First Floor SLC Hallway Closed for Construction Since the end of the day on Friday, March 10, the first floor east hallway of Stark Learning Center has been closed for RACP construction. The hallway will remain closed until further notice when construction is completed.  In addition, the first floor west hallway is now wheelchair accessible. […]

Make Magic at the Cinderella’s Closet Runway Show AmeriCorps VISTA, the Office of Civic Engagement and the Office of Diversity Initiatives invite you to donate and/or model beautiful, gently used prom attire at the Cinderella’s Closet runway event on April 7 at 6 p.m.  Items needed include dresses, tuxes, suits, pants, ties, and shoes. If  […]

On Wednesday, Wilkes University’s Student Government held its weekly meeting. Kristin Osipower the campus Interfaith Coordinator gave a guest report. Osipower recently joined Wilkes to fulfill the position. Her goal is to help students on their spiritual journey and assist in any way. She hopes to create an interfaith council which will feature student leaders […]

On Wednesday, Wilkes University’s Student Government held its weekly meeting. Lambda Kappa Sigma (LKS), a professional pharmacy fraternity, came in to request funds for a conference they will host in Scranton from July 20-23. There will be 13 students attending the conference and they will go to leadership workshops and network with current and former […]

According to Wilkes-Barre Police, on Feb. 6, a fire code violation occurred in University Towers at Wilkes University. The incident involved a resident student who allegedly applied painters tape over all but one of the smoke detectors in the apartment rendering them useless, police said. Officials explain that this put other occupants at risk. According […]

Women’s Basketball

The UMaine women’s basketball had an eventful winter break, traveling to South Carolina to take on the No. 8 University of North Carolina Tar Heels before beginning conference play back in Maine. The Black Bears finished the break with a 2-3 record, bringing their overall record to 11-6 and 3-1 in America East play.

Third-year Liz Wood led the Black Bears against the Tar Heels with a four point, 10 rebound effort in their farthest away game of the year. UMaine fell by a score of 65-36, getting outscored 41-18 in the second half.

The Black Bears were able to get back on track when they travelled to the College of William & Mary, leaving Williamsburg with a slim 54-51 victory. Second-year guard Sigi Koizar shined in the win, scoring 15 points and dishing out six assists while third-year center Anna Heise chipped in 11 points with five rebounds.

UMaine finally returned home for their first game of 2015, hosting the University at Albany for their first conference game of the season. The Black Bears lost a defensive struggle 49-43. Third-year Albany forward Shereesha Richards scored a game-high 21 points and pulled down four boards. Heise once again had a big game for the Black Bears, dropping 13 points in the losing effort.

Yale University nipped the Black Bears on a late layup by first-year guard Tamara Simpson. UMaine took a commanding 34-26 lead into halftime before struggling in the second half. Four Black Bears scored double-digits points, led by Koizar’s 14 points.

The Black Bears captured their first conference victory with a second-half surge at Hartford University in which they outscored the Hawks 44-22. Stellar defense, highlighted by 13 steals, propelled UMaine to a 68-57 win. Third-year guard Sophie Weckstrom, who had struggled early in the season, dropped a season-high 21 points on 7-11 shooting from the field. Cozier chipped in 17 points in the Black Bears’ final game of winter break.

Men’s Basketball

The UMaine men’s basketball team extended their losing streak to nine straight games, falling six times over break. Their record now stands at 1-16 and 0-5 in conference play.

The closest game was a trip to play the United States Military Academy. Fourth-year forward Zarko Valjarevic led the Black Bears with a game-high 22 points and six rebounds in a 72-69 overtime loss. UMaine was able to capitalize on 22 Army turnovers, scoring 26 points off of those turnovers.

The Black Bears experienced a difficult road loss to Seton Hall University 72-43. Seton Hall shot an efficient 49 percent from the field, out rebounding the Black Bears 46-32. Third-year forward Till Gloger was the only Black Bear to score in the double-digits, dropping 12 points.

Gloger turned in another strong performance as the Black Bears on the road against Quinnipiac University, scoring 19 points and pulling down six boards in an 81-64 loss. The Black Bears shot the ball well beyond the arc, shooting 39 percent. The defensive effort was not enough for head coach Bob Walsh, who tweeted “The level we defend at is beyond unacceptable. It’s cutting me to the core right now. My responsibility to change it. We will do that.”

