 in their budget, including rollover from this academic year.

Representative Board Reports

Representative Palace Appiah issued one final reminder to assist with the annual Maine Day Meal Packout hosted yearly by the Honors College, which was held in the Field House from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on April 30. 

Representative Zachary Wentworth of the Senior Class Council encouraged graduating fourth-year students to attend the events being held by the Class of 2025 Council and the Hearty Maine Farewell.

Other representative board officers, including Representative Jon Guzman of the Student Heritage Alliance Council, Representative Danny Tanaka of the Student Athletic Advisory Council, Representative Dylan Demerchant of the Commuter and Non-Traditional Students Board and Representative Kaidar Donenbayev of the International Students Association discussed leadership transitions within their respective organizations.

Representative Kass Belaya of Wilde-Stein reminded members of the Lavender Graduation being held on May 3rd in the Coe Room, and stated that students who cannot attend yet wish to receive a rainbow graduation cord should contact him.

New Business and Special Orders

There were eight resolutions brought to the floor at this meeting by Senator Nate Feng of the Policy and Procedure Committee. All of them were procedural, and seven of them were chiefly internal in purpose. Three passed to reestablish the Senate’s special committees, which expire at the end of the year and must be reapproved until they cease to exist, or are organized into permanent committees. These committees are the Mental Health, Food and Dining Affairs and the Undergraduate Student Symposium committees. Tripp expressed his hope that some of these committees would become permanent standing committees in the future. 

The remaining resolutions allocated funds to the Maine Outing Club for storage of gear, modernized internal evaluations of executives to reflect standard practice, standardized UMSG governing documents surrounding the language applying to its executive team, amended the timeline for the Leadership Scholarship award and allowed UMSG to automatically return unused allocated funds back into its budget.

During Special Orders and Announcements, Peterson shared his last words in the role, expressing his pride in the Senate’s hard work during his years with the organization and his gratitude for the respect he was treated with by other members of UMSG.

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UMSG passes SAF raise to be voted on by undergraduate student body

The University of Maine Student Government (UMSG) held its fifth meeting of the semester on Feb. 18, led by Student Body President Keegan Tripp and Vice President Memphis Peterson. 

General Good and Welfare

Several students from a chemical engineering society discussed being able to attend a national conference with several industry-leading corporations, having been funded by UMSG the prior semester. They expressed that the conference was constructive, allowing them to network with companies that provide opportunities that are outside of their usual purview here in Orono.

UMaine Renaissance presented on their winter tour across New England with UMSG’s support spreading support for post-secondary musical pursuits as well as promoting UMaine in other states. 

Executive and Periodic Reports

President Tripp began his report by announcing that WMEB was on board with the finalized referendum resolution, and that he would be working with Station Manager Ryan Kennedy to see how he and the WMEB staff could use their positions to promote the SAF raise. Tripp held a meeting with President and CEO of the Alumni Association Tom Peaco, discussing his proposal to hold the UMSG inauguration in the Buchanan Alumni Hall instead of the usual meeting chambers. He also hopes to soon introduce the syllabus bank project anchored by Senator Jordan Thompson to the Faculty Senate in the near future. 

The reports of Peterson, Amanda Levesque and Oliver Bois largely revolved around the new club storage program, which was instituted earlier in the semester and allows clubs and student organizations to rent a locker of their own. 

Vice President of Student Entertainment Dillon Leeman intends to table in the Memorial Union within the coming weeks to promote and answer questions about the upcoming Ricky Montgomery Show.

Vice President of Student Leadership Elizabeth Oldfield reported that the Winter Carnival will be held by the Center for Student Involvement in Fogler Library on Feb. 22. 

In his report, Senator Casper Cowan shared that the Graduate Student Senate was supporting efforts to place a graduate student as a voting member of the Board of Trustees. 

New Business

Senator Cynthia Shelmerdine, in her capacity as University of Maine Security Representative, introduced two resolutions that served as requests by UMSG to the University Administration to implement safety improvements. The first was a plan to reduce dark, unlit areas on campus based on a plan created by Shelmerdine’s Security Committee. Shelmerdine expressed that this was considered a high priority to improve student safety, and the Senate unanimously approved the bill.

The second was a funding request for speed humps, also proposed by Senator Shelmerdine, with the intention of improving pedestrian safety on Long Rd. While Senator Vassar Harvey expressed vocal opposition to the proposal, believing the humps to be an unnecessary burden to drivers, the Senate overwhelmingly approved the bill regardless.

Finally, UMSG passed a resolution that represented the culmination of several months’ work by President Tripp, setting in place a referendum that will codify a Student Activity Fee (SAF) raise of $22, bringing the overall total paid by students per year to $100. The plebiscite will be held simultaneously with elections for UMSG leadership in March. The initial proposal saw both WMEB and the Maine Campus receiving $1 out of each SAF; Tripp noted that the Maine Campus had ultimately decided to opt out of the plan, leaving WMEB as the only benefactors of the additional dollar that was allotted to them in the final bill.

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UMSG discusses campus safety concerns and SAF vote

On Feb. 11, the University of Maine Student Government (UMSG) held its fourth meeting of the semester. The meeting welcomed Interim Dean of Students Andrea Gifford as a guest speaker and addressed concerns about club sports facility access alongside continued conversation regarding changes to the Student Activity Fee (SAF). The meeting also covered updates on financial allocations and campus safety concerns.

General Good and Welfare

Thomas Gao, a third-year student and a captain of the UMaine club rugby team, appealed to UMSG on behalf of the club athletics teams. Gao expressed that there had been no effort from the Athletics Department to try and plow the shared athletic fields in the winter, thereby preventing the practice of club sports that continue to play past autumn. With the Mahaney Dome undergoing repairs, this makes it difficult for these teams to practice. Gao repeatedly described the current state of shared practice spaces between official Athletics teams and club teams as “inequitable,” and said that non-athletes (of whom there are four times as many compared to student athletes) deserved the rights to campus facilities. 

Guest Speaker

Interim Dean of Students Andrea Gifford addressed the Senate for the first time since taking over from former dean Robert Q. Dana, who retired last month. During her speech, Gifford described her background in the Student Life offices and expressed optimism about the role, describing her desire to use her position to build a connection with students and serve as their resource. Gifford also sympathized with the previous speaker on the state of club athletics, with Advisor to UMSG Lauri Sidelko echoing her concerns later in the meeting. 

Executive and Periodic Reports

During President Keegan Tripp’s report, he remarked on the success of the “Donuts with the Dean” town hall-style meeting and plans to host another one, perhaps bagel-themed, with Chief Business Officer Kelly Sparks in the near future. The President also said that he would soon be penning a letter in support of the “comfort canine” program that has been discussed recently at the university. 

Tripp, who was recently appointed to the Academic Program Review of the Strategic Re-Envisioning Initiative by UMaine president Joan Ferrini-Mundy, attended a follow-up meeting with Associate Provost Gabe Paquette and shared that he anticipates significant changes will occur to the academic program within the coming years. 

Finally, he relayed that the Winter Carnival being put on by the Center for Student Involvement on Feb. 22 is in search of volunteers to run casino games and that interested parties should contact his office. 

Vice President of Financial Affairs Oliver Bois reported that the starting unallocated budget stood at $54,759.77. 

Vice President of Student Entertainment Dillon Leeman announced that Ricky Montgomery had been released as the artist performing the spring concert, and that at least 130 students have already signed up on CampusGroups. 

Vice President for Student Leadership Elizabeth Oldfield said that she was working on an “elevator pitch” to help support the efforts to raise the SAF. 

Sidelko stated that UMaine would be continuing to comply with strengthened regulations and punishments for hazing that had been passed at the federal level. 

UMaine Security Representative Cynthia Shelmerdine, who has recently been announced as Tripp’s running mate in the upcoming presidential elections, was approached by a student claiming they had nearly been hit by a car. The student felt the response from campus security services was inadequate, and Shelmerdine expressed her intention to inquire further. 

UMSG welcomed Pallas Appiah, who is now serving as the new representative from the Honors College Student Activities Board. 

The Greek Life representatives announced that Greek Week will run this year from April 14 to 18.

Representative Board Reports

Kass Belaya, representative of Wilde Stein, said that in-person drag show auditions would be held on Feb. 20, concurrent with digital auditions.

New Business

Four resolutions were brought to a vote during New Business: one spearheaded by Vice President Memphis Peterson that updated executive job postings ahead of their upcoming postings, one that will place an updated and grammatically-revised edition of the constitution to a vote later in the year, another that tweaked the financial relationship between student organizations and UMSG, and finally a resolution that sought to improve the clarity of the Student Organizations Recognition Policies. All four were passed by the Senate.

Tripp then introduced a new aspect of his plan to raise the SAF, the final draft of which will soon be heading to the full Senate ahead of a student-wide vote. Under Tripp’s additional proposal, student radio station WMEB and the Maine Campus would receive $1 from each SAF collected; these organizations currently receive their funding from the Communications Fee. Tripp indicated that further discussion is in progress, with a final decision expected by the next meeting on Feb. 18.

