“I think that the [Maine Judiciary] Committee will report it out as an ought to pass … but I don’t know the strength of that vote,” Damon said.

Damon said he expects Gov. John Baldacci to sign the bill into law if the Maine Legislature approves it, even though Baldacci has not voiced any support or opposition.

“It’s going to be tight. I think the House will probably pass it, and I think the Senate will be close,” Damon said. “I have great hope that we will pass it and get it out.”

Standing before several students and other listeners in the Coe Room of the Memorial Union, Damon said the hearing the day before was one of the most incredible events of his career. The hearing was originally scheduled for April 24. Damon said this made his speech at UMaine either anti-climactic or more historically contextual.

He said he talked to Baldacci prior to the hearing, not to ask him for support, but to request the governor “do nothing,” in that he not veto the bill. Damon said Baldacci did not promise to pass the bill, but that “he is willing to let the discussion and the dialogue go forward.”

“I thought it [Damon's speech] was amazing,” said Charles Chapin, a fifth-year psychology, child development and family relations student.

Chapin, a member of Wilde Stein, said he went with the group to the April 22 hearing. He said he respects Damon and thinks the senator can get the bill passed.

L.D. 1020 will go to a work session of the Maine Judiciary Committee Tuesday April 28, which will be open to the public. The work session may last more than a day, Damon said. He expects the bill will be voted out of committee some time within the next two weeks and that the Maine Legislature will vote on it in mid to late May.

Damon told students that some of his personal history prompted him to sponsor the bill. He said he watched an anti-war rally as a student at UMaine during the 1960s where protestors opposed the U.S. military presence in Vietnam. He said he was less tolerant during the ’60s and joined in decrying the rally. After a dean showed him pictures of himself at the demonstration and told him to be more understanding, Damon said he learned to be more open-minded.

“I would have been one who would have been criticizing; I would have been one who would have been belittling,” Damon said. “Seven years ago, I’m pretty sure I would not have sponsored the bill.”

Damon said he initially felt he wasn’t the best person to sponsor the bill, but said its drafters did and convinced him to support it. He said they felt he should sponsor the bill because he was a straight, older male senator with political capital who represents a rural area, among other reasons.

“I was astonished,” said Kathrine Anderson, a second-year chemistry student who attended Damon’s talk Thursday. “I had no idea he could be so connected to people.”

Damon said he has a fan page on Facebook and estimates 15 to 20 percent of the approximate 600 people on it are not supporters of the bill.

Damon said he originally had felt a referendum on the bill would be beneficial, because it would embolden legislators and remove some of the fundraising ability and martyrdom attitude felt by opponents.

“I thought that it would perhaps provide the cover that some legislators might need to vote on it because they could say, when they went back home to their districts, ‘yup, I voted on it, and I voted on it to pass it, because I want to send it out to the people, so that the people can ultimately vote on it,’” Damon said, who ultimately dismissed the referendum idea. “Our responsibility as legislators is to do the people’s work – that’s what we were sent there to do – and to simply send this out to referendum without a vote on it I think is wrong. We don’t run our government that way. If we did that continuously, then there would just be a series of referendums.”

Damon said the bill is not a “big deal” for young college students today; it is his generation that needs to change. He said “any religion, any church” will not have to perform a marriage that does not fit with their religious doctrine if the bill becomes law, and that notary publics – people authorized to marry others – will also not be bound.

One listener asked Damon about L.D. 1020′s sister bill, L.D. 1118.

“To me that’s not it, and it smacks of ‘separate but not equal,’” Damon said, who mentioned he had not met L.D. 1118′s sponsor Leslie Fossel until a week ago.

Another listener asked about the argument of timing, whether it was time for a marriage-equality bill.

“It’s a favorite argument, one that drives me nuts. … It’s always time,” Damon said. “If it was next year, I guarantee you there’d be another reason why ‘not now.’” Damon said he has dismissed this argument “as a shallow attempt” to stop the issue from progressing.

When asked whether religion will enter the Judiciary Committee’s decision on the bill, Damon said some of its members are deeply rooted in religion and some are not. He feels the majority of Maine’s legislators believe the state’s laws are based on secular issues.

