Editorial Feedback at U. Machias Online - The University of Maine at Machias Online Student Newspaper

U. Machias Online
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Newest additions posted first
TERMINATED, Feedback posted April 29, 2001

TERMINATED, Feedback posted April 24, 2001
This feedback submission has been deleted at the author's request. See below.
TERMINATED, Feedback posted April 22, 2001
GENDER ISSUES AND INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE, Feedback posted March 4, 2001
THE ARTS, SPRING 2001, #1, Feedback posted February 22, 2001
ENROLLMENT, Feedback posted February 22, 2001
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGISTS ARE DO-NOTHIN'S, Feedback posted February 13, 2001
THE UMM SPIRIT: WORKING ON RESURRECTION, Feedback posted August 12, 2000

RE: TERMINATED, Feedback posted April 29, 2001
This is in response to Sara Sylvester's letter.
I know the circumstances surrounding the termination of Shirley Erickson. It just frustrates me that
this school gets itself in trouble with money and then they get rid of someone who is incredibly
important to student life. Hey, that'll solve the problem! Rather than try to recruit intelligent,
hard-working students, let's take whatever we can get (take a look at the freshman class) and
overenroll! Who cares if there's no room for some to live in the residence halls? We'll stick some
freshmen in guest rooms and let them live in "luxury" for a year! Most freshmen will fail out before
the year is out anyway! What, the business program is faltering? Maybe if they hired some
professors to replace the ones who have left the past few years, students would stay in the
program. I know that if I still had a couple of years left, I'd transfer. That's how frustrating this
school is in terms of academics. They just stick current, unqualified professors into classes that
they don't have any background in! That's just hurting the students (and the school, indirectly).
I've taken so many classes within my major that I didn't get anything out of because the professor didn't know what they were doing. And it's not the professors' faults. The school just throws them
into classes at random. Maybe they pull names out of a hat. I don't know. But the president says
that they won't hire new professors for the business program until more people enroll, and all he
sees is that enrollment in the program is decreasing. Well that's because it's so bad! Why stay in
a program where you're not learning anything? Maybe if there was a brochure, more freshmen
would enroll in the program. The Business Administration program is the ONLY academic program
that does not have a brochure. Why is that?
Anyway, back to Shirley. I think the school is making a big mistake by letting her go. Once she's
gone, she's not coming back. And she's irreplaceable.
Mike Colucci
** Editors' Note **
Surely there are "intelligent, hard-working" freshmen who do take their education seriously.
Let's try to give credit where credit is due.

RE: TERMINATED, Feedback posted April 24, 2001
Sara Sylvester has asked that her feedback be deleted. Here is an excerpt from a lengthy email
we received from her on May 3, 2001.
"I would like to say that either you pull what you said about me and my article, or you pull my
article all together. Cause I will not allow you to attribute my name with something so belittling
and negative. I do not like being made to feel inferior to whoever you may be."
We are the editors of U. Machias online, and our names can be found on the homepage. As the
"Editors’ Note" would make little sense without the feedback it addressed, we have deleted that
as well. We do not feel that our comments were ‘belittling’ or ‘negative,’ they certainly were not
intended to be. The purpose of this paper is to give the students a voice, and since the publishers
of this paper are also students, those voices will also be included—especially in the Editorial
section. The purpose of the Editors' Note is to stimulate thought and discourse and may or may
not be the personal opinions of the editors.

