He’s the founder of Flannel Magazine – a free, homemade product full of black-and-white photography and interviews on 8-inch-by-8-inch paper, tied together with string.

Would he take a picture of a lighthouse?

“If something terrible was happening to it,” he said.

“If it was on fire,” chimed in Travis Bourassa, a 24-year-old UMaine broadcast journalism student and Collinson’s colleague.

Flannel’s mission, proclaimed on the first page of Issue One, is to display “what we love about the state: the great outdoors, the creativity and the do-it-yourself mentality.”

Excerpt of an interview with Flannel founder, Sean Collinson:

Flannel Magazine: What are you into?

Sean Collinson: Bad quality.

FM: What?

SC: I’m not really into glossiness or professionalism. I like a more organic feel to things.

FM: Explain.

SC: Just capturing an experience.

The first issue took a year to complete from thought to page. Collinson’s final project for a graphic design class set off a long-burning creative fuse; he had to make a book.

Reading art publications, Collinson sensed the misconception that only a few U.S. cities were where important art was occurring. His zine’s premise was complete.

“Flannel came about because we think Maine is just as culturally significant,” Collinson said.

Bourassa said they want to give a voice to typically overlooked or unseen Maine art.

Pine Tree State stereotypes included?

“Hunting, woods, driving four-wheelers through the mud – Flannel stands for that stuff,” Bourassa said. “It doesn’t stand for the touristy Maine. It doesn’t stand against it, but …”

Jessica Harvey, 19, the third leg of Flannel’s tripod, finished his sentence: “There’s more to Maine than the coast.”

“This is Maine, and it’s not Bar Harbor, and it’s not Portland, and it’s not on the water,” Bourassa said. “There’s already a voice for that Maine. Flannel is the hidden Maine that only Mainers know.”

Bourassa enjoys the coast and lobster. But he also recognizes Maine as “going to Old Town and seeing some fat guy on steps drinking a 40 ’cause he just got out of work at the paper mill.”

“It’s an art and culture magazine, but we’re not taking ourselves seriously,” Collinson said. “And I don’t think Maine people take themselves seriously. A lobsterman is a lobsterman because he likes to get lobster. I am a Mainer, proudly. I hope I have an accent, and I hope I sound ridiculous.”

The zine’s final product is a crossroads of crisp and coarse. Two editions in, the plan is for all issues to feature interviews with contributors and showcase their art. At this time, contributors must be from Maine, although where they live or make their art is open.

“This is for people from Maine that love Maine,” Collinson said.

Flannel doesn’t roll off a printing press – it’s built. Issue One was assembled in Collinson’s basement, hand-cut with X-Acto knives and tied with string, while they watched VHS tapes on a tiny television. They moved at a clip of about six copies per movie.

“It just sucked, because there’s no natural light, it’s dusty, it’s gross,” Collinson said. They crossed the basement with an extension cord to access the single working outlet.

The zine is printed on laser printers and copier paper.

“It’s basically the worst quality you could get, but I think the integrity of the photos still holds up,” Collinson said.

Flannel is the kind of publication that embraces grit and grain honestly – there’s no irony in a contributor praising Steel Reserve, a lethal brew that has six-packs priced at next to nothing, as his favorite beer. Or the bassist of Belfast punk band Afghan Banana Stand saying he and the drummer couldn’t play their instruments when they joined the group – they learned as they went. Kind of like Flannel.

The zine didn’t need to have all its pieces in line – advertisers, a business bank account, arrangements for glossy prints. They interviewed their friends, a girlfriend or two, and showed the diversity of their neck of the woods with pictures of guns, embroidered Web speak and tattooed dudes doing cannonballs into above-ground pools.

—

There was no plan for Flannel to make money. Then the first order came from a girl in Kansas – a girl no one involved with Flannel knew.

“She just found it,” Collinson said. “We never said, ‘Go to the blog, get our magazine.’ We just started getting orders. So then we just started running with it.” The majority of the orders for Issue One came from the Internet.