Damon praised the testimony from the supporters at the April 22 hearing.

“It seemed that the amount of testimony for the bill was maybe three times greater than the amount of the testimony opposed to the bill, and so by that sheer numbers alone, I think might have had some impact on the committee,” Damon said. “I have been enlightened some by some of the testimony I heard.”

Damon also commented on the economic benefits of the bill, saying a report he recently viewed at the Bangor Chamber of Commerce estimates the additional permitted marriages will bring $60 million to Maine in three years. He said the Bangor Chamber of Commerce supports the bill because of the economic benefits and that the money side of the debate had not occurred to him prior to seeing the report.

“It’s not any reason not to do it,” Damon said.

Damon pushed people to continue their support of the bill.

“Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Don’t give in to the opposers, and don’t give in to your emotions,” he said.

The bill failed in committee April 15, but will go back to the legislature for a final vote. It is not expected to pass.

The bill, L.D. 1070, would direct “the University of Maine College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture and the University of Maine School of Nursing to collaborate in a project to grow and dispense medical marijuana to authorized individuals and to study pain reduction and other beneficial effects of marijuana.”

The Health and Human Services Committee voted the bill ought not to pass.

Money raised from the sale of the project’s marijuana would have supported its expenses.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Leila Percy, D-Phippsburg, said she was acting on the needs and concerns of her constituency.

“I have constituents who use medical marijuana,” Percy said. “It was [an] accessibility issue for them.”

Percy expressed a need for more information on the topic.

“We kept finding ourselves asking questions like, ‘Is it beneficial?’ and ‘Has enough research been done?’”

According to an e-mail from Marcella Sorg, a nursing professor and forensic and medical anthropologist specializing in policy issues concerning drug abuse epidemiology at UMaine’s Margaret Chase Smith Center, the bill “was, appropriately, already voted not to pass by the Health and Human Services Committee and is essentially dead.”

Sorg said she testified in Augusta on behalf of the university and recommended the committee turn down the bill.

Two days before the committee voted, Sorg told its members UMaine believes the bill is inappropriate and that it would violate federal laws concerning marijuana.

“It is still against federal law to grow, possess or distribute marijuana,” Sorg’s written testimony said. “This L.D. would require the university … to become, in effect, a pharmacy-like dispensary selling an illegal substance. Currently, Maine law … does not permit dispensing of marijuana for medical purposes.” She felt this could “potentially place university employees and federal-university relationships in jeopardy.”

Sorg noted problems with the research side of the bill, saying many studies have already proved marijuana-derived pain medication works, making any research UMaine might conduct redundant, and that the Food and Drug Administration, “which regulates all pharmacologic research, has rejected the use of smoked marijuana for any medicinal purpose.”

Percy said she does not know whether or not the bill will pass when it gets to the Legislature, adding, “you can never make … assumptions in Maine.” She hopes the conversation about medical marijuana research and accessibility continues.

The debate about medical marijuana will continue even if the Maine Legislature rejects L.D. 1070.

Maine residents will vote on a medical marijuana referendum question in November. Medical marijuana advocates have collected the necessary 55,000 signatures to place a question on the November ballot that would ease access to medical marijuana for qualified patients. Charles Wynott, founder of the Maine chapter of Americans for Safe Access, which has been a leader in the medical marijuana petition drive, expressed his disappointment with the failure of L.D. 1070 in committee.

“I’m really displeased that it died [in committee],” Wynott said. “It would’ve gone a long way to help patients in Maine.”

He said he has seen an increasing leniency toward drug policy in the Maine Legislature, but considerable resistance remains.

“Eventually they’ll come to the realization that this is the right thing to do,” Wynott said.

Wynott felt UMaine should play a role in researching medical marijuana.

“The citizens will benefit from it, and that’s what [UMaine] is all about. It’s an agricultural college. Why not use that to our benefit?” Wynott said.

“I don’t believe the University of Maine has a worse problem than other campuses of a similar size when it comes to alcohol-related incidents,” said Director of Public Safety Chief Noel March earlier this year. In his opinion, UMaine has more effective policing systems in place than most colleges, but he said underage consumption is still a problem. Last fall there were 147 instances of alcohol possession by a minor on campus.