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UMSG focuses on campus maintenance and financial reforms

On Feb. 4, the University of Maine Student Government (UMSG) held its third meeting of the semester, addressing senator inaugurations, club recognitions and new financial policies.

Senator Inaugurations

Three new senators, Brinly Seward, Skye Van Beek and Gray Vanderwood were inaugurated. They represent the Maine Business School, the College of Earth, Life, and Health Sciences and the College of Education and Human Development, respectively.

Club Maintenance

The Sustainable and Environmental Action Division, which brings together several environmentally-focused groups—including UMaine Greens, Green Team, Backcountry Squatters, the Permaculture and Gardening Club and the Horticulture Club—for organizational coordination, was formerly an active representative board with a presence in the Senate but had fallen inactive in recent years. They were preliminarily recognized by a unanimous vote. 

Senator Nate Feng presented on behalf of the Maineiaks, which describes itself as the student spirit group supporting the efforts of the Black Bear hockey teams. Feng noted that hockey fans will know the Maineiaks from their visible presence during hockey games, holding the “sieve” signs and cards directing fans to chant at their opponents during the introduction of their starting lineup. Their preliminary approval passed unanimously, with Feng recusing himself from the vote.

Discipline specific clubs, including the Society for Automotive Engineers, the Society for Microbiology and the American Marketing Association, all received unanimous final recognition. The UMaine branch of TRIOTA, an honor society for students in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, was also granted unanimous final recognition. 

Club Presentations

Black Bear Catholic attended the Fellowship of Catholic University Students conference in Washington, D.C. in early January and delivered a presentation on their trip to the nation’s capital and the spiritual connections that they made there. The Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI) shared their experience attending the TAPPI Student Summit, a prominent networking event within the industry. This conference was held from Jan. 17 to 20 in St. Petersburg, Florida. 

Executive and Periodic reports

Student Body President Keegan Tripp delivered the first report, sharing that he and Vice President Memphis Peterson attended a senior administrative meeting with University President Ferrini-Mundy, VP Sparks, Dean Gifford, the Graduate Student Government (GSG) President Laura Curioli and the GSG Vice President Nolan Merz. Among the issues they discussed were transparency in snow removal, and how to develop a UMaine response to the approach of the new administration in the White House. Tripp also hopes to establish a representative board dedicated to accessibility on campus, describing such an institution as being long overdue within the purview of UMSG. 

Vice President of Financial Affairs Oliver Bois reported that his efforts are now mostly focused on finishing the upcoming annual budget according to the financial timeline introduced at the previous meeting. The remaining unallocated funding stands at $56,203.22.

Vice President of Student Organizations Amanda Levesque announced that club storage is now live and that student organizations are able to apply online if they have already been approved for final recognition. Alongside Peterson, she has been developing job descriptions to post ahead of the executive hiring process that will take place later in the semester.

Vice President of Student Entertainment Dillon Leeman mentioned that the “Beat UNH” shirts have been printed and will be distributed to 500 students standing in line during the Friday men’s hockey game against the University of New Hampshire Wildcats on Feb. 14.

Fair Election Practices Committee Commissioner Zoe Stankevitz reported that applications to run for either president or vice president remain available in the UMSG offices and are due on Friday, Feb. 7.

Senator Casper Cowan shared that he had attended the latest meeting of GSG, where they are currently working on delivering grants to eligible students. Additionally, the GSG appointed Derek DeMillo as its liaison to UMSG. 

Cynthia Shelmerdine, the UMaine security representative, stated that campus security forces have been hoping to upgrade both the blue light boxes and the emergency alarm system, and are currently assessing options to improve these fixtures. Shelmerdine also reported that she had found 27 broken lights during a nighttime evaluation of campus and intends to have these broken lights cataloged and flagged within the Black Bear Safe app. 

Representative Board Reports

Representative Dylan DeMerchant stated that the Commuter and Non-Traditional Students Committee remains in search of members for their executive board, both for this semester and for future semesters.

According to the Interfraternity Council representative, Jonah Harper, several chapters are continuing to host rush events, while others are working on collecting their semesterly dues. Campus sororities welcomed 29 new members this semester.

Representative Zachary Wentworth of the Senior Class Council reminded attendees that the Winter Gala, an event that aims to raise revenue for the Class of 2025 graduation ceremony, will be held on Friday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m. in the Buchanan Alumni House.

Representative Jon Guzman’s weekly Student Heritage Alliance Council report took on a somber tone, as he noted that the Caribbean and Latino Student Association had fallen defunct as a student organization due to a lack of interest.

New Business

The members of the Senate considered three motions during the section devoted to new business. The first and lengthiest was Tripp’s revamp of the UMSG financial policies, which sought to clarify the standing rules in order to streamline its allocation of the Student Activity Fee (SAF). Tripp referred to it as a “huge thing” and as part of a comprehensive plan to gradually modernize UMSG governing documents

Next to be considered was the Fiscal Responsibility Act, a relatively major reform to traditional UMSG practices that, if passed, would pass a hard cap limiting sports club allocations to 25% within the annual budget. Tripp noted that sports clubs were still able to ask for money but that they expressly could not be granted more than this amount during the annual budgeting process. 

The new bill also nixed the “pay-to-play” provisions of the financial rules, meaning that the only money that will be allocated during the annual budget will be tier funds, and any additional funds will instead have to be requested once everyone is able to request during the regular EBC process throughout the academic year. The main reason these caps were instituted, according to Tripp, was to help protect equity at a moment when UMSG is dealing with less money than had previously been collected from the SAF.

Each bill was overwhelmingly approved by the broader Senate and their passage means that they will now be in place for the upcoming budget meeting to be held later in the semester.

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UMSG elects committee officers and continues SAF debate

On Jan. 28, the University of Maine Student Government (UMSG) held its second meeting of the semester.

General Good and Welfare 

The meeting began with a rare invocation of the General Good and Welfare clause, which allows any community member to speak in front of the Senate for a five minute period. Former senator Meredyth Waters spoke on the issue of the Student Activity Fee (SAF) and a potential raise that has been proposed by President Keegan Tripp. While Tripp has presented a number of scenarios (including an $11 raise and a $22 raise, endorsing the latter), Waters strongly supported a more modest increase that would see the fee increased while still lessening the potential burden on students who are already paying a great deal in other costs, such as meal plans and tuition raises.

Senator Inaugurations

Four senators—Hazel Sparks, Zachary Szelog, Samuel Brown, and Ryan St. Lawrence—were inaugurated by Vice President Memphis Peterson. According to Vice President of Student Leadership Elizabeth Oldfield, no available seats remain from the roster allotted to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS). Any CLAS student hoping to join UMSG would have to be nominated as an at-large senator.

Executive and Periodic Reports 

Tripp met with UMaine Cheer to move towards a resolution of the financial roadblocks faced by Cheer that have prevented them from attending national competitions. Tripp also announced that the first town hall-style meeting will be held with the Dean on Feb. 5 in the Bangor Room. Donuts will be provided.

Tripp was invited by UMaine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy to join the SRE Academic Portfolio Implementation Group for recommendations on campus policy and development. Currently, many of Tripp’s efforts are focused on working towards finalizing a proposed plebiscite question on the debated raises to the SAF. According to the president, a tentative request for a raise must be submitted by the Feb. 18 meeting of UMSG. 

Peterson and Senator Casper Cowan also shared that they will meet with John Bear Mitchell, the Wabanaki Center outreach and student development coordinator at UMaine, on crafting a land acknowledgment unique to UMSG. Peterson will also be scheduling meetings with newly-elected committee chairs and board representatives upon the conclusion of the internal election process to share expectations and discuss the purview of their roles. 

Vice President of Financial Affairs Oliver Bois reported that the remaining unallocated funding, which can be disbursed to clubs and organizations upon approval by the Senate, stood at $56,203.23.

Vice President of Student Entertainment Dillon Leeman reported that roughly 1,700 tickets remain as part of UMSG’s collaboration with Black Bear Cinemas. Currently, there are no plans to extend the program once ticket supplies are exhausted. Otherwise, Leeman expressed confidence that the name of the UMSG Spring Concert artist will soon be released. 

Plans to develop a small band festival sponsored by UMSG have also been progressing. Finally, the Student Entertainment office has processed an order for 500 “Beat UNH” shirts that will be distributed to students in line at the Alfond Arena on Feb. 14, when UMaine men’s hockey competes against the University of New Hampshire Wildcats in the Border Battle.

Vice President of Student Organizations Amanda Levesque once again stated her intention to meet with clubs that are seeking recognition and continues to look forward to scheduling club visits with President Tripp. 