Keys to Flannel’s success:

MC: How many days a week do you wear Flannel?

Sean Collinson: Most days.

Jess Harvey: Sometimes a couple times a week, sometimes I don’t even wear one in a week.

Travis Bourassa: I’ve got one flannel.

MC: How important are your mustaches to the zine?

TB: Incredibly important to the cause.

SC: I would not consider being clean-shaven.

TB: Could you imagine me without a mustache at this point?

SC: No. You’d look like a damned joke.

“We couldn’t keep up with the orders. We were getting them out like three weeks after they were ordering them,” Collinson said. He estimated 50 requests in two weeks.

The Flannel crew planted copies in Bangor stores and the University of Maine Art Museum, where director George Kinghorn was smitten – he called the next day and asked to meet them.

“We still can’t come to terms with the fact that something we made, people are interested in and want it and would be willing to write a letter to us and be like, ‘Can I have a copy of that?’” Bourassa said.

Bourassa browsed his e-mail for a message from Bangor High School student Hannah Hirsch.

“Finally we have a cool, hip, independently produced photography/art zine that focuses on the true meaning of Maine: finding the true beauty in the grimy and gritty,” Hirsch writes. The message concludes with her asking what the “process for subscribing is.”

“When Sean and I read that, we were like, ‘Subscribing?’”

—

Collinson and Bourassa are sitting at their workspace. Bourassa is wearing corduroys and a bolo tie. Collinson wears a red-and-blue flannel shirt and jeans. Both have mustaches. Neither are wearing shoes. They tap away on MacBook Pros, working to finish Issue Two before a Friday night party.

It’s being produced in nicer conditions than the inaugural issue; Flannel recently secured a space at the Foster Student Innovation Center on campus. They were offered an interview on 101.3 WVOM on their first day.

The second Flannel doubles the amount of contributors and stacks to 52 pages – up from 36 in Issue One. There’s a death theme – contributors spoke about their near-death experiences, ghosts and the afterlife.

“We were a lot more excited about Issue Two because we felt like we built kind of a fanbase,” Bourassa says. “We were a lot more motivated to get it done and do it for the audience.”

They feel more professional in the Innovation Center.

“It makes you feel like what you’re doing has more worth,” Bourassa says.

The creative and production side, although time-consuming, is the simple part. Business decisions are tough.

Flannel is printed at home and on a university printer, but Collinson and Bourassa dropped some of their own cash on supplies and charge $2 for shipping. They’ll soon spend $60 to have Flannel copyrighted.

While the zine isn’t turning a profit yet, it is now produced without a cash loss.

“I haven’t given making money much thought,” Collinson says.

“We’re the least business-minded people in this business building,” Bourassa says, gesturing to the Innovation Center, where video producers and software engineers hang their hats. With a long desk and natural light pouring in from floor-to-ceiling windows, Flannel is now a far cry from a shoestring setup in a musty basement. They have support from the business-savvy Innovation Center staff and 24-hour access to their workspace.

Rubbing shoulders with entrepreneurs and dedicating so much time to Flannel, is it crossing into career territory, or still a hobby?

“Definitely a hobby,” Collinson says.

“Both,” Bourassa says.

“It’s a hobby, but we want it to be our job,” Harvey says.

“We can say it’s a passion. We’re working on this at the level where we’d like it to be a self-sustainable thing, like this could continue happening. This is not a school project that you do, and you get a grade and you’re done,” Collinson says.

Bourassa worries his girlfriend will dump him if he works on another issue; he’s so absorbed in Flannel, he tends to forget plans with her.

“I get stressed out, constantly,” Collinson says. “It’s a good stress. It’s not a stress where we hate to do it; it’s just a stress where we’re constantly pushing ourselves.

Collinson forgot to show up for his job recently; he was working on Flannel.

“We’re gonna make real good adults someday,” Bourassa says.

“I have a really hard time keeping track of anything. Jess is our staff,” Collinson says. He tells her every detail, and she serves as his memory. She’s also his girlfriend.

They face tough questions on an almost daily basis.