“And the lion’s share of drinking goes on off-campus,” March said.

There were 36 alcohol-related ambulance transports on campus last semester, and they weren’t just for overdoses. Drunk students accidentally cut themselves, twist ankles and worse.

The death of 19-year-old UMaine student Dylan Lyford on Feb. 15 was partly due to alcohol. Lyford died of complications due to a skull fracture after falling down some stairs.

Not all the transports were UMaine students. Visitors, whether friends or locals, sometimes cause problems, said Maida Cordero, community coordinator of Balentine, Colvin, Estabrooke, Penobscot and Stodder halls. March agreed.

“They don’t have as much vested in this community. They’re not paying a nonrefundable tuition … and they don’t have to go to class on Monday,” March said.

Nor does alcohol’s influence stop at injuries or drunken shouting.

“Of all the offenses we see on our campus, the fuel in the tank is the excessive and irresponsible use of alcohol,” March said.

He listed off common crimes such as domestic violence or car break-ins and cited reckless drinking as a frequent factor for them.

“They know what they’re doing; they just don’t care,” March said.

The Residence Life staff tries to curb overt drunkenness.

“I’m not looking to bust people,” Cordero said. “But if they’re being disruptive, that’s a problem.”

She said drunks are often found because of a noise violation. If the drinking students are underage, Public Safety is called.

“It’s important to have a sober friend watching your back,” said Kylie Cole, clinician and coordinator of prevention at Cutler Health Center.

Cutler offers free, confidential alcohol counseling.

“If people come here, it’s because they want to,” Cole said.

A concerned friend or roommate most often approaches counseling services for advice. Cole implored students to watch out for each other and said the first and most effective defense against alcohol poisoning is friends, a sentiment echoed by March.

If a student is charged with an alcohol offense, they are referred to the Alcohol and Drug Education Program, headed by Lauri Sidelko. ADEP takes a proactive stance on the issue.

“Alcohol is our job,” Sidelko said.

She runs several activities on campus to educate students about alcohol, including Beer Goggle Wii and Mocktail Thursdays. ADEP works with faculty and the dorms to get the word out about basic alcohol facts, like alcohol-content per drink and how much it takes to overdose.

Eighty percent of underage college students nationwide have drank alcohol, according to Sidelko.

“[As long as] they choose to drink, they know what they’re getting into – that’s our major goal,” Sidelko said.

Though the overall volume of alcohol consumed per person has risen over the past decade, drunk driving has decreased.

Fraternity Alpha Delta and sorority Gamma Sigma Sigma offer the Late Night Local shuttle that drives around campus Friday and Saturday nights, supplying anyone they see with a free ride.

“There are more taxis in Orono and Old Town than there are squad cars,” March said. “There’s no excuse for driving drunk.”

Students are often reluctant to call for help for fear of getting themselves or their drunken friend in trouble for underage alcohol use, explained Sidelko. She, March and Cole all stress the importance of getting help despite the consequences, which are fairly light for first time offenders.

“Never hesitate to call 911,” March said.

A medical amnesty program UMaine is considering implementing in the fall would protect underage students from negative repercussions if they call Public Safety while intoxicated.

In the seven years March has been on the force, there have been three alcohol-related student deaths.

“And that’s three more than I want to see,” March said with a sigh.

Whitman shared the house with his wife, Hope, and their two 5-year-old sons. Hope and Eric Whitman are both non-traditional, full-time students at the University of Maine.

Eric, 34, is an engineering student and Hope, 24, is majoring in marine biology.

Standing on the track in Morse Field, eyeing a handful of students practice football, Eric recounted the fire. He stood with his arms crossed, wearing a black football windbreaker and a white UMaine visor over his dark brown hair. He accepted returned jerseys and equipment from one of the players – part of his role as president of the UMaine Football Club.

Hope is treasurer of the club, and their sons often fill the role of ball boy.

“He lives for this team. He has done amazing things to keep the team going,” said Benjamin Christy, a team member.

On April 6, when they were allowed back in the house to salvage their belongings, four carloads of football club players were waiting to help.

“They continued to come most of that week,” Eric said.