The Black Bears then took on conference rival University of Vermont, falling 62-54. UMaine was able to take a two-point deficit into halftime before UVM pulled away in the second half. Third-year guard Shaun Lawton led the way, scoring 12 points and grabbing a team-high five rebounds.

The final game for men’s basketball came on the road against Binghamton University in which they experienced another second-half collapse in their 65-46 loss. After leading 30-29 at halftime, the Black Bears were outscored 36-16 in the final frame.

Men’s Ice Hockey

The UMaine men’s ice hockey team went 3-1, sweeping Canisius College and splitting a pair of games with the University of Massachusetts Minutemen. Two Black Bears earned Hockey East weekly conference awards during that span, giving Maine momentum as they begin conference play to round out their season.

The first honor was awarded to first-year wing Nolan Vesey, who was named Hockey East Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week after a pair of goals and an assist during the Black Bears weekend sweep of Canisius College. The Black Bears won the first contest 4-1 and the second by a 3-1 score. Second-year forward Blaine Byron notched a pair of goals in the weekend series as well.

Second-year goaltender Matt Morris was named Hockey East defensive player of the week last Monday, after the Black Bears’ weekend series against the UMass Minutemen. Morris made 29 saves in net during the second game of the series, recording his first career shutout in a 3-0 victory for the Black Bears. First-year netminder Sean Romeo allowed three goals in game one and the Black Bears fell by a score of 3-2.

The Black Bears moved to 7-14-1 overall during break, and remain at 11th overall in Hockey East with a 2-6 record in conference play.

Women’s Ice Hockey

The first game against Moncton did not fair well for the Black Bears. The offense showed up, but they could not put the puck past solid Moncton goaltending. Moncton began the scoring on the power play in the first, when Brooklyn Langlois took an interference penalty. After the puck deflected off a skate in front of the net, Marie-Pier Arsenault put the puck past Maine goaltender Natalie Robinson to put Moncton up and rout the Black Bears 5-1.

The following weekend, Maine would take to the ice again, but against the BU Terriers in a Hockey East conference matchup. BU’s offense proved to be too much for Maine to handle, and they dropped the game 5-3.

Maine was outshot by the Terriers 36-29 in the game, but they also ran into another tough goaltender in first-year goaltender Erin O’Neil, who made 26 saves for her fifth win of the season. Treacy would take the loss making 31 saves.

After the games, Maine falls to 7-11-3 (6-4-1 WHEA) and currently sit alone in the third spot in the Hockey East standings with 13 points. BU improves to 13-5-2 (9-3-0 WHEA) and trail the conference leading Boston College Eagles by eight points. Maine will look to hold off Northeastern, who is only a win away from tying the Black Bears for the third spot in the conference. Maine will take to the ice at home versus Northeastern on Jan. 24 and 25 as they finish off the rest of their season in conference.

On Aug. 9,2014, unarmed teenager Michael Brown was shot by Darren Wilson, a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Riots and protests broke out soon after the event, prompted by the case’s racial implications, and onNov.24 it was announced the Grand Jury decided to not indict Wilson.

This announcement sparked more protests and demonstrations and has resulted in a national conversation on the excess of police powers and racial discrimination in police departments. This incident, like the strangulation of Eric Garner in New York, has led civilians and municipal governments to take a long hard look at the way police departments interact with the population.

“I don’t think it’s just black, white or whatever. It’s a humane thing. Humans killing other humans,” said Ronald Robbs, co-president of the University of Maine chapter of the Black Student Union.

“To make that acceptable, you now are dehumanizing that person. Whether they’re black or whatever, we forget that they’re human beings,” Robbs said. “Personally, I think this has always been apparent. Recently it’s just brought to a [massive] scale where the controversy alone draws us back into history.”

Robbs, like many, believes that the issue brought forward by the lack of an indictment in Ferguson is not one of race, but of a lack of punishment for a crime. He also believes that the actions taken by the African-American community in Ferguson, regarding the spree of vandalism and looting was inappropriate and does nothing to progress the need for change.