RE: TERMINATED, Feedback posted April 22, 2001

It's me again, alumnus Scott M. Gagnon. I check into the UMM Online from time
to time to see what's going on at ye olde campus. I have to say this latest
news is rather disconcerting if true. When I was at UMM I was very active in
various activities and organizations and as such I had frequent interactions
with Dean Shirley Erickson. She even attended one of the Binnacle Open Mics I
used to MC and that earned her some points in my book as not too many staff
members would ever come to the shows. Anyway, I always found Dean Erickson
very helpful and cooperative and was a good assett to UMM. The whole Student
Affairs aspect to UMM is very important. UMM is located in a tiny Maine
community and is itself a small, rather tight-knit community. I think it is
vitally important to have a department, and a person heading that department,
to look after the welfare of that student community. Persuing an education can
be much harder if one also has to endure a difficult existence in that
community. Who will nurture the Residence Hall directors and staff? It just
seems like the VP of Student Affairs is a position that should not be touched.
I will be interested to see how they restructure things to tie up the many
loose ends that will be created by such a move. I understand that UMM is
pretty much at the bottom of the barrel within the UMaine system and it has to
do what it can to save. However I hope the administration thinks very
carefully and considers all ramifications when making decisions on staff and
faculty. Because when one reads about things like this it makes one wonder
about priorities. Especially so soon after the glorious pool has been built.

Scott M. Gagnon

Scott M. Gagnon graduated from UMM in 1998 with a B.S. in Environmental
Studies/Policy. Scott will be graduating from the Muskie School of Public
Service this May with his Masters degree in Public Policy and Political
Management.

** Editors' Note **
In the reported new atmosphere of "students first," it seems especially curious that one
of the first positions cut was Student Affairs. In addition, no announcement has been
made to the students outlining how this decision will effect the services they once
received through that department.
U. Machais Online is a small group, and we have not been able to interview anyone involved yet.
We are working on that, and will let you know what we find out as soon as possible.

April 22, 2001

While I too mourn the loss of Shirley (I have always admired and respected her),
I don't think this means that the campus is doing away with the concept of student affairs.
It is my understanding that Student Affairs will now come under the perview and supervision
of the Academic Vice President, although I may be wrong.
I will say that Shirley is one of the most admired and respected people on this campus and
she will be sorely missed by me and many, many others.
Reid Albee

RE: THOUGHTS ON GENDER ISSUES AND INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE, Feedback posted March 4, 2001

Nicely done, Reid. I think that had this article been written by a woman it would have carried
far less weight with men, which is a sad fact of our culture.
Our society seems to cling to the misconception that a man who is assertive is masterful, while
a woman who is assertive is a bitch. In all fairness, if you are acting like one, you should be
labeled as such. However, that should not be used to automatically diminish the value of what
women have to say.
The following also epitomizes the attitude you wrote about:
My husband and I enter a hardware store (the male domain), and I ask a male clerk for help in
finding the item I need to complete a project I am working on. Whereupon the clerk turns to my
husband and attempts to continue to be of assistance.
That man may not beat his mate, but what does that say about his attitude?
In short, I think we all need to examine whether or not we respect the opposite sex,
but with regard to the matter of partner abuse such conduct is inexcusable.
Linda Schofield
Student

RE: THE ARTS, SPRING 2001, #1, Feedback posted February 22, 2001

Hi,
I'm Scott M. Gagnon and I am a UMM alumni from the class of 1998. I am writing this in response
to Duane Ingall's retrospective on the arts. I hope as many UMM students as possible are able to
read what he has written because it is very important. I think one of the defining characteristics of
Machias and of the University of Maine at Machias is the artistic culture of the community.
I came to UMM as a science major. I came to study environmental sciences and to get my degree.
However, I also had a keen interest in other pursuits. I wanted to continue my artistic expressions
and I found that UMM became a very wonderful place to do that. Before I came to UMM I knew of the
Binnacle, the literary magazine, through the various pamphlets I had. I had been writing poetry for a
long time and I was happy to see a vehicle at UMM for such expression. As soon as I came to UMM I
hounded English professors or anyone who had been at UMM before about where the meetings were
or how I could join. It's weird that eventually, I a science major, became the editor of The Binnacle. But
it was a precious experience for me and one I will always treasure. The chance to express oneself
through art and to help others do the same is a very powerful thing.
I also had a musical voice that needed to sing. I was a trained trumpeter and I didn't think I'd have
anywhere to continue that but all I had to was to talk to Mr. Gene Nichols. I became a member of the
Machias Community Band and Les Trois Etoilles, the improvisational group. Being a part of
Les Trois Etoilles I think was the best experience for me. I was basically a sheet music musician. I could
play the notes pretty well but I hadn't learned to just play from within. Gene taught me how to do that.
How to play and create music in the moment. It was a great awakening for me. This was reemphasized
by playing with some of the great musical friends I made like Duane, Jeff Shaw, and others.
So, I want to commend Duane on his writing about the Arts. It's important that the students and other UMM
community members realize how important the arts are to UMM. I know its easy for a lot of students to
see events scheduled for the PAC and just kind of brush them off because they don't realize what's going
on. I remember what it was like to be in a half-filled PAC for a great musical event and wondering where
everyone was. How could someone pass something like this up? What can be more invigorating and
entertaining than experiencing someone's artistic expression? A drunken party in a dorm room? I just
hope that the Arts can grow and thrive at UMM. For me, it was what kept it from being a dull, small
public college. Instead it was a wonderful institution for education and artistic, spiritual growth. I hope
other students read what Duane wrote, and perhaps even what I have written here,
and come to that same realization.