“I helped out because he’s not only a coach, but also a friend. And I know that he would do the same for any of us,” Christy said.

Eric said they had so much help that piles of their belongings were stacked on the lawn before their truck could be filled.

“Our [club] officers stepped up as well,” Eric said. He explained that team members helped take over practice while the Whitmans dealt with their home. The team meets twice a week for practices and scrimmages.

At the time of the fire, the Whitmans were in the process of moving. The landlord they had been renting from had filed for bankruptcy and was letting them remain at the house until the bank took over. They had found a house on Bodwell Street in Old Town and were sleeping there most nights.

They were still using the house on Water Street to store most of their belongings.

“I was using the advantage of having an empty house,” Eric said.

He would often spend time there in the early morning or late night, doing homework and studying for tests.

The cause of the fire is still unknown, but police and fire officials believe it started somewhere around the kitchen. Eric feared it was the laundry he had left drying. Fire officials said that wasn’t the cause.

“They may never figure it out,” Eric said.

The rest of the house is fine, but the fire destroyed the kitchen and laundry room.

“We lost three-quarters of our stuff,” Eric said. “Those are the things that can be replaced.”

Even in these tough economic times, the Whitmans have seen a gracious outreach from community members. They received two sets of used washers and dryers, homemade quilts from a Houlton church, bedding from an engineering department employee and a mattress from a friend.

“We got a handful of Easter cards with nothing in them … but it made us feel good,” Eric said.

He estimated that they lost $20,000 worth of belongings.

“We’re just broke students. [Financial] aid keeps going down; tuition keeps going up,” Eric said.

He said they are banking on yard sales that pop up during the spring season. This will help them to replace some of their household necessities.

“The professors have been really good, too,” Eric said.

Hands on his hips, Eric explained he had just taken a test that was two weeks overdue.

“It’s hard enough being in the engineering program,” Eric said.

The Whitman boys are having a hard time comprehending the fire. Eric said they don’t understand why they can’t have their smoke-damaged toys when they visit the old house.

“They don’t understand. … They don’t like the fact,” Eric said.

He said the boys are not too fazed by the fire, but are most upset about their handheld and video games that are no longer usable.

“At least we weren’t there. … I’d rather have my house burn down than lose my kids.”

“Knowing them as I do, I feel like they will be able to get past this and continue on with their lives,” Christy said.

Fireworks were set off in the Steward Quad at 1:50 a.m. April 24. According to police, Public Safety officers checked the area, but did not find anyone or any fireworks.

Fun for all ages

A metal princess lunch box and a Leapster game system with games were left at Alfond Arena. The items were placed in a box in the Alfond Operations office. The owner was contacted, but the items were stolen from the office before they could retrieve them. The theft, valued at $225, was reported to Public Safety April 23. The matter is under investigation.

“This is your second notice …”

On April 21, a Doris Twitchell Allen Village resident received a phone call from someone claiming the resident’s vehicle warrantee had run out. The resident gave the caller his debit card information and his social security number. On April 23, he noticed $500 was withdrawn from his savings account. Public Safety is investigating the case.

No “no skateboarding” signs

Facilities Management reported the theft of a “no skateboarding” sign April 23 from the Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King Plaza.

Caught with his pants down

A female student contacted Public Safety at 2:04 a.m. April 22 when a man exposed his genitals outside of Aroostook Hall. The man was standing in front of her window with his pants around his ankles. The subject was – based on the description given by the student – walking by Estabrooke Hall. David Gerrish, 42, Naples, was brought to the Public Safety department where he was charged with indecent conduct. Gerrish was also given a criminal trespass letter banning him from university property.

Where there’s smoke …

Public Safety responded to a report of a car on fire at the Hilltop Parking Lot next to the Student Recreation and Fitness Center at 12:18 a.m. April 22 and found a black 1996 Volkswagen Golf with smoke coming from under the hood. There were no visible flames, but the cause was an electric fire. The fire department disconnected the battery and towed the vehicle. Public Safety was unable to locate the owner.

Doubtless, no one will be celebrating the little-known legal holiday that falls on May 1 – Loyalty Day. The U.S. Congress established May 1 as Loyalty Day back in 1958 for the purpose of reaffirming “loyalty to the United States and for the recognition of the heritage of American freedom.” Every president since then has made a Loyalty Day proclamation.