Fair Election Practices Committee Commissioner Zoe Stankevitz finalized details on the presidential and vice presidential election timelines, notably the pre-election debate and the inauguration ceremony. The nomination process has been announced by UMSG’s public channels, and Stankevitz is hoping to engage the student body through a public submission contest to create an “I Voted” sticker for the UMSG presidential race. 

Applications are due Feb. 7, with 200 signatures required for inclusion on the final ballot.

Representative Board Reports

The Greek Life representatives reported that this is the final week of the spring rush period and that all executives of Greek Life organizations will be meeting on Jan. 29. After the conclusion of this meeting, Greek Life will hold a broader joint meeting to discuss their goals for the upcoming semester.

Representative Zachary Wentworth of the Senior Class Council (SCC) announced the Class of 2025 Winter Gala, to be held in Buchanan Alumni Hall on Feb. 7. He reiterated that more precise details can be found on the SCC’s Instagram page.

Wilde Stein Representative Kass Belaya announced that virtual auditions for the annual drag show will be held from Feb. 17 to Feb. 28. In-person auditions will also be held within that timeframe, pending the identification of a suitable location.

Representative Kaidar Donenbayev reported that the International Student Association held a productive first meeting on Jan. 27, and has many more events planned, including more coffee hour programs and the International Dance Festival.

Senator Nomination and Election Process 

This meeting saw the completion of the nomination and election process. Each committee chief role being considered for election saw a second round of nominations to allow new senators (or those who previously did not run for the position) a chance to submit themselves for consideration. Upon the conclusion of the nomination period, each candidate gave a speech explaining their hopes for the role should they be chosen. The senators then proceeded to vote on a secret ballot.

The complete list of elected committee officers of UMSG is as follows:

  • Faculty Senate Student Representative: Senator Ezekiel Delorme 
  • Legal Representative: Senator Maggy Johnson 
  • Graduate Student Government Liason: Senator Casper Cowan 
  • Orono Town Council Liaison: Senator Darrin Martone 
  • Old Town City Council Liaison: Senator Darrin Martone 
  • Representative to Military and Veteran Affairs: Senator Cynthia Shelmerdine 
  • University of Maine Security Representative: Senator Cynthia Shelmerdine 
  • Center for Undergraduate Research Liaison: Senator Josh Bohm 
  • Membership: Senator Kayla Kearns 
  • Policy and Procedure: Senator Nate Feng 
  • Political Activism: Senator Jeremy Collamore
  • Services Committee: Senator Cynthia Shelmerdine 
  • Academic Affairs: Senator Jordan Thompson 
  • Student Mental Health Committee: Senator Casper Cowan 
  • Undergraduate Student Symposium Committee: Senator Matt Webber 
  • Food and Dining Affairs Committee: Senator Ryan St. Lawrence 
  • President Pro-Tempore: Senator Kyle Ricker 
  • Sergeant at Arms: Senator Taylor Stanford 
  • Student Organizations Committee: Senator Callum Velat, Senator Nate Feng, Senator Jordan Thompson, Senator Hazel Sparks
  • Executive Budget Committee: Senator Beau Michaud, Senator Josh Bohm, Senator Casper Cowan, Senator Matt Webber
  • Student Entertainment Committee: Senator Juliana Jolin 

New Business 

After the completion of the internal election process, Vice President Bois gave a five minute address on the ongoing financial timeline that outlined dates relevant to UMSG members and community stakeholders.

Tripp followed with a ten-minute discussion on raising the SAF. He sought to defend the recommendations he described in his publicly available SAF report, pointing out that Cheer may soon require an $8,000 check to attend a national competition, and that spring concerts put on by UMSG have seen flagging attendance in recent years due to a lack of appealing talent. Tripp stated that UMSG has an obligation to provide student events for free, as enshrined within its constitution, but that this is difficult without further financial support.

Senator Kyle Ricker then initiated public dialogue, backing the full increase proposed by Tripp for its use in funding club trips and activities. Some senators, however, expressed reservations about the proposal. Senator Beau Michaud questioned how Tripp would defend his plan to the public after the last increase had been passed a mere two years prior. Generally, senators seem broadly favorable towards sending the full increase to a vote. 

While the discussion period was truncated by a time limit set by the president, it will likely remain a contested point of debate over the next few meetings.

The next meeting of UMSG will be held on Feb. 4 at 6 p.m. in the Bangor Room of the Memorial Union. All meetings are also recorded and posted here.

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UMSG returns from winter break, providing updates on spring projects

On Jan. 21, the University of Maine Student Government (UMSG) held its first meeting of the semester. The meeting began with the swearing in of new and returning senators, as is custom at the start of a new semester. UMSG Vice President Memphis Peterson, who also serves through this role as president of the Senate, administered the oath of office. 

The Birding Club submitted a request for final approval as a student organization, having previously earned preliminary recognition from UMSG. Their officers reported several birdwatching outings during the past semester, and hope to host events during the upcoming semester after their final recognition. The club was recognized unanimously and without debate.

During the report of UMSG President Keegan Tripp, he noted that a report was finalized on the ongoing project in collaboration with the office of the Associate Provost to collect all course syllabi into a widely-accessible bank for students. They aim to have this “syllabus bank” project completed by the end of the year.

Additionally, he is in the process of collaborating with the Dean’s Office on holding town hall-style meetings, with the intention of improving transparency and access to the administration for students. Tripp also reported that he had been appointed to the Provost Committee by President of the University of Maine Joan Ferrini-Mundy. 

In his report, Peterson relayed that he has taken the executive evaluations filled out by each senator at the end of the last semester seriously and will be working towards mitigating concerns and complaints from the Senate. These include improvements in meeting efficiency, attempting to shorten the duration per meeting and promoting a stricter enforcement of the dress code. While Peterson had attempted to find a larger space in which UMSG could meet, he was unable to find a suitable replacement for this session.

As a general project for the entire semester, Peterson is hoping to sort through the Fogler Library Special Collections archives and potentially establish a small library specific to UMSG that would be held within their chambers in the Wade Center. He also noted that UMSG is taking suggestions for guest speakers in upcoming meetings. 

Finally, Peterson has continued working on the development of a new, UMSG-specific land acknowledgement to replace the current generic UMaine land acknowledgement read aloud at the start of each meeting.

On a general note, Executive Administrative Assistant Jeffrey Dyer is leaving in May, and UMSG will soon commence a hiring process for his successor. 

Oliver Bois, vice president of financial affairs, stated that he will arrive with a financial timeline upon the next meeting of UMSG, and that he hoped to get a financial model from Chief Business Officer Kelly Sparks. The remaining unallocated budget of UMSG stood at over $63,000, to use for the remainder of the year.

Amanda Levesque took office as Vice President of Student Organizations, replacing former incumbent Neil Rockey who departed for an internship in Washington, D.C. Levesque is hoping to begin working on club visits, contacting organizations and representative boards, and meeting with the relevant administrative staff.

Vice President of Student Entertainment Dillon Leeman reported that a contract has been drafted for the artist headlining the UMSG spring concert, the identity of whom cannot be reported until a contract is finalized. They are also beginning to plan for a local band festival to be held later in the semester. The Student Entertainment Committee is open to the public and meets Mondays 1 to 2 p.m. in the UMSG office.

Elizabeth Oldfield, the vice president of student leadership, mentioned her intention to check in on new and less-experienced senators during the new session. She is organizing an appearance from winners of the Student Leadership Scholarship at a meeting later in this semester, so that they can be formally provided with their certificate and financial award. Oldfield briefly discussed a proposal by Senator Nate Feng which may be implemented upon the expiry of the terms for incumbent senators. This proposal would see new senators (a “little”) associated with an experienced member of the Senate (a “big”), similar to the process in fraternities and sororities.

Representative for the Board of Trustees (BoT) Olivia Britton reported on developments at the latest monthly meeting of the BOT. She shared that the UMS BoT spent a substantial amount of time facing the contentious issue of its hypothetical divestment from Israel, which had been pressed extensively by Maine-based activist groups. Ultimately, the BoT opted not to move forward with an investigation into potential divestment, as they believed it was beyond their purview as a nonpartisan organization. 

The BoT discussed other relevant matters during their meeting, including a collective bargaining agreement, the acceptance of a private land donation in Old Town that was made to the University and the potential establishment of a baccalaureate program in criminal justice. 

Zoe Stankevitz, the chair of the Fair Election Practices Committee, announced that preparations for the next round of executive elections and their eventual inauguration are underway. Students interested in receiving a nominative petition should ask Dyer. 

Director of Communications Abbi Downer is developing plans to increase engagement with senators on social media. She will later be reporting on developments with the free movie ticket program in collaboration with Black Bear Cinemas and is currently working on the designs for a UMSG t-shirt passed out ahead of the men’s hockey game to be played against the University of New Hampshire Wildcats on February 14 to15.

Dylan DeMerchant, the representative for the Commuter and Nontraditional Students Committee, reported that the board has nearly finished their constitution and that they have a thorough schedule planned for the coming semester. They are still looking for volunteers to serve on their leadership team and help plan events. 