Scott M. Gagnon

Scott M. Gagnon is a Graduate Student at the Muskie School of Public Service where he is completing
a Masters Degree in Public Policy and Political Management with a concentration in Policy Analysis.
He is a regular reader at poetry readings at the Free Street Taverna and the Center for Cultural Exchange
both in Portland, Maine. He will be graduating this May and hopes to escape from Southern Maine.

RE: ENROLLMENT, February 14. Feedback posted February 22, 2001

Hi!
As a longtime friend of co-conspirator Micah Pascucci, I was prompted by his response to write
regarding the issue of enrollment at UMM. In addition to Micah's suggestion to go for the quality
students, I would suggest that the University prioritize its improvements. The pool fiasco has settled
into obscurity, thank God, and has now been replaced with an improvement UMM can use: a child care
center. Good for you UMM and good for the countless potential students of promise who have been
deterred from continuing their education because of child care concerns.
The bottom line is that in order to attract quality students to UMM, UMM must put forth an image of
quality itself. Education above all, followed by viable student services to meet the needs of a diverse
academic community.
And as a post-script, I'd like to mention that two UMM theatre students have just received nomination
to a national scholarship competition (see UMM's homepage). I've long felt that the future of UMM was
in the arts, but more and more we're seeing amazing, creative, and industrious students, faculty, and
staff creating art literally out of the scraps the University threw them to start the BA-IFA major.
Congratulations to all of you. Perhaps the answer to an enrollment crisis would be to develop and
nurture this unique arts program. UMM could very well be at the vanguard of the trend in arts education
toward interdisciplinary studies.
Let's not drop the ball!
Those of us who complain the most do so because we genuinely love UMM and the years we spent
there. We want to see the University grow and flourish, and we're paying attention to what develops
there as concerned alumni. Thanks also to the Online Newspaper for giving us the opportunity to keep
in touch.

Jessica Beagan

Jessica Beagan is a 1999 graduate of UMM with a BA in English.
She was active in the arts while here and currently lives in Iowa City, Iowa
where she is a graduate student in Photography and Intermedia.

RE: SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGISTS ARE DO-NOTHIN'S, February 10. Feedback posted February 13.
Dear Editor,
As a student of psychology, with a strong interest in social psychology, I have to comment,
and in some part take issue with Joscelyn Levine's indictment of the profession of psychology
in general, and social psychology in particular.
She states that social psychology is the broader study of an entire scope of various social
ills and how all the studies of psychology are intertwined. That sounds more like a definition
of sociology. Sociology studies the social ills, norms and mores of a people in a society in the
broad sense, while social psychology, to my recollection, studies a more micro approach of
how we act and interact in society as individuals.
Social Psychologists are mainly researchers. Most don't treat clients, that is the job of the psychologist, psychiatrist, or social worker who use theory from many of the various disciplines
to treat their clients. I must agree with Joscelyn that many of them, as she states, are doing
more harm then good. The courts are full of pill popping, therapy clients who are blaming society
for their crimes, and the lawyers eat it up, because if the price is right, some of these therapists
will say anything.
However, the research and theoretical side of psychology is fascinating to me, and I find it to be
an honest study of why we do the things we do. How therapists use this information and theory
is not the fault of those who have brought the discipline to where it is today.
We all know that psychology is not an exact science, but it is a worthy one, and I have learned
much about human behavior during my tenure as a student of Behavioral Science. I find it a
totally fascinating science.
I have to agree with Joscelyn that our current state of therapy in this nation, and others, is
somewhat lacking, but lets not indict the researchers and founders of this discipline. Most of
them feel they are contributing by conducting research that could be helpful. It's not their fault
that today's pop psychologists twist the research for their own agendas.
Reid D. Albee
Computer Tech