“‘Where do you see the zine in five years?’” Collinson mimics.

“In a Dumpster. In my woodstove,” Bourassa answers.

Bourassa had been skeptical about creating a paper product he’d hand directly to people, but said it trumps the ease and forgettable nature of a blog.

“Turning the pages, I think that gets people really into it,” he says.

“If they know next month there’s going to be an actual physical copy of something waiting at the door, people get way more impressed by that,” Bourassa says. “It looks like a magazine. That’s what I want it to do.”

Collinson and Bourassa hope to include new artists in every issue, as well as more writers and articles. Their immediate business goals are to earn advertising revenue and secure professional printing. They want to increase in thickness and expand their painting and multimedia content.

Collinson hopes to build up the Flannel Web presence to a space that can advertise artistic and DIY Maine happenings. Flannel will be the organization behind a multi-genre rock show for the Keith Anderson Community Center on April 17.

Their highest aspiration is to become, as Collinson puts it, “an art collective, where there’s this art group of young artists who are not doing what’s in most Maine galleries.”

“We want it to become more than just a magazine,” he says.

To order Flannel, e-mail order@flannelzine.com. Flannel is online at flanneldotcom.blogspot.com, Facebook and its new Web site, flannelzine.com.

Police responded to the laundry room of Androscoggin Hall for a damage report at 10:39 a.m. Feb. 21. The fire extinguisher had been removed and discharged on the first floor. During the investigation, police found a blood trail leading from the second-floor stairwell to the south-end exterior door. They found blood splatters on the walls and two doors of the second-floor south wing. The case is under investigation. Clean up and extinguisher replacement cost $300.

Hullabaloo at Sigma Nu

Police received a report that there may be a large gathering at the Sigma Nu fraternity house at 11:45 p.m. Feb. 20. Officers drove to the house and observed several taxis dropping people off. As officers drew near, they heard loud music and the sound of a large group coming from inside. They spoke with the house advisor in charge for the night, Jarrod Dyke, 22, and told him they were concerned about underage drinking. Dyke assured them only a few people were at the house and everything was fine. The officers left. At 1 a.m., police received an anonymous call reporting a female screaming on the second floor of Sigma Nu’s house and expressed worry that she needed help. Officers responded and told Dyke they needed to enter the house to assist the female. As they searched the house, they noted a strong odor of alcohol. People were moving away from the officers and going into individual rooms. An officer turned a corner and found Timothy Fortin, 20, Madison, holding a can of Bud Light and issued him a summons for possession of alcohol by a minor. They were unable to find the female. Soon after police left, they received another noise complaint and determined it to be the noise of the party breaking up and people leaving Sigma Nu. Dyke was issued a summons for furnishing a place for minors to consume alcohol at 9 p.m. Feb. 21.

Out cold

Police located an unconscious male on the floor of a first-floor bathroom of York Hall at 11 p.m. Feb. 20. University Voluntary Ambulance Corps (UVAC) assessed him, determined he was intoxicated and in need of medical attention and transported him to the hospital.

Movie night bust

Police responded to the second floor of Somerset Hall for a noise complaint at 3:12 a.m. Feb. 22. The complainant suspected a party. A resident opened the door when officers knocked and said they were having friends over to cook food and watch movies. They were asked to quiet down.

Three in one night

Police received report of a 20-year-old male student intoxicated in his room on the third floor of Androscoggin Hall at 2:43 a.m. Feb. 22. Police located him, but he wasn’t responsive to any of the officers’ questions. UVAC determined he needed to be hospitalized and transported him to the hospital.

Police received report of a 19-year-old intoxicated female student in need of an ambulance on the second floor of Cumberland Hall at 1:03 a.m. Feb. 22. They located her in the women’s bathroom; she was ill. She admitted to drinking 10 shots of vodka but refused transport to the hospital. UVAC assessed her and decided she was not in need of hospitalization.

Police received report of a 19-year-old male student intoxicated on the third floor of Androscoggin Hall at 2:35 a.m. the same night. The student refused transport to the hospital, and UVAC determined he did not need hospitalization.