Loyalty Day is widely understood to be a repudiation of another worldwide holiday, also rooted in American history: International Workers Day, also called “May Day” by celebrants. In the late ’50s, many Americans perceived May Day as a “communist” holiday. Perhaps this was a result of the Soviet Union celebrating it, but it was probably because of the dominant culture that brought us the Red Scare, the suppression of freedoms of speech and association legislated into law by the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 and exacerbated by the witch hunts of Sen. Joe McCarthy.

International Workers Day is a celebration of the victories and struggles of the labor movement – the people who brought us the eight-hour workday, workplace safety standards, minimum wage and even the concept of the “weekend.” It’s also a commemoration of the Haymarket Massacre, a story I’ll have to save for another day.

Around the world, where the anti-left tradition has less of a stranglehold on dominant culture and institutions, thousands of people attend rallies, marches and celebrations of both the national and international labor movement. Despite the appropriation of May Day by the conservative nationalists of yesteryear, labor activists and union members all over our country will also be celebrating our vibrant union history.

International Workers Day is as relevant in our country now as it has ever been. The salaries of CEOs (the “robber barons” of today) skyrocket while the average worker’s wage remains stagnant. Millions of Americans are living without healthcare. Single-minded, profit-hungry companies move overseas to exploit workers with little to no legal protection, leaving our communities ravaged by unemployment. A strong union movement is an important piece of the puzzle necessary to create a more just economy that works for everyone – not just the wealthy few at the top.

So this Friday, take some time away from stressing about finals (or take some time before that last big party of the year) to remember and celebrate the victories the labor movement has won for working families both here and abroad. We all benefit from the blood, sweat and tears shed by activists working together to build a better world.

Mario Moretto is co-chair of Student Labor Action Project.

That’s quite a feat in 100 days, and that’s not even half of it.

Obama – like everyone else – must prioritize. After eight years of disastrous foreign and domestic policy, it will take years not months, to extract the country from Iraq, stabilize Afghanistan and repair relations with our former allies. It will take years, not months, to repair our broken economy, find jobs for blue-collar workers and restructure this country’s financial system.

Obama is already facing the job head-on, but nobody – neither Democrats nor Republicans – should expect instant change just because we have a new president.

Obama has actually been moving with incredible speed, despite Republicans digging in their heels every chance they get. Even after Obama handed Republicans billions in concessions – like tax breaks for Limbaugh’s friends – no Republican congressional representatives and only three Republican senators voted for the budget proposal. How bitter can you get? After years of Democrats reluctantly voting for bills, lest they be labeled as against the country’s national security, Republicans apparently couldn’t be bothered to vote for a bill that everyone acknowledged needed to be passed.

The reason was not because they’re inconsiderate to the concerns of the workforce, just that they’re more concerned about their own coffers. I can’t blame them for not wanting to tax themselves, but they should at least acknowledge the conflict of interest, not try to make Obama out to be a socialist. It takes a man to raise taxes on himself.

Nothing that took eight years to screw up can be undone in 100 days, and nobody should expect Obama to move that fast.

I for one am glad he’s not trying to do it all at once. I’d rather get a good economy now and a good national health care system later, rather than a recessed economy and a floundering health care system all at once.

Obama ran an impressive campaign, rallying the country around the idea of a president who will not shrink from a problem because it seems too big. He has already shown his willingness to take on big situations that others on both sides of the aisle would likely avoid. Instead of generically lambasting Democrats out of spite, Republicans should take a second to take stock and decide if they want to start making a substantive contribution to this country’s political discussion.

William P. Davis is managing editor for The Maine Campus.

Home prices finally reached their bottom dollar value, a price determined by the market. It can all be explained by simple supply and demand. Many homes were built, the housing bubble burst and finally the price went down enough to move the supply of homes in a market where there is a low demand because of the recession.

The market corrected itself, which led to a boost in consumer confidence shown by a surge in the markets.

Regulation was supposed to be the answer to the recession – at least that is what the elected politicians told us. They told us the markets would not fix themselves and that banks needed to be regulated because they got us into this mess.