“For black people and black neighborhoods, it comes down to not going out and vandalizing your city and protesting against a black versus white crime and not protesting for a black versus black crime because we are actually killing off more than what is seen of police killing blacks,” Robbs said.

“It’s how we react. Vandalizing and looting makes it look bad on our part for how we handled it,” Robbs said. “You’re not helping the situation, you’re adding to it.”

Many feel that the way the situation has been framed by national media outlets has also given the issue a racial bent.

“It’s not even that they made it into something. When they portray it and have people talking from a perspective of racial matter, then yeah you’re gonna get a story with angry black protesters and white officers that aren’t so angry and are trying to apologize. But they know that they committed crimes, and the only way they can justify this is to be arrested,” Robbs said.

Robbs urges the African–American community to more closely examine their own behavior to take away any reason that police may have to discriminate. According to the NAACP, African-Americans are incarcerated at six times the rate of white Americans, a statistic that paints a poor picture of racial equality in America. Robb believes that a change in behavior in the African-American community would help lessen the suspicions of the police while changes are needed in the way officers are trained to spot crime as well.

“The way we can go about it and handle it is to make sure we clean up our communities because in these cases it’s not just an innocent person walking down the street: they’re doing something to catch the eyes of the police and make them feel a need to pursue them. It’s not just a random person they’re picking.”

Body Cameras: A solution?

The uncertainties surrounding the death of Michael Brown are largely due to the fact that his fatal encounter with the Ferguson, Missouri police officer went visually undocumented.

In the wake of Brown’s death, a national conversation has been started regarding how law enforcement can prevent these uncertainties from happening again.

One argument that has been raised is making the use of police body cameras mandatory, so that every encounter between an officer and a suspect or victim is captured on video.

“Video is the best tool in law enforcement right now,” said University of Maine Police Department (UMPD) Detective Keith Mercier. “[When] you’re relying on just a written report from the officer and a written statement from the suspect or victim, somewhere in the middle is usually the truth. But video is very in your face — there is really no disputing it.”

UMPD has been equipping a portion of their officers with body cameras for the last two years. The department also utilizes video surveillance in the police cruisers as well as in its Rangeley Road station.

While at the present moment UMPD only has enough body cameras for two or three officers on patrol at a given time, Mercier says that the department is ordering more.

“[Body cameras are] a great tool: they protect us, and they protect [suspects]. They are a true representation of the facts,” Mercier said. “We’re looking down the road to where everybody is going to have to wear them.”

Robbs feels that, in spite of the knowledge that the incidents are being filmed, body cameras will not ultimately change the behavior of those involved in serious incidents.

“The body camera, I don’t think is gonna change the situation. This is all reaction, this is someone’s intention, and if they think or fear that they’re in danger, I don’t think a camera is gonna change that situation,” Robbs said.

What UMaine thinks

An online poll conducted by The Maine Campus has shown that University of Maine students share conflicting views about the Ferguson shooting and its subsequent legal implications.

Conducted on Facebook and answered by 48 people, the four-question poll asked participants their views on the racial views of the event, and whether the legal result set a precedent for future race-related cases.

The poll’s first question: “Do you agree or disagree with the Grand Jury’s decision not to bring charges against the officer who shot Michael Brown,” was answered with 67 percent disagree.  For comparison, a similar nationwide question conducted by the Washington Post on Dec. 2 saw 45 percent disagree.

Second, the poll asked: “Do you believe the shooting was race related?” Sixty-three percent answered “Yes,” while 37 percent answered “No.”

Wilson, who has since resigned from the Ferguson police department, claims that he shot Brown after assaulting him. Brown was shot at least six times, according to his autopsy.

Matthew Tarsetti, a fourth-year finance student, voiced the concern that many Americans are having in terms of how a law enforcement officer finds themselves in the position where the only solution they felt they had was to utilize a fatal weapon.

“No one’s hands are clean. This is not an isolated incident. You hear of people being murdered by police every day. Most are justified. According to Prosecutor Robert McCulloch, Darren Wilson’s was too. But ask yourself, ‘How is there any situation ever in which an unarmed teenager deserves to be shot six times? How did Darren Wilson allow himself as an officer to be compromised into a situation where the only answer came from his gun six times?’” Tarsetti said.