10 is not a party

A resident assistant in Hancock Hall called police to report a loud party in a third-floor room at 12:50 a.m. Feb 22. When an officer arrived, the RA was breaking up the nine-person party. No one showed signs of intoxication, but all admitted to drinking in the room. Police confiscated a six-pack of beer and a liter of gin. The students were referred to Student Judicial Affairs.

Phone fight

A female student called police after receiving threatening phone calls from a female acquaintance at 10:38 p.m. Feb. 21. The calls were about a boyfriend. Police located the caller in Androscoggin Hall. She told officers she had received calls from the complainant. The officers advised both to cease contact with each other.

byePhone

An off-campus student parked his 1996 Chevy Lumina in Stodder Parking Lot for five minutes at 5 a.m. Feb. 22 while he ran into Stodder Hall and returned to find his iPhone had been stolen from the unlocked vehicle. The phone is valued at $420. The case is under investigation.

The system chancellor asked the Task Force to suggest more efficient ways for the University of Maine System to operate. The group has a June 2009 deadline.

“I think the primary purpose of this group was the perception that the University of Maine System was entering into an era where it was in danger of encountering what are called structural deficits. And the current projection is that with current trends, it’s now in the order of $42 million or more in the next four years, so something has to be done about that,” said David Flanagan, Chair of the Task Force. “The task force is going to consider addressing that through looking at structure and governance issues.”

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The group listened to commentary and suggestions from more than 15 community members – mostly faculty. Suggestions included eliminating one or more of the smaller universities in the system, aiding graduate studies and research and consolidating only the smaller universities’ services.

Pamela Dean, an alumna who works as the archivist in the Maine Folk Life Center on campus, described the Task Force’s assignment as “impossible.”

“I think you have been given an impossible task. I do not see any way you will find the means to cut or raise $40 million without closing campuses. I think it is very shortsighted to have limited your charge in this case, and I hope that that will be reconsidered,” Dean said.

Dean said having seven campuses might have once been necessary, when travel was difficult, but keeping them now is “unworkable and unneeded.”

“We are to the point of continuing to cut into muscle; we are not trimming fat anymore. Everything that can be trimmed, everything that can be delayed has been delayed. We have incredible backlogs of everything. We are losing faculty – we are losing the best faculty. We are going to be losing staff. This cannot continue. The State of Maine cannot let it continue. This is the most important thing the state supports. Without a good higher education system, the economy goes to hell. If we rule out at the beginning the hard choices, we are going to be left with some very unpleasant results.”

Cary Jenson, a faculty member in social work, said, “I can’t help but think that some significant restructuring, consolidation, streamlining of the system of seven campuses will give us the most bang for the buck.”

The Task Force’s Flanagan responded by saying the group can do only what was asked of it.

“The charge of this committee is to make best of the system that we have and not to change the fundamental structure of the seven campuses,” Flanagan said. “… We should respect the parameters of the assignment that we were given.”

Flanagan said he thinks there is room for significant, transformational change without eliminating the system’s seven-campus structure.

“I’d rather work constructively with the charge we have than invent a new one,” he said.

Associate professor of history, Liam Riordan, said, “this campus that is the centerpiece of the system has been operating on a very empty tank for at least a decade.”

Riordan expressed concern over Orono’s campus losing distinctiveness.

He was also concerned with representation on the Task Force.

“The fact that it doesn’t have a graduate student member, I think, is telling that that is not a priority. It is the kind of oversight that makes us worried about the future of our campus and the future of the system,” he said.

As he wrapped up his allotted three minutes at the lectern, Riordan gave the six members of the Task Force a sort of test.

“From my departmental point of view – a department I’m very proud to be a member of – in part because we’re the only Ph.D.-granting department in the humanities in the state of Maine. And my paranoia is such, my fear is such to expect that nobody on your Task Force knows which department I’m from. Thank you for your consideration.”

Riordan took his seat. Flanagan asked that he come back to the lectern.