RE: THE UMM SPIRIT: WORKING ON RESURRECTION, August 10. Feedback posted August 12.

I fully agree with Reid's editorial. I started at UMM 4 years later than Reid, in the fall of 1997,
but I still feel like a "veteran" UMM student. When I came in as a freshman, Jaime Sacharko (sp?)
and Carla Ganiel were the leaders of my orientation trip to West Quoddy Head. On the hike, we
took a break to sit and talk about what UMM was like. They both agreed that it was the kind of school where people who don't even know each other will smile and say hi to each other when passing on campus. They suggested we do the same, and also told us to leave our dorm room
doors open to provide a friendly atmosphere. That year, all of those things happened. UMM was
an incredibly friendly school, where everyone knew everyone else. Now, it seems more like a high school, with all kinds of cliques and more people (read: freshmen) who don't seem to realize that there are other people around.
   The same sort of thing is happening with administration. Again, I agree with Reid. With the exception of Jeanne in the Registrar's office, it seems like every request is a pain for them, as if they're not there to help the students. UMM is a business, and they should consider the students
their customers. If they were running a retail business, and customers came in to ask for information on a product, how would the customer be treated? The people working there would want to treat them well, so they get repeat business and so that they tell their friends about the store. Well,
UMM is similar in that we want students staying (repeat business) and UMM students telling soon-to-be-college students how great the school is (friends=new students). Without us, where would they be? We pay their bills and we ought to be treated with respect. If we want information on our bill, or on financial aid, or our schedule, we shouldn't be made to feel like it's a hassle
for them.
   I think that the UMM Student Newspaper is a great service for us to air our thoughts. It's far different from "The Invasion", which was an underground newspaper when I was a freshman. While "The Invasion" was entertaining and true, the administration had no respect for it for several reasons. One, almost every column was written anonymously. A name is very helpful at the end of a column so it's obvious that the complaints are coming from several people, rather than one person writing everything. Administration needs to know that problems are widespread. Two, the columns were not written respectfully. Vulgarity was common and harsh words directed at others were the norm. UMM Student Newspaper is not like that at all. I hope this will be a good sign and it will get things done with problems around campus.
   Looking Forward to a New Year,
   Mike Colucci
Student
** Editor's Note **
1
While no one would dispute the unwarrented treatment many undeserving students receive from
the staff and faculty, a mention of some "behind the scenes" facts is in order here.
With enrollment down the administration has been cutting corners. In many cases the staff has an
additional work load without the benefit of overtime pay, higher pay, or more staff. This is no
reason to treat students with anything less than respect, but it does have a bearing on morale.
Keep in mind, respect is t two-way street,
both administration and students must earn it--not simply demand it.
2
What suggestions do you have as to how we might rekindle the "old" UMM spirit? The
suggestion about leaving doors open in the residence halls sounds like a start, but to improve
the general mood, spirit of community, and facilitate cooperation a more all encompassing strategy is in order--one that includes the majority of students.
We need ideas that will unite the non-traditionals, traditionals, commuters, and those who
live in the residence halls--while not imposing on anyone's academic progress, family life, or health.
Each group has their own particular circumstances, so what will
unite us as a whole as opposed to each having their own separate sphere.
UMM would profit by acting as a unit, which includes faculty, staff, and administration.
Perhaps administration and faculty could take a hand in this.
Contact ummfeedback@hotmail.com
3
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