The third question asked whether or not participants support President Obama’s handling of the situation. Fifty-three percent said “yes,” while 47 percent said “no.” The Washington Post’s poll showed 39 percent approved Obama’s actions, while 52 percent did not, with the remaining 9 percent having no opinion.

Obama has held numerous meetings with civil rights leaders, cabinet members and law enforcement officials since the shooting. He has also requested $263 million in funding for police cameras, and has announced the creation of a special task-force to study police practices.

“Justice has not been served to Michael Brown, but we can change this. We can prevent hundreds, even thousands of unnecessary deaths by taking action now. We need stricter laws that place more accountability on police departments. We need a change in procedure that can ensure that the next Darren Wilson doesn’t find his way into a situation where his only solution is to shoot his way out. Maybe police body cameras are the solution; maybe they aren’t. All I know is that if we don’t act now, you can be sure that police will continue acting with hostility towards its citizens, and many more will die,” Tarsetti said.

The fourth Maine Campus poll question asked, “If you believe the shooting was the result of discrimination, do you think the grand jury’s decision has set a precedent for future race-related crimes?” Fifty-seven percent of poll-takers said, “Yes, it has set a precedent,” while only 10 percent said “no.” The remaining 33 percent believed the shooting was not race-related.

The Washington Post polled a similar question, which saw that national opinion on the government bringing civil rights charges against Wilson were split, with 48 percent approving of the action, 46 percent disapproved; the remaining 6 percent had no opinion.

While public reaction to the Grand Jury’s decision to not indict Wilson for Brown’s death remains largely pessimistic in the ability of law enforcement to change, second year political science student Allyson Eslin says that hope for change lies in the hands of citizens making their opinions heard.

“[H]ope is not absent in the situation. The Internet has been boundlessly useful in connecting oppressed individuals and their supporters to evidence and financial funding, which, paired with tools like tools Twitter and Facebook, make protests more profitable and easy to organize than ever before,” Eslin said. “With this level of publicity, acquittals in these cases are more shocking, visible, and dangerous to the reputation of the city than at any other time in history, leaving citizens rightly appalled that despite this enhanced cognizance, police brutality continues to go unpunished.

According to Eslin, everyday Americans can use these social media channels to hold law enforcement accountable and ensure that police officers are performing their duties to society ethically.

“Without more American investment in the plight of non-white individuals and greater accountability for lethal police action, the dismissal of these crimes by the American public will continue to not only harm [the] African-American community, but the legitimacy of an institution largely populated by officers who are genuine in their desire to serve and protect,” Eslin said. “Ignorance is bliss only to those who are privileged enough to be given the luxury.”

A “guest” of The Grove housing complex has passed away, according to a notice posted to Grove apartment doors early Wednesday evening.

“It is with great remorse that I must inform you of the tragic passing of [a] guest who was staying at The Grove,” general manager Shaun Crockett wrote. “As a community, our thoughts and condolences go out to the individual’s family and friends during this difficult time.”

The notice went on to say that Grove staff is “working in full cooperation with the local authorities as they conduct a formal investigation.”

Early Wednesday afternoon, Orono Police Department and ambulance vehicles were seen parked outside of an apartment building, and officers and medical personnel were seen entering and exiting an apartment in the building.

Check mainecampus.com for more info on this story as it becomes available.

A small fire caused by a burning trash bag resulted in minor damage to the second-floor hallway of Building 11 at The Grove apartment complex on Saturday before being extinguished by a resident of the building.

“Pretty much, [roommate Cameron Paquette and I were] just sitting on the couch, [we] heard a pop and someone knocked on our door,” fourth-year diesel mechanics student Kurtis Brown said. “[We] came out here and someone apparently lit a trash bag on fire and [the bag] burned half the siding up on the side of the building.”

According to Brown, the fire started at “about 10 of 11 [p.m.].” Brown said he filled a pot from his apartment with water and extinguished the burning bag.

The Orono Police Department and Orono Fire Department responded and evacuated the building until about 11:50 p.m. There were no injuries or any damage aside from melted vinyl siding and insulation, according to Orono Fire Department Lieutenant Joel Sides.

There are currently no suspects and an investigation by the Orono Police Department is ongoing.