“So?” Flanagan asked.

“So my paranoia is confirmed?” the associate professor said.

Task Force member and Riordan’s coworker, Robert Rice, eventually responded that he worked in the History Department.

Also at the discussion, the chair of the IT Council said she and her co-workers were given one month to provide insight to where the system’s technology should go. Gail Garthwait said this worried her.

“A plan we had been presented with looked at 17 positions in technology, information technology, around the campuses that will be morphed in some way ending up with six new positions that are intended to feed the PeopleSoft beast,” Garthwait said. “I think every person in here who has dealt with PeopleSoft is concerned with the black hole of money. We urge you that that may be an area to look at.”

JulieAnn Scott, a graduate student, expressed concern over cuts and asked the Task Force to remember UMaine’s mission as a university.

Student Sen. Nate Wildes asked for more transparency online to allow students to follow the actions the Task Force suggests to the chancellor and to think of making large changes.

“As you rework the system, take a comprehensive, from-scratch look at this and say what is the easiest way, what is the best way,” Wildes said. “… It’s really important to have that blank canvas approach. That is the only way students will be able to adapt to this at the speed we have to. I think if we continue patching things here and there, it will go nowhere.”

A 1957 graduate, James Varner, suggested asking for donations to help adjust budgetary issues.

“With regard for the $40 million projected loss for the University of Maine System in the next four years, we need to point out with a laser accuracy where the shortfalls are going to be in the budget, and we need to ask alumni to make special donations, among their regular membership fees,” Varner said.

Others in the town-hall style forum spoke about ways to centralize some campuses’ services, the lack of transparency of other parts of the restructuring process, how the system needs state funding and the positive effects of the system and UMaine to Maine’s economy.

To e-mail comments to the Task Force, write to taskforce@maine.edu.

After dropping the tiebreaker in the season series with the University of Massachusetts, who were tied with UMaine for the seventh spot in the Hockey East standings entering the weekend, UMaine is now in the eighth spot, four points ahead of ninth-ranked Providence College. Eight teams in the 10-team conference qualify for the playoffs.

The Black Bears (12-16-4, 7-13-3 Hockey East) will host the University of Vermont this weekend. The Catamounts are ranked ninth in the nation and are tied with the University of New Hampshire for third place in Hockey East. It will be the final home weekend for the Black Bears. Seniors Jeff Marshall, Simon Danis-Pepin, Chris Hahn and Matt Duffy will be recognized Saturday night.

“It’s one of the bigger advantages in college hockey to play here,” said UMaine freshman left wing Brian Flynn. “So whenever a team comes in here, especially a great team like Vermont, we expect both nights to be a fight and for them not to leave here with any easy points.”

The Catamounts (16-9-5, 12-7-4 Hockey East) won the first meeting 3-2 in Vermont on Nov. 29 in front of a sold out crowd. UMaine gained a 2-1 lead on goals by Flynn and freshman Gustav Nyquist, before Vermont mounted a two-goal comeback in the third period. Sophomore defenseman Josh Burrows netted the even strength game-winner with 9:32 remaining.

UMaine looks to play to its defensive strengths as they did in the early season meeting. The game saw a goaltending duel between UMaine freshman Scott Darling and Vermont junior Mike Spillane. Darling made 20 saves, while Spillane made 21.

“We kind of just fell apart in the third, and maybe quit a little,” Flynn said. “We learned from that a lot, so I think we’ve become a stronger team in the second half since then.”

The offense revived itself against UMass, as the Black Bears scored three goals in each game, but fell one short both nights. Flynn had a breakout weekend with three goals, giving him the team lead with 11 points. Nyquist is the points leader with 25 on 10 goals and 15 assists. UMaine is averaging 2.22 goals per game, better only than Merrimack College with 2.17.

“We got that first one in the third, and the flood gates kind of opened,” Flynn said of Saturday’s comeback effort. “Hopefully we can continue to score some goals like we did in the third period that night.”