Levesque, who had previously served as representative of the Honors College Student Activities Board, explained that the board is trying to find both a meeting and a representative to the UMSG. They are still taking applications. Interested students should ask Levesque for information. 

The Panhellenic Council met on Jan. 22, for an emergency session to pass a new set of bylaws. The all-executive meeting for Greek life organizations will be held on Monday, Jan. 27.

Over winter break, Student Heritage Alliance Council (SHAC) President and UMSG Representative Jon Guzman had multiple meetings with Maine Business School, intending to solidify a schedule for major events planned ahead of this semester. He reported that SHAC is looking for new members to serve on their leadership team, as most of the current executive group is graduating in May, and that identifying successors will be a major goal of his time heading SHAC. 

DeMerchant, who also serves as representative of the International Students Association, reported that their first event back will be a pizza-centric meeting on Friday. He also noted that the International Dance Festival, which will be held on Feb. 22, currently has about 14 performances planned. 

The latter half of the meeting was dominated by nominations for each position in the UMSG ecosystem. Each elected position or committee must be reappointed at the start of each semester, which is done through nomination by an eligible peer (another senator). Nomination requirements vary by position, and a second round will be held at the next UMSG meeting. Each position was open for nomination, and each received a number of valid nominations. The full list of those who are elected by the Student Senate will be published in full upon the completion of the process. 

During special orders and announcements, Senator Joshua Bohm, the UMSG liaison with the Center for Undergraduate Research (CUGR), reported that CUGR is currently developing a rubric for this year’s symposium and that they are searching for a keynote speaker prior to Jan. 31. 

Tripp announced that a series of posts would soon go out to the general student body regarding the finalization of the club storage program, which was finally completed after an extensive process of development and documentation. 

Levesque shared the news that the Honors College’s Maine Day Meal Packout program had already almost hit the 50,000 meal fundraising milestone, well earlier than their progress this time last year.

Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on UMSG returns from winter break, providing updates on spring projects

The best albums of 2024

As the Music Director of WMEB 91.9, the college radio station of the University of Maine, I am tasked with listening to five or so albums each week. The albums that I and our other Music Director collect are then sent to our DJs for their listening pleasure and use on their shows. We work with our other staff members to share our selected picks with a broader audience through weekly postings on our Instagram page (@wmeb919).

This year, I ended up listening to around 250 albums in total. Below, I share my thoughts about my top six records and others that I thought were among the finest.

Geordie Greep – The New Sound

Black Midi was supposed to be one of the greats. Its bizarre meld of complex prog riffs with intense punk energy, art-school sensibilities and a vaudevillian flair represented the closest that a truly avant-garde project came to being an indie staple in recent years. The most intriguing part of Black Midi was always its vocalist and frontman, Geordie Greep. Greep, a small-framed, well-coiffed, impeccably-dressed young man with an impossible-to-place accent, cuts the sort of unorthodox profile you may expect from a minor character in a Wes Anderson film. His bizarro narratives and indescribable vocal style were often what kept Black Midi apart from the other talky art-punk bands that came out of Brixton’s Windmill club and the Speedy Wunderground label, and separate from most other prog bands that often prioritize instrumental noodling over good songwriting. 

Greep lived up to his reputation as an eccentric this past August, when he unceremoniously announced the indefinite dissolution of Black Midi on an Instagram livestream after over a year of speculation. The reasons for their disbandment are multi-faceted and I don’t feel the need to get into them, but it is clear that the band probably isn’t coming back soon, if ever. Like any good rock band, after their acrimonious split, the members all embarked on their own competing solo endeavors, with Greep shortly thereafter kicking off the press tour for his first solo record, “The New Sound.”

Of the immediate differences between Black Midi and Greep’s solo work, one is that Greep’s is considerably more focused in its purpose. Black Midi’s albums contained so many ideas, each delivered with the same skittish manic energy, that they often made for an overwhelming listening experience. “The New Sound,” however, is pointedly obsessed with its central concept: the roots of impotence and male insecurity. “Blues,” the manic introduction that picks up where Black Midi had left off with its straightforward prog, sets the tone for the whole affair with its bitterly insecure lyrics, describing an exaggeratedly virile man and his overcompensated vanity with a sneering resentment. “Holy, Holy,” the lead single and an innovative blend of aggressively angular guitars with relentless mambo rhythms, features Greep’s character perpetrating a desperate charade to convince other patrons of the establishment he frequents that he’s a conqueror of women, some kind of captivatingly-charming Lothario. One particular line of “Holy, Holy” proved so contentious that it briefly became a cause célèbre in certain corners of X shortly after its release (as members accused Greep of glorifying misogyny), but make no mistake: there are no heroes to be found here, only pitiful shells of men.

Male sexual frustration is a clear throughline across “The New Sound:” during the disquieting serenity of “As If Waltz,” Greep’s character describes an ephemeral imagined romance with a prostitute and lists all the pleasant activities they could do together, “as if” she were not in a brothel. But the protagonist of this song is not purehearted in his intent. He seems to covet the anticipated transgression of such a relationship much more than the personal intimacy that it would bring, and his fantasies vanish when he’s done using her. Greep’s assessment of desire is decidedly unromantic, and it’s never clear whether his characters are motivated more by their loneliness or their perversion. Greep’s revulsion of these thoroughly emasculated men makes an introspective turn inevitable. “The Magician,” the record’s twelve-minute climax, turns the floodlights towards Greep himself with more tender emotional understanding than displayed anywhere else throughout his discography. It’s this depth, and Greep’s ability to make sympathetic portraits of the wastrels who populate his stories, that elevates “The New Sound” beyond cheap gross-out satire. 

Besides Greep’s unmatched narrative abilities, “The New Sound” is an album with no shortage of beautiful instrumental passages either, as Greep knows when to let the music speak for itself. The title track, for instance, is a fully-instrumental samba-jazz piece faithful to the conventions of the genre. In addition, perhaps because of the tighter thematic core and Greep’s singular vision, the proggier moments feel more purposeful than most of what Black Midi produced. “Motorbike,” for example, flits between graceful moments sung by HMLTD’s Seth Evans to extended of unyielding maximalist excess as seamlessly as imaginable. Some of the best moments come when Greep embraces his other influences, like on “Bongo Season’s” easygoing imitation of “Remain in Light,” or on finale “If You Are But a Dream,” a straightforward standard number delivered without a hint of the satire and judgement that pervades the rest of the album. The earnesty with which these songs are performed provides “The New Sound” with a healthy counterweight to Greep’s colorful cynicism. 

The compelling musicianship and rich storytelling displayed throughout “The New Sound” render it an easy contender for the most impressive album of 2024 and an exciting start to the career of Geordie Greep. 

Father John Misty – Mahashmashana

If there’s a poet laureate of millennial angst and 21st-century ironic detachment, it would be Father John Misty. The pseudonym of Los Angeles singer-songwriter Josh Tillman has become a byword for an outlook denoted by a particular sardonic cynicism of the Recession era, usually eliciting eyerolls from those who do not share it. While Tillman’s albums are among the most engaging of the past decade, his aloof public demeanor and dull attempts in poking fun at modern society have kept him from receiving many of the accolades he deserves. 

The cultural zeitgeist has certainly shifted since Tillman began his career with Fleet Foxes in the late 2000s. Righteous millennial indignation about the state of the world gave way to corrosive, hopeless apathy after the first Trump term and the pandemic wrecked millions of lives and wrapped all of us deeper inside our own heads. Tillman’s self-deprecatory, fourth-wall-breaking lyrical tendencies would still be amusing if he kept at them, but would eventually come off as somewhere between annoyingly quaint and gratingly selfish in a world where artistic expression is so dearly threatened. On “Mahashmashana,” Tillman proves once and for all that he’s up to the task. He sings about life and death, faith and its abandonment and the pointlessness of optimism, all with the renewed urgency of an artist finally comfortable with himself and increasingly uncomfortable with where our world has gone.

The artists who we remember most fondly as visionaries are those who had the ambition to break free and build beyond whatever brief cultural moment they spawned from. For years, I’ve argued for Tillman’s inclusion in this hall of great songwriters to anyone who would listen. His evolution on “Mahashmashana” will thus be a valuable tool in my ongoing campaign, as Tillman covers more diverse musical ground over the course of this fifty-minute album than he had in his entire career leading up to it. On rollicking rocker “She Cleans Up,” a breathless Tillman gets unexpected compositional help from the Swedish punk blues band Viagra Boys, while “I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All” is an eight-minute cut of pure funk with an extended horn solo. Indie folk this is not. “Screamland,” a track unlike any other he’s ever written, utilizes the kind of impossibly vast arena-pop-adjacent soundscape that Tillman himself would have surely mocked a decade ago.