The fact is, this mess was caused by regulation beginning in the ’90s when Congress told banks they had to give out more loans so everyone could own a home. Then – just as the banks expected – these people became unable to pay their loans when times got tough. All because of government interference.

Winston Churchill said, “I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.” He meant taxing the rich and spending their money in the way the government sees fit is futile and will not produce any results. Yet Obama, who says he is a “citizen of the world,” would not agree with this famous statement.

Another one of the solutions to America’s problems Obama has proposed is to tax the wealthy more and give more taxpayer money to the poor. The government should focus on making a favorable situation that promotes a strong economy while letting the markets run their course, instead of regulating the markets and taxing the productivity of those who run America’s businesses.

The favorable situation should be limited to the laws that keep customers from being cheated by predatory companies who try to take advantage of them. The best solution, and one that has been proven to work before, will happen on its own. American ingenuity working in the capitalist system will cause the markets to fix themselves.

The best solution – the one our politicians are not considering – is to let the businesses that survive make the decisions on how to right the course we’re on, rather than politicians. After all, politicians are paid the same whether they succeed or fail at running our country.

Jonathan Zappala is a junior psychology student.

I imagine people generally grapple with the same questions when death wrests a loved one from their grasp. For me, unable to conceive why such a wonderful person should be taken so young, I faced a choice. I could question God’s existence. I could question his benevolence. Or, accepting that God doesn’t take into account whether or not I will understand him when he does what he does, I could trust that he is, as the Bible says, good.

Realizing that none of the options would give me the answers I needed, and that one would let me keep the only parts of me I’ve ever liked, I picked door number three.

Faith sometimes seems profane to some people. Extremism is terrifying, sure, and fundamentalism, if it misses the point, is insane. But when did faith become something bad? And why?

Logic and reason rule academia. All truth must have proof, therefore God is irrational. Besides, we have beauty without him, dignity without deities. Faith is not welcome here.

But don’t we need both? Immanuel Kant said faith without reason is blind, but reason without faith is empty. Have we so quickly forgotten?

Was it rationale that guided 50 men to sign a treasonous document on a hot July day in 1776, knowing torture and death was their fate should their new country fall to the larger, more sophisticated British army? Did logic convince William Wilberforce and the abolitionist movement to battle the institution of slavery in the face of unimaginable hatred and violence in the 19th century? Could scientific data have led the American suffragists to fight millennia of tradition and a nation of derisive men in their quest for equality?

Without faith, these brave people would have had nothing to stand on. Reason would have laughed in their faces or told them to give it up when the odds were against them. Fortunately, they ignored common sense and followed something bigger.

Some who decry faith say science has found no proof of God. I say, what proof are you looking for? A copyright etched into the underside of Mars? A “GOD WUZ HERE” scrawled in stars across the Andromeda Galaxy?

Love, beauty, laughter, my existence and the small amount of good I’ve seen come from it – this is enough evidence for me. My faith can handle the rest.

I’m not advocating to reject reason, only that faith is a necessary and beneficial part of life. Religions typically do little but lock us in cages. But faith, founded on truth, sets us free. Real faith leads to the pursuit of justice, truth, kindness and equality. Faith brings hope; reason can kill hope. And faith, when properly understood, could never be a bad thing.

Tyler Francke is also partial to pie.

All of this happened since the start of fall semester. Looking back, it becomes apparent that we are at the end of a year of major transformation. Beyond the progression from September into May, we’ve seen the election of the first black president; we’ve seen the collapse and the uncertain future of the banking and auto sectors.

Down the line it went, from the national economy down to Augusta, where state cuts have forced administrators to examine what we all had taken for granted.

We await the anouncement of who will be among the 40 positions the University of Maine is cutting next year. UMaine has cut men’s soccer and women’s volleyball. The University of Maine at Farmington lost its dance program. Rumblings and hearsay about programs – and even entire schools – getting cut are commonplace.

There is no secret that this school year may be the last of its kind, but what will replace it is hard to say. Transformation and evolution may be hard, but they are necessary.

Next year may see a return to normalcy, but we doubt it. The changes flowing beneath the surface of this year will likely emerge in the next, and display themselves more dramatically.