The normally-formidable penalty kill unit was rattled Friday night, giving up threeone goal leads to power play goals before the Minutemen won in overtime. UMaine is still ranked second in Hockey East with an 87.5 percent penalty kill percentage. Vermont has committed the second fewest penalties in minutes in Hockey East.

“Their [UMass] power play was really doing well on Friday night, and we just got into too much penalty trouble and gave their power play too many looks,” said sophomore defenseman Jeff Dimmen. “They’ve got some really good-skilled players on their team, and they’re going to make you pay.”

The Vermont offense (2.97 goals per game, fifth in Hockey East) is led by junior forward Viktor Stalberg, tied for 21st in the nation in scoring with 35 points. Senior forward Peter Lenes is second in team scoring with 28 points.

“We’ve been giving up too many goals, and letting them get in front of our net and get good shots on our goalie.” Dimmen said. “So we’ve definitely got to work on our team defense and limit their shots from their skilled forwards.”

Providence picked up a point last weekend with a tie against Merrimack College. The Friars will finish the season with two-game sets against Boston College and top-ranked Boston University. Boston College fell out of the national rankings for the first time this season in the latest polls.

The Black Bears know they cannot rely on other teams to seal their fate, though. They will finish the regular season on the road against the University of Massachusetts at Lowell on March 6 and 7. The River Hawks beat UMaine 3-2 at Alfond Arena on Jan. 30, and limited the Black Bears to just 16 shots on goal.

Before I explain the different types of penalties, I should explain who is able to enforce those penalties. As each period begins, the University of Maine pep band plays the “Smilin’ Bob” song. The referees then skate onto the rink. Two of the refs have an orange stripe on their arms, and two of them do not. The two refs that do not have the stripes are allowed to make any calls that are not penalty calls. The refs that have the stripes can send players into the penalty box.

Most penalties are minor. This means that the player spends less than five minutes in the box. Most standard minor penalties are two minutes. Cross-checking is when a player uses his stick in both hands – perpendicular to his body – to press the other player into the wall. High sticking happens when a player has his stick too high before or after he swings it. Golf swings don’t work in hockey. Hitting after the whistle, well, you get the idea. Holding is when the player literally holds his opponent and keeps him from moving. Holding the stick is exactly what it sounds like. Hooking is when a player snags his opponent with his stick. Interference is a bit broad. For example, one could say that a player committed a hooking penalty, but also that that same player interfered with somebody. Interference leads to a lot of penalties, but the key indicator for interference is that the player who was blocked did not have the puck. Interference is the call used when a player is blocked from getting to the bench. Roughing is one step away from full-blown fighting; players push and shove each other but stop short of punching so hard that blood is drawn. Slashing is when a player uses a stick like a sword and swings it at his opponent. The player can’t get away with saying “’tis a flesh wound,” though. Delay of game is another penalty that is pretty much self-explanatory. It usually involves the puck being deliberately shot out-of-bounds or someone purposely trapping the puck in the corner for a really long time. Tripping is yet again self-explanatory, tripping a player is easiest to do with a stick. With all of these penalties, the offending player is allowed out of the box when the opposing team scores a goal.

Other penalties are a bit more serious. These are called major penalties. I will explain these offenses after break.

Next issue: Penalties (cont.)

The Pakistani government allowed Islamic militants to implement Shariah – Islamic holy law – in the Pakistan region known as the Swat Valley. The accord, as part of a cease-fire agreed to by the Pakistan government and militants, is a dangerous concession to radical religious ideals that threaten peace and equality. People should hope this is only an isolated incident, because religious law is an inadequate substitute for any law based on social and economic forces – such as the U.S. government, a communist government or any other form of rule that does not place value on religious doctrine.

Robert A. Heinlen, a notable science fiction author, said it best, I think: “It is a truism that almost any sect, cult or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.”