Most impressive of all is his newfound dedication to sincerity, which he previously struggled to express if he wasn’t also making fun of it. While Tillman claims in the limited press releases surrounding this record that he sought to completely remove traces of himself in his songwriting, this record hints more at his personal perspective than any song he had released before. Gone are the self-satisfied one liners and reductive assessments of pop culture, replaced by a deeper understanding of the world and his role in it. It’s ironic that “Mahashmashana” means ‘great cremation ground’ in Sanskrit, for when those words exit Tillman’s lips and crest over the titanic orchestral wave, it sounds like an artist reborn. 

Magdalena Bay – Imaginal Disk

It’s damn hard to do a good concept album, as anyone who’s ever tried to sit through a prog record could tell you. Not only must an artist deliver a thematically-complete musical product that adequately addresses their concerns without being too impenetrable or obvious, but in a world where music has become as much about capturing a cultural moment as the songs themselves (see: ‘Brat Summer’), their dedication to the theme must also be evident from their promotional materials and general aesthetic. We remember Ziggy Stardust, and we remember the Thin White Duke, but do we remember Halloween Jack, David Bowie’s persona during the “Diamond Dogs” era? No, because the entire B-side of the record is tacky shlock and Bowie abandoned the persona almost immediately. Something about the digital age especially—maybe its newness, maybe its omnipresence—has proven difficult to critique without coming across as sophomoric. 

Thankfully, Magdalena Bay (a duo consisting of Mica Tenenbaum and Matt Levin) understood the challenges they faced when set out to tackle the consequences of digitally-induced depersonalization on their album “Imaginal Disk.” Whatever science fiction world building or social commentary Magdalena Bay are attempting, their lyrics are grounded in honest concerns applicable to a wide range of topics relevant beyond the art itself. Instead of singing narratives about what the characters contained within the songs are doing, the folly of many conceptual album narratives, they focus primarily on how the characters are feeling. In doing so, they ensure their songs’ timeless universality.

The world created by Magdalena Bay is fittingly post modern in its approach to genre: “Watching T.V.,” a more conventional indie rock song is gradually taken over by crunched synthesizers and chopped, stuttering vocal effects, while playlist favorite “Image” has a distinct disco inflection. Moreover, there’s rarely a dull moment in the songwriting itself. Nervy “Tunnel Vision” threatens to get too wrapped up in itself, but only before the track suddenly cascades into a dramatic drum breakdown. On “Love is Everywhere,” the weightless vocals of Mica are brought back down to Earth by disgustingly-funky rhythm sections that would make Parliament proud. All are held together by ethereal chillwave interludes that feel like being suspended in the DVD menu of a Wii Sports game. The hooks are undeniable and their universe is captivating. “Imaginal Disk” is a true triumph.

M.J. Lenderman – Manning Fireworks

Every year, it seems like the music press plucks a new artist from the indie sphere to turn into a mainstream alternative star, with Mitski, Phoebe Bridgers and Japanese Breakfast all having received the dubious honor in years past. But with the youngest generation of tastemakers eschewing confessional indie folk in favor of camo caps and borrowed working-class street cred, this year’s chosen superstar was Asheville singer-songwriter MJ Lenderman, fresh off the heels of a stellar live record and a tour with the band Wednesday, for whom he plays guitar.

With “Manning Fireworks,” his third solo record, Lenderman positions himself as the successor to alt-country greats like David Berman and Jason Molina. No doubt, Lenderman wears those influences on his sleeve, and the markers of his musical touchstones are evident throughout the record. The blunt observational lyricism and kitchen-sink characterizations of Berman and Malkmus’ Silver Jews (“Wristwatch”), the indie rock rawness of early Wilco (“Rudolph”), the Southern gothic mysticism of Drive-By Truckers (“On My Knees”) and reedy vocals that unmistakably call back to Molina and Neil Young (“Manning Fireworks”).

It’s easy to see Lenderman as only the sum of these influences. But where “Manning Fireworks” succeeds is that not only does it lift from all of its forebears, it also synthesizes them and lays the groundwork for something more compelling in the future. It’s not “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” or “Magnolia Electric Co.,” but listening to the clarinets and wah pedals that duel for your attention on “You Don’t Know the Shape I’m In” or the brooding post-rock coda of “Bark at the Moon” that closes the album, it’s easy to hear the foundation for a potential masterpiece. For now, though, MJ Lenderman has put out a lean and uncomplicated collection of alt-country numbers.

Nilufer Yanya – My Method Actor

Nilufer Yanya is an artist who first came to my attention in 2022, when her second album “PAINLESS” unexpectedly asserted itself among my favorite albums of that year, attracting me with its eclectic production and her innate ability to write a hook (“the dealer,” “midnight sun”). While I adored that album, I felt the discrepancy between her expert melodic sense. and the more vulnerable mid–tempo album cuts led to uneven pacing as the album progressed. On this year’s release, “My Method Actor,” all of these traits that first made me a fan are refined and expanded with remarkable precision. Although the songs on “PAINLESS” overflowed with nervous energy, “My Method Actor” is consistent and restrained. She knows how to let each moment of the record breathe on its own, from the smoky string section on “Faith’s Late” to the distant, buzzy electronics on spacious closer “Wingspan.”

One of the most appealing aspects of Yanya’s music is that even as a relative newcomer she has carved out a sound that is unmistakably hers. While borrowed nostalgia for the unremembered 90s remains a defining trend of the first half of the decade, it is Yanya who seems most comfortable with this palette, as evident by the manner in which muted double-tracked acoustic guitars give way to fuzzed-out electrics on the chorus of the title track, or how a syncopated mechanical drumbeat a la Radiohead’s “In Rainbows” provides a propulsive element to the otherwise mellow spaciness of “Mutations.” 

If Yanya’s debut and “PAINLESS” announce her arrival as an artist, “My Method Actor” sees her assert her position as one of the most talented singer-songwriters working today. 

Vampire Weekend – Only God Was Above Us

The best album of the year is Vampire Weekend’s “Only God Was Above Us” (OGWAU). OGWAU’s prominent position atop this year’s rankings comes not from its thematic cohesiveness, its strong melodic sense or its wonderfully eccentric production choices, although it has all of these traits in spades. Instead, it comes from its metatextual attributes, as it seems impossible to fully understand this album without understanding the trajectory of Vampire Weekend as a band. The songs, laden with self-reference, frame Koenig’s reflections about society alongside the development of the band itself. The vaunted 2000s indie scene in New York City has all but dried up, and the better world promised by the Obama campaign and Occupy Wall Street failed to arrive. The quaint collegiate vibe of their debut and the summery pop of Contra seem worlds away now. The band entered a sort of wilderness period after losing keyboardist, producer and secondary songwriter Rostam Batmanglij, culminating in the wild jam band detour that is 2019’s wild “Father of the Bride.”

Much like Vampire Weekend itself, the songs are weathered and aged, leaning less on knowledge gleaned from assigned readings and more confident in drawing from their worldly experiences. In a particularly poignant moment, during the verse of “Connect” in which Koenig croons “I know that once it’s lost it’s never found,” the iconic drumline from the debut’s opening track “Mansard Roof”—for many of us, our very first exposure to Vampire Weekend, including myself at six years old—plays as Koenig laments losing something perceptible but ultimately indescribable, like youth and the seemingly simpler times that accompanied it.  

For those of us who have grown alongside the band, moments like these are deeply affecting. But these moments never feel like they’re playing the hits in a pathetic simulacra of the good old days, for Koenig infuses them with his unmistakable self-awareness and sly turns of phrase. Tracks like “Prep-School Gangsters” prove that he’s still got his fastball, with the instrumentation an obvious riff on the first album which saw the music press deride Vampire Weekend as the same snobbish preppies referenced in the title, as does the melodious “Classical,” where Koenig inverts the name of a fast food franchise to make surprisingly astute assessments on the nature of historiography. 

As ever, Koenig taps into rather specific neuroses of our modern world and makes them feel universal. He makes many of the same clever social observations about class and behavior that he became renowned for, but now they feel deeper, more reasoned. While previous Vampire Weekend records reflected more on the stories of individuals affected by socio-political influences (class warfare, the search for meaning, interreligious strife, Koenig’s own fatherhood) and imbued them with a sense of worldliness through endless cultural references, OGWAU is the first Vampire Weekend album where Koenig’s concerns are directly applied to the world at large. On “Capricorn,” blown-out guitars shriek as he bemoans coming of age in a world that has already passed you by, both reflecting his own concerns about nearing middle age and voicing a common refrain among younger generations. The somber laid-back soukou that is “Pravda” seems to address our increased fallibility to dissemination, while choral trip-hop standout “Mary Boone” laments the loss of a working-class New York City, where rent has increased and the city often seems like little more than a playground for the well-to-do.

With its introspective and metatextual qualities, “Only God Was Above Us” could have easily been pitched as the final Vampire Weekend album. It would certainly be a fitting end for a group which has already proven itself several times over. Yet the band seems more invigorated than ever, embarking on a full tour and engaging with fans more than at any point this decade. Whatever is next for Vampire Weekend, the thematic substance and sonic adventurousness of “Only God Was Above Us” sees them at the height of their powers and taking a well-earned position atop this list.