It is not only dangerous to implement radical Islamic law into government, but any religious doctrine. Religion is based on irrational faith, rather than logic. The faith behind religion is irrational because it is not based on facts but unscientific beliefs, which often cannot be proven or disproved. The downside is you can’t prove or disprove God’s existence, or make any argument for or against religious belief which is based on nothing but personal preference. Therefore, if a law is based on the belief that God told human beings to do something, it cannot be argued that the law is flawed or unequal in its representation or implementation because it’s impossible to prove God did or did not say anything. It can be argued the law is unequal or flawed in its effect, but that fails to address the law’s root cause, which its creators probably can’t see past anyway. Religious law then becomes static and based on irrational beliefs rather than scientifically supported facts.

Religion isn’t an evil or destructive force; it has numerous benefits. Followers of any religion are not defined solely by their beliefs, either. Religion is not, however, a suitable substitute for a modern, logical form of government.

A survey released by the Pew Research Center last August showed approximately 50 percent of American Conservatives believe churches and houses of worship should stay out of politics – a broad shift from little more than 30 percent five years ago. The benefits of a government grounded in reality rather than belief may be catching on. Thomas Jefferson, after all, meant something when he described the First Amendment as creating a “wall of separation” between church and state.

Dylan Riley is assistant news editor for The Maine Campus.

Settele has held the position since 2006. This summer he will be leaving it behind. He is retiring after 27 years as a naval officer.

Settele looks comfortable in his flight suit, calmly sipping his 8 a.m. coffee while he reflects on his career. As required of Navy personnel, his face is cleanshaven, and his hair is trimmed neatly above his ears. Despite his meticulous appearance, Settele admits to having a fun side.

“People have this image of military men and women,” he says. “It’s fun to bust the stereotype. We wear a uniform, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little bit of fun.”

Tyler Garrett, a Navy ROTC member, shares his experience of Settele’s definition of fun.

“We were playing football,” Garrett says, smiling as he remembers. “Capt. Settele turned it into a rugby match and took down eight of us at once.”

“I can be intense at times,” Settele says, cradling the coffee cup between his hands. “But working with the different faculty institutions here has provided me the opportunity to take the edge off. The pressure to make snap decisions isn’t here.”

He takes another sip of his java before adding with a laugh, “I got my mojo back.”

At UMaine, Settele may not be directing airplanes to land safely on large aircraft carriers, but he is now preparing young men and women for service. He also teaches a leadership and ethics course.

“He always encourages us to be open-minded about options at any given moment,” says Matt Rautio, a student in Settele’s ethics class. “He has been approachable and willing to give advice.”

“I’m sad that he’s retiring,” Garrett says. “I’ve been with him since he came to the unit three years ago. He has made us believe that being an officer will be the coolest job ever.”

‘Cool’ might be an understatement in Settele’s case. After graduating as an officer from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis in 1982, Settele continued on to naval flight officer training in Pensacola, Fla. He has served on various ships, including the USS Midway and the USS Carl Vinson. He was also on board for the maiden voyage of the USS Harry S. Truman.

Settele has traveled extensively, from the Pentagon to Italy, England and Japan. He has called several of these places home for short periods of time.

While he was in Washington, D.C., Settele was the placement officer for aviation communities before serving as the military assistant to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in 2001. He spent time in Saudi Arabia as the liaison between Navy battle groups and Coalition Air Forces. Settele has accumulated more than 3,000 flight hours and more than 600 carrier-arrested landings.

“I’ve had incredible opportunities,” Settele says. “If you’ve got the chance to go travel and experience another culture, you’ve got to go.”

It hasn’t always been easy to balance a Navy lifestyle with a family.

“I got lucky,” Settele says. “I’ve got three great girls, and my wife Alison is awesome. When I was working under the Secretary of Defense, I wouldn’t see my house in the light of day. My hours were so long. I turned down the rank of admiral for my family, and I don’t regret it for a second.”

Now Settele and his family are permanent members of a community and reside in Holden.

“We all love to ski,” Settele says. “We’ve tried snowshoeing and sledding. People don’t know how we live in the cold.”

He shakes his head, eyes twinkling, “If you never went outside when it was cold in Maine, you’d never go outside at all. I go out as long as it’s not 20 below.”