While these six records were my absolute favorites, they were far from the only records I loved in 2024. Here are some others that I found myself returning to:

Adrianne Lenker – Bright Future

The newest solo album from the songstress behind “Big Thief” is beautiful and rewarding, even if the profound melancholy that seeps throughout the album and slows its pacing sometimes hampers the ability of the album to truly breathe.

Arooj Aftab – Night Reign

I don’t know much about ghazal, but I do know that the chamber jazz-infused nocturnal version of it created on “Night Reign” by internationally-recognized Artist Arooj Aftab is about as sublimely entrancing as music can be. 

Beth Gibbons – Lives Outgrown

Even though Beth Gibbons has had a major role in the development of alternative music, being a vocalist and songwriter for Portishead, this is only her fifth full-length studio album ever, and her second project under her own name. Gibbons peeks out from the dark on the evocative “Lives Outgrown,” backed by sweeping cinematic strings and thunderous drums. This album’s strength lies in the admirable lack of excess and the consistent atmosphere built throughout. With that said, the finest moments are those that escalate the tension between the haunting instrumental palette and Gibbons’ fragile vocals, like the disorienting klezmer passage on “Beyond the Sun.”

Cameron Winter – Heavy Metal

As the stock of Cameron Winter and his band Geese rises, so does the divisiveness around his warbly, untrained vocals. For my part, I love them, and I also loved everything about “Heavy Metal,” from his unexpectedly soulful performance to the cryptic passion in the lyrics to some avant-garde instrumentation. 

Chat Pile – Cool World

The highest compliment I can give to “Cool World” is that it embodies the feeling of our times. “Cool World” is a distillation of the anger, the distrust and the brutality displayed by the cascade of constantly escalating anguish. Chat Pile writes songs for the world we actually live in, not the one we think we do. It’s not an easy listen, but it’s a necessary one. 

Cindy Lee – Diamond Jubilee

Cindy Lee is hard to find. The side project of the reclusive Patrick Flegel, former vocalist of underappreciated 2000s post-punk icons “Women,” is not available on any major streaming service. But the fact that “Diamond Jubilee” has garnered so much attention anyways is a testament to the quality of this record, a dizzying lo-fi take on a dreamy psychedelic sound filtered through the hits of a lost pop canon. The impact is hampered somewhat by its sheer breadth of scope, with 32 tracks and over two hours of runtime, but I guarantee that the elusive “Diamond Jubilee” is well worth the effort. 

English Teacher – This Could Be Texas

The debut of English Teacher, Britain’s newest art school post-punk outfit, proves that the scene based around Brixton’s Windmill venue will continue to influence coming generations of songwriters even as the scene itself has declined. Although English Teacher often sounds a bit too much like their forebears, “This Could Be Texas” is varied and engaging enough to suggest that English Teacher could soon be a band that joins them in the 2020s canon.

Fontaines D.C. – Romance

The melodic turn embraced by Irish post-punkers Fontaines D.C. is unexpected but understandable as the band increases their profile, having been tapped for a tour with Arctic Monkeys and appearing on former U.S. president Barack Obama’s personal year-end list. They pull off the shift well, the deftness with which they trade their gothic roots for a lush alternative rock sound making “Romance” sound more like a natural evolution and less like a commercial ploy.

Hakushi Hasegawa – Mahogakko

The listener’s attention is a precious and fickle thing. It’s difficult to make music that frustrates and disorients yet still manages to maintain that attention for half an hour. On “Mahogakko,” however, Japanese artist Hakushi Hasegawa defies the odds and does exactly that. There’s a saying that you have to know the rules in order to break them, and Hasegawa proves this maxim with their audacious blend of experimental glitch hop and blissful Japanese folk music.

Juliana Gattas – Maquillada en la cama

Chilean producer Alex Andwandter’s hot streak continues on “Maquillada en la cama,” where he and Miranda! vocalist Juliana Gattas produce a solid 34 minutes of playful Minoguesque nu-disco grooves.

Mabe Fratti – Sentir que no sabes

Guatemalan cellist Mabe Fratti has only continued to improve over the course of her career, both as a soloist and with the avant-garde group Titanic. Her latest album, “Sentir que no sabes,” has seen her continue to hone her particular blend of electroacoustic production with ominous jazz, all rooted in a deep understanding of the classical tradition.

Mannequin Pussy – I Got Heaven

In an interview promoting the release of “I Got Heaven,” vocalist Marisa Dabice described the opening and title track as “a meeting of the sacred and the profane.” Dabice makes an apt description of the Philadelphia heroes’ new effort, which combines their characteristically blistering punk sound with subdued and melodic indie rock to great effect.

Porter Robinson – SMILE! 😀

The ongoing 2000s revival reaches its peak with the sugar rush of boyish producer Porter Robinson’s “SMILE! :D.” While many have pursued the plasticized “indie sleaze” aesthetic over the past two years (Snow Strippers, The Hellp, The Dare) to varying results, Porter Robinson’s high-octane electropop sounds less like pastiche and more like an authentic expression of himself.

Tapir! – The Pilgrim, Their God, and the King of My Decrepit Mountain

Of all the many debuts of 2024, that of Tapir! is the most impressive. The band cuts a similar profile to their predecessors in the so-called “Windmill Scene” that produced luminaries like Black Country, New Road and Squid: a larger than usual cast of instrumentalists, a vocalist who can’t really sing and certain effects that make them prone to accusations of pretentiousness (the title and in-album narration) alongside layered, dense composition. Yet Tapir! manage to separate itself from the pack and produce a unique sound on this album. “The Pilgrim…” is filled with lovely moments of lush serenity and a careful, meditative approach to melody that makes them sound well beyond their years. 

The Cure – Songs of a Lost World

Usually, after almost fifty years of collaboration and touring, even legendary bands run out of steam. “Songs of a Lost World” proves that the years have not weathered the skills of the Cure, but have only sharpened and informed them. 

This is Lorelei – Box for Buddy, Box For Star

The stylistic ground covered by prolific pop auteur Nate Amos (performing here as This is Lorelei) is impressive considering he uses an uncomplicated instrumental assortment and a relatively limited vocal register to create his breezy, unsophisticated indie pop with a Western inflection.

Willi Carlisle – Critterland

The strength of the disarmingly charming cowboy troubadour Willi Carlisle lies in that he can spin modern tales with a traditionalist palette without ever sounding anachronistic. The seven-minute a capella closer, “The Money Grows on Trees,” is exemplar in this respect: while the web that entangled the small-time drug empire of Arkansas sheriff Ralph Baker with botched murder investigations and the Clinton Administration is easy to Google, Carlisle plays it like a well-worn oral tradition from the frontier days. See him live if you can!

Besides this set of favorites, I also recommend these additional albums that I enjoyed in 2024:

2hollis – boy

Aaron Lee Tasjan – Stellar Evolution

Anna Tivel – Living Thing

Allie X – Girl With No Face

Asian Glow – Unwired Detour

Beabadoobee – This Is How Tomorrow Moves

Been Stellar – Scream from New York, NY

Bibi Club – Feu de garde

Bladee – Cold Visions

Bonny Light Horseman – Keep Me on Your Mind/See You Free

Boris Pupul – Letter to Yu

Brittany Howard – What Now

Cassandra Jenkins – My Light, My Destroyer

Chanel Beads – Your Day Will Come

Charli XCX – BRAT

Chelsea Wolfe – She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She

Cime – The Cime Interdisciplinary Music Ensemble

Clairo – Charm

Confidence Man – 3AM (La La La)

Crizin da Z.O. – Acelero

Erika de Casier – Still

Fabiana Palladino – Fabiana Palladino

Fat Dog – WOOF.

Faye Webster – Underdressed at the Symphony

Fazerdaze – Soft Power

Fievel is Glauque – Rong Weicknes

Friko – Where we’ve been, Where we go from here

Ginger Root – SHINBANGUMI

Haley Heynderickx – Seed of a Seed

Halo Maud – Celebrate

Hana Vu – Romanticism

Iglooghost – Tidal Memory Exo

Jessica Pratt – Here in the Pitch

Joeyy – Try

Julia Holter – Something in the Room She Moves

Kali Malone – All Life Long

Kendrick Lamar – GNX

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Flight b741

Kirin J. Callinan – If I Could Sing

Laura Marling – Patterns in Repeat

Lip Critic – Hex Dealer

Luna Li – When a Thought Grows Wings

Mach-Hommy – #RICHAXXHAITIAN

Mary Timony – Untame the Tiger

Matt Champion – Mika’s Laundry

Meaningful Stone – Angel Interview

MGMT – Loss of Life

Mk.gee – Two Star & the Dream Police

Molly Nilsson – Un-American Activities

Nala Sinephro – Endlessness

Nia Archives – Silence Is Loud

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Wild God

Parannoul – Sky Hundred

Pom Poko – Champion

Raveena – Where the Butterflies Go in the Rain

Ravyn Lenae – Bird’s Eye

RiTchie – Triple Digits [112]

Rosali – Bite Down

salute – TRUE MAGIC

Sarah Kinsley – Escaper

Saya Gray – QWERTY II

Slater – FM Thoughts

St. Vincent – All Born Screaming

Tek lintowe – KILL YOU

The Decemberists – As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again

The Hellp – LL

The Lemon Twigs – A Dream Is All We Know

The Marías – Submarine

The Smile – Cutouts

The Softies – The Bed I Made

The WAEVE – City Lights

Tyler, the Creator – CHROMAKOPIA

Wand – Vertigo

Waxahatchee – Tigers Blood

Wishy – Triple Seven

Xiu Xiu – 13″ Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto With Bison Horn Grips

Yard Act – Where’s My Utopia?

Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on The best albums of 2024

Why Harris will win, and why it may not be close

Polls are open across the United States, as hundreds of millions of Americans prepare to make their voices heard and elect the next president, alongside countless federal, statewide and town ballot municipal races. According to the popular narrative, the two candidates—former president Donald Trump, a Republican, and Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat—are locked in a heated battle describable only by phrases indicative of the narrowest race possible, such as “toss-up”, “coin flip”, “nail-biter” and “too close to call.”

This outlook on the election stems from the polling averages, all of which show Harris and Trump with identical margins in every swing state, with each usually garnering around 47 to 50% of the vote. It seems as though no matter what, every swing state poll ends up with both candidates around these numbers, as unlikely as that might seem given the statistical likelihood of an eventual outlier. This is due to the phenomenon known as herding, where pollsters will adjust their screens to get a result that more closely reflects the pundits’ consensus. After all, outliers (like the infamous Biden +17 poll in Wisconsin in 2020) can severely damage a pollster’s reputation, or bring unwarranted attention to a firm seeking to hedge their bets and retain a good accreditation with aggregate websites. The problem with herding is that it generally presents an overcautious picture of an election cycle that often masks the true dynamics of the race—for example, an unexpected Harris or Trump strength with one or more demographics. Nate Silver calculated that the total odds of every swing poll being so remarkably close were a staggering one in 9.5 trillion. Clearly, something is wrong with polling, and unless the election really does come down to the wire in every swing state, there may be hell to pay on Nov. 6. 

Moreover, polling is an industry where even a small firm can gain attention fast if it releases an interesting-enough result. This has led to many unknowns trying their hand at the trade, even without any prior experience. They do so for myriad reasons: an earnest attempt to improve aggregates by adding more sources, to gain money and a reputation, to influence betting markets (illegally, as Data For Progress’ Sean McElwee discovered), or, most disturbingly, to find Republican leads that aren’t there in order to help Trump and MAGA candidates promote claims of election fraud when they end up losing. Whatever the reason, this practice has led to a lot of inaccurate polling over the past few cycles. One particular highlight from the past few days is that AtlasIntel, a Brazilian firm included in the polling averages of Real Clear Politics, 538 and the Silver Bulletin, among others, conducted a whole new round of major swing state polling after the shock result of the latest J. Ann Selzer poll (see below). They claim they fielded over 7,000 respondents in two days, a near-impossibility for a foreign firm of its size (and even a near-impossibility for the very finest American pollsters). I will say this definitively: they are liars, and this did not happen, at least not to a reputable standard. That AtlasIntel’s data is still included in these averages tells you much about the current state of political punditry.

Despite all the herding and the toss-up talk, Democratic fortunes seemed reinvigorated over the weekend when Selzer, Iowa’s gold standard pollster and one of the most remarkably accurate prognosticators in the country, released a shock Des Moines Register poll that saw Harris leading by 3 points in a state where Trump had won by 8 in the 2020 election. The result was so surprising largely because it stood so far apart from polling of much closer states, all of which depicted an incredibly close race decided by maybe tens of thousands of undecided voters. Yet, if Harris is leading in Iowa, or if she has even closed Biden’s gap by a few points, she is overwhelmingly likely to pick up the Blue Wall states and probably the Sun Belt swing states as well. 

Selzer gained her sterling reputation for a reason, that being her willingness to stand alone from the popular narrative and trust the data, not her priors. In 2016, her Trump +7 poll was dead on in predicting the margin that decided the state, while in 2020, her poll did not depict the major overestimation of Biden’s strength with white, working-class voters that Election Night proved much closer than expected. Moreover, she simply refuses to herd, and in a polling environment such as this one, even a massive outlier could have more predictive value than 50 herded polls. So, discount Selzer at your own risk. Iowa probably won’t turn blue this time, but if Harris gets anywhere near the 47% of the vote that Selzer projected there, she is all but certain to win the election. 

Another reason for the Harris camp to feel confident is her strength in statewide polling compared to the national polling. Glancing at the 538 national poll aggregator, we can see that Harris is often only leading Trump by a point or two in the national popular vote, especially among registered voters. But if this is actually the case, swing state polling should be much stronger for Trump than it has been. Take a look at 538’s state flipper simulator and apply a uniform swing of R+3 to the national popular vote. Trump would win 313 electoral votes, including those of every single swing state and Nebraska’s second district. But with the exception of Arizona, Trump doesn’t have a definite lead in any of the swing states, telling us that something is awry with the screens of national polling. 

Indeed, in the swing states, local polling (generally more accurate than outside firms) predicts a decent win for Harris, if only in the Rust Belt. In both Wisconsin’s Marquette Law School Poll and Michigan’s Detroit Free Press poll, Harris has a small but very real lead, breaking the crucial 50% barrier in both states. In Muhlenberg College’s final election survey of Pennsylvania, Harris doesn’t hit 50%, but leads Trump by two points anyways. A close national popular vote result is simply not borne out by all of the more precise swing state polling that we have.

More likely, Trump will hit the ceiling he has never been able to breach in any of his runs: 47%. Such a polarizing politician will probably not perform much better than he did when he had the novelty sheen of an outsider in 2016 (46.1%) or the benefit of incumbency and major crises befalling the nation in 2020 (46.8%). In the closing weeks of the campaign, Trump danced for 40 minutes while attendees fainted, spent more time with Elon Musk than his own running mate, and allowed a rally opener to disparage one of the most potent single ethnic voting blocs in the entire nation. There are plenty of valid cases to be made to vote against Harris, but Trump has largely failed to capitalize on any of them. 

And while horserace polling refuses to predict anything but a tie, issue polling has presented a rosier picture than it might seem for the Harris campaign. Economic indicators and voter feelings on its status are often a strong predictor of election results. Harris has slashed Trump’s originally decisive lead on the economy down to only six points according to New York Times/Siena polling, better than Democrats enjoyed in 2020. She dominates on abortion, climate change, and has even improved on immigration versus Trump, which has been seen as her weakest point—possibly portending a stronger result in Arizona and Nevada than polls predict. 

If we can’t rely on polling as much as we have in previous cycles, what can we trust? One trusted indicator has been the Washington primary, which is a “jungle primary” taking place in August, shortly after Harris’ ascension to the top of the ticket. Typically, these results are analyzed by combining the totals of every Democratic candidate and every Republican candidate, and comparing the two has been remarkably solid at predicting the national popular totals. And here, too, it looks good for Harris. 

Not only did Democrats improve upon Biden’s 2020 performance by about 1.5% in the 2024 primary, they did so in the right places. In the less urban areas of the state that resemble the Upper Midwest in culture and demographic composition, Senator Maria Cantwell and other Democrats all saw a modest yet favorable shift in their direction. The Washington primary therefore points toward a slight improvement on Democratic numbers nationwide since 2020, including among the suburban voters who will be critical in states like Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina. But barring any major collapses with urban, non-white male voters, a slight improvement may be all Harris needs.

Much ink has been spilled about this foretold realignment of Hispanic and Black men. Marco Rubio has claimed that the GOP is transforming itself into a multiracial worker’s coalition, although the embrace of Musk has stemmed that rhetoric a bit. Republican gains with Latino voters have been a resilient source of anxiety for Democratic activists, but local polling has not really shown this to be the case, nor have the 2022 midterms, or the Washington primary, or 2024 special elections. What seems likely from polling this cycle is that Trump’s numbers have largely not shifted; while he has gained with men, who appreciate his relentless appeals to traditional masculinity, Latino women have shifted further left thanks to the Democratic focus on reproductive access and healthcare. In the Pew Research survey of Latino voters, Harris and Trump are at almost the exact same level as Biden and Trump had been four years earlier. And while it’s entirely possible that Trump really did win a sizable swath of Latino men, many of his gains there were seemingly washed away by the aforementioned “floating island of garbage” comment made at his Madison Square Garden rally.