Being involved permanently with a community is a luxury that retirement will bring for Settele.

“For the first time in 26 years, I’m not packing, and it’s nice,” he says.

Even though Settele is leaving the Navy ROTC unit this summer, he still has an interest in being involved with the UMaine community.

“I love working with the age group here,” he says as he finishes off the last of his coffee.

As he prepares to leave the office to teach his leadership class, Settele reveals the first thing he’ll do upon retiring.

“I’m growing a goatee,” he says.

He zips up his brown bomber jacket over his fight suit and marches out the door into the cold Maine climate he now calls home.

“Suggestions ranged from really dramatically re-examining the functions and missions of each of the campuses to more radical – I guess suggestions – to just bite the bullet and go back to the legislature,” said Dianne Hoff, president of Faculty Senate.

Hoff said the chancellor’s restructuring process is a tremendous opportunity but also a huge moment of risk.

“The largest area of cost-saving is union concessions . 10 years from now we’re going to be right back here with the same issues,” Hoff said, echoing the words of one person who spoke during the Task Force forum.

The Task Force is unsympathetic toward faculty schedules, Hoff said, noting the 1 p.m. forum that immediately preceded the Faculty Senate meeting.

“There seems to be no regard for the faculty’s teaching schedule at all,” Hoff said. “I probably received 50 to 75 e-mails from faculty saying ‘I wish I could be there.’”

Undergraduate student representative Nate Wildes suggested more direct communication between the Task Force and students would be more effective than methods such as forums and e-mails.

“Literally sitting down with one of them and having a face-to-face conversation is going to be the most effective manner,” Wildes said. “It’s all about what [the Task Force] writes . it has to do with how their pen moves.”

In response to a question about other University of Maine System campuses and how closely their goals align with UMaine, Hoff said the smaller campuses she recently visited don’t share them.

“There clearly was the most alignment of goals with the Faculty Senate at USM [University of Sothern Maine],” Hoff said.

Sue Estler, head of the Finance and Institutional Planning Committee, said the university is waiting to hear about the effects of President Obama’s stimulus package. She said it “looks promising so far.”

Sen. James McClymer cautioned that the university should expect to receive less than the expected $8.5 million because of the greater focus on K-12 education.

“Instead . it might drop to $6.5 million,” McClymer said.

Hoff put forth an informal proposal to plan for having a Faculty Senate meeting in May. Currently, the faculty has scheduled its final meeting of the school year for the end of April.

“I think it behooves us not to cut off our meetings in April,” Hoff said. “There’s just too much to do.”

The General Student Senate is working on drafting a formal precedence for how it distributes money to student organizations, Wildes reported during the meeting. He also said the GSS has been working with the library dean to improve library seating and fix electrical outlets.

The senate unanimously approved a proposal to change parts of its bylaws to reflect recent changes and eliminate unnecessary limitations. A proposal also unanimously approved was for a shared governance policy. Both policies will now be stored for 45 days before returning to the Faculty Senate for a final vote.

In four years it is estimated that the system will be more than $40 million in the hole if no changes are made. The problem with handing the future of our university system to this group is that the Task Force is done on June 30.

The system is clearly only thinking short-term about a long-term problem.

If the chancellor is thinking big-picture, as we hope he is, this Task Force needs to extend beyond this fiscal year, because we know the budgetary problems will.

This is not a quick fix. To reduce this problem the system is thinking of layoffs, centralization of services, etc. It is unlikely that a group that will work together for the next four months will come up with solutions if it is not held accountable for what it proposes.

Four months is not enough time to create, develop and implement policy, never mind slowly introduce it with careful consideration of those who the policies will affect as it hears input from those people.

This Task Force needs to remain after this fiscal year. It needs to be a stable committee in the system, generating new ideas on system wide efficiency. This problem will not end June 30; so neither should the Task Force’s work.

The above editorial is written by the editorial position board, whose members are Eryk Salvaggio, Mario Moretto, Heather Steeves, Zach Dionne, William P. Davis and Amy Brooks.