It’s also possible that the polls are accurate, at least on the face of things, and that Trump commands a substantially larger percentage of the national popular vote than he had earned in either 2016 and 2020. After all, this would align with the aforementioned national polls that show Harris only narrowly ahead in the national popular vote, and would potentially mean that Democratic margins in the urban centers are eroding significantly. But even if Trump has managed to win over more voters than in his previous two campaigns, his third try for the White House faces an existential threat: they may not even turn out at all. 

Since Trump first slid down that golden escalator in 2015, the Republican coalition has only ever gotten younger, more male and less white. Unfortunately for Trump, this means that the Republican coalition has also therefore become uniformly lower-propensity: easier to persuade yet, crucially, harder to convince to vote. The newfound reliance on low-propensity voters, whom they had traded with Democrats for higher-propensity college-educated voters, is hypothesized to have cost MAGA candidates critical margins in states where they narrowly fell short in 2022, including Arizona and Pennsylvania.

In order to ensure that these voters get out to the ballot boxes, a campaign must have a dependable, well-funded and enthusiastic physical turnout machine consisting of paid staff and volunteers. Yet for months now, Republican operatives have been ringing alarm bells about the anemic state of the GOP’s ground game, which has mainly been outsourced to Elon Musk’s ridiculous America PAC operation. Democrats, meanwhile, have a decisive advantage with regards to ground game and get-out-the-vote efforts in the swing states, due to their younger, more educated base and higher enthusiasm.

With all of these factors in mind, Harris is well positioned to become the 47th president of the United States. Not only do I believe that Harris will win, I believe that she will sweep every swing state, for 319 electoral votes compared to Trump’s 219 electoral votes—Joe Biden’s 2020 coalition in addition to North Carolina. Trump is a tired, unstable and bigoted conman running purely on resentment, and his poorly-ran campaign will do little to break his ceiling even with some economic headwinds and the unpopularity of the incumbent president. Americans have rejected him once, and every sign except polling indicates that they will do so again. That Harris’ clear advantage is being obscured as a result of herding and inaccurate narratives is a damning indictment of pollsters and pundits. We now must rely on the voters to prove them wrong.

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How to know who won the election by 9 p.m. on Nov. 5

There are two things you should know about Indiana. Its polls are the very first to close in the entire United States, doing so at 6 p.m., and that Donald Trump is going to win its 11 electoral votes by a wide margin. The blood-red state, which is rural, quite religious and has an economy predicated on small business and agriculture only voted for the Democratic nominee four times in the past 100 years.

Despite its lack of competitiveness in the traditional sense, within Indiana lie several bellwether counties that may hold the key to knowing where Kamala Harris or Trump are likely to be strongest, and what that means for states where votes are not likely to come in until much later. 

Hamilton County

The first of these critical counties is Hamilton County, a sprawling suburban region that contains the northern reaches of the Indianapolis metropolitan area. The main demographic of Hamilton and its affluent, well-developed towns is the one which determined the narrative of the past three election cycles—college-educated white voters, whose disgust with Trump has seen them lurch towards the Democratic Party and deliver wins in places where even ten years ago, Democratic victories were nearly unthinkable. Hamilton County has been ground zero for Democratic improvements among these voters, with Biden winning a record high 45.4% of the vote here in 2020. Even Barack Obama only won 38.5% of the vote in his shock 2008 win in Indiana. 

For these reasons, Hamilton County will be the single clearest indicator of how the election could go. A considerable Harris overperformance bodes well for her in northern suburbs with similar attributes, such as those of Grand Rapids and Pittsburgh. Barring a significant collapse in her share of non-college white voters elsewhere, a substantial improvement in Hamilton County would put her well on the path to winning the industrial “Blue Wall” states that would deliver her exactly 270 electoral votes even without any Sun Belt states. Snagging an outright victory would indicate a massive shift in her direction among suburban voters, especially suburban women, and would also signal that Georgia, North Carolina and Arizona—all states where Democrats do not rely on non-college white voters—all remain in play, despite polling indications that these states lean towards Trump.

However, if Trump were to keep her gains in Hamilton County minimal and remain around 50% of the total vote share, Harris’ path to a nationwide win gets increasingly narrow, and she cannot use suburban voters alone to propel her to victory. If Trump were to improve upon his 52.2% showing in Hamilton County once all votes are counted, you can go to sleep early knowing that America has elected its first president since Grover Cleveland to non-consecutive terms. 

Marion County

While the Harris campaign will be eagerly awaiting results out of Hamilton County, the Trump campaign will have their eyes fixed upon Marion County, twenty minutes south and home to Indianapolis, the state’s capital and a large urbanized metropolis home to roughly one million people. Compared to its suburbs, Indianapolis is vastly more diverse (with a substantial black population and a not-insignificant Latino population) and has a lower average income. These communities are traditionally predicted to have lower turnout than areas with greater educational attainment, and Harris’ hopes here largely rest on an aggressively-mobilized contingent of volunteers ensuring these voters turn out. 

Both campaigns have prioritized these voters, as some polling suggested that both black men and Hispanic men have drifted towards the Trump campaign. Trump, for his part, made extensive overtures towards male voters through his appearances on “bro-coded” media like the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, and has appealed to black men specifically by emphasizing what he believes to have been his unfair prosecution. If the gains among black voters that the Trump campaign dreams of are realized, Democrats are all but locked out of winning Georgia, North Carolina, Wisconsin and likely Pennsylvania even with a modest Harris improvement among white voters. But if Harris can remain stable in the city, or even improve upon Biden’s numbers with black voters through gains with women concerned about access to abortion (which has been banned in GOP-dominated Indiana except when considering life of the mother), she is well-positioned to win the aforementioned states and therefore the election.

The south end of Marion County is populated by more exurbs, although less densely-populated and less educated than those to the north of the city. These municipalities, which are separated by townships but technically part of Indianapolis proper, will also be key to understanding the less affluent and majority-white post-industrial communities surrounding cities such as Detroit and Philadelphia. Communities like these helped power Barack Obama’s surprise 2008 win in the state, and Biden made modest reversals in Hillary Clinton’s pitiful numbers here. If Harris can avoid dropping back to Clinton’s lows on the south end of Marion County, she will undoubtedly feel good about her chances in the Blue Wall. 

LaPorte County

Democrats were once strong in LaPorte County, home to Michigan City, Indiana Dunes National Park and populated mainly by working-class white voters without college degrees. But as American industry declined as a result of NAFTA and cultural tensions within the liberal coalition became exacerbated by populists like Donald Trump, whose messaging was often aimed directly at these voters in 2016, LaPorte and other similar counties slipped out of the blue tent. LaPorte’s relative lack of religiosity, urbanity (it lies between Gary, the eastern pillar of Chicagoland, and South Bend, home to Notre Dame), and reliance on tourism meant that it stayed in the Democratic column for longer than most counties of the post-industrial type. It voted for Obama both times by substantial margins, but then flipped into a county where Trump led by between 6-7% of the vote in both 2016 and 2020. 

Look for Harris to maintain roughly 45% of the vote here, in between Biden and Clinton’s numbers in the county. This would indicate that the Democratic hemorrhaging among working-class white voters has been stopped, at least for this cycle, and would indicate that Harris may not even need to improve much among other demographics; barring major gains for Trump in the urban core, the Rust Belt states would likely fall into her camp in this scenario as they had for Biden. If she were to receive around 47% of the vote or more, it’s likely that she would be declared president-elect by the time most Americans wake up on November 6. However, if she does worse than Clinton’s 44%, she will be at a massive disadvantage on the path to 270.

One thing to note about LaPorte County: its polls don’t close until 7 p.m. Eastern as it lies within the Central time zone, meaning it will be about an hour behind the rest of Indiana but still well ahead of states with similar demographics such as Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. 

Bottom line

There are endless scenarios that could transpire on election night. But these three counties in Indiana provide the only reliable metric that can predict what may happen later in the night, more so than polls or economic indicators or how campaigns privately feel about their chances. 

The bottom line is: if Harris gains in Hamilton County and remains stagnant in the other two counties, she will likely carry at least the Blue Wall. If she gains in all three, she is almost certain to win enough electoral votes in states that hinge on correlated demographics, and could easily sweep all seven swing states. If Trump were to gain among urban non-white voters in Indianapolis, stay above 50% of the vote in Hamilton County, and increase his share in LaPorte County, he would be practically certain to win the Sun Belt states, and would likely be favored in the Rust Belt as well. And if none of these numbers budge too much from 2020, that means we’re in for a long night. 

I don’t claim to know how this race will go, and the early results out of Indiana could prove to be totally not indicative of what transpires in the swing states. But it is likely that what happens there on November 5th will reverberate through the rest of the nation as the night continues. Whether Harris sweeps the swing states or Trump wins in a squeaker, do yourself a favor and enjoy an earlier night than the millions of other anxious Americans relentlessly refreshing their news coverage. The signs are all there, if you know where to look.

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