The Class of 2010 Council is making sure seniors can celebrate in style.

Saturday kicked off Senior Week with “Chow Down and Drink Up,” an event behind Fogler Library offering free food and $1 beers.

Co-sponsored by the Senior Skulls, the event was open to all seniors, but only those 21 and older were allowed in a gated drinking area where ID’s were checked by Public Safety.

The first 100 participants received free burritos from Verve. Black Bear Catering provided the beer and other food as well.

Senior Week is a tradition for students at UMaine, but this is the first year a class council has hosted the events. Traditionally, a senior council is formed at the beginning of the year.

Kathryn Wetherbee and Cory Davis, social co-chairs of the class council for the last three years, have been in the preliminary planning phase for senior week since last fall. Along with the other members of the council, they wanted to keep the celebration alive.

“There are certain traditions we wanted to keep intact,” Davis said. Wetherbee added that they tried “to add our own spin and get people behind it.”

Overall, they just want seniors to take pleasure in their last days at UMaine.

“It’s really a kind of a way to celebrate however many years you’ve been here,” Davis said.

“Chow Down and Drink Up” was only the kicker for a weeklong series of events the council will sponsor over the week.

Although events are planned for each day of the week, highlights include “Wine and Cheese Night” on Monday and a “Tavern Trot” on Thursday.

“Wine and Cheese Night” is a traditional senior week event and is co-sponsored by All Maine Women. Last year, Wetherbee and Davis helped with the class of 2009’s event. They expect about 100 people to attend the event at Buchanan Alumni House.

The “Tavern Trot” is expected to be a larger event.

The trot will begin at The Bear’s Den in the Memorial Union, where seniors can congregate to begin a night out on the town with their classmates. They will then travel to downtown Orono bars, stopping at The Roost, Margaritas, Woodman’s Bar and Grill and possibly the Bear Brew, depending on the bar’s opening date.

“We want to make it a special night out on the town in Orono,” Davis said. “We encourage students to go out en mass and have fun.”

“It’s never too late to meet people,” Wetherbee added.

Students participating in the trot will receive a passport. At each location, they will get a stamp and be entered for a prize after the event.

To keep from overwhelming each business in the chain of events, times at each place overlap.

“We have clear lines of communication with each establishment to have a safe, enjoyable time,” Davis said.

Each stop will also host a specific event to celebrate senior week. Events include a wing-eating contest, a “Stein Song” competition and a costume contest.

The week will wrap up with “Pride Day,” where seniors are encouraged to wear class of 2010 apparel and show their enthusiasm for graduation. Wetherbee and Davis will sit out on the mall with a cooler full of popsicles, rewarding seniors who show their pride with a sweet treat.

Although the Class of 2010 Council is excited to host events for their own class, they hope to work with classes that follow and help them take control of Senior Week in the coming years.

“We want everyone to have a better experience every year,” Davis said.

Schedule:

Monday, April 26

Wine and Cheese Night

7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Buchanan Alumni House

Tuesday, April 27

Karaoke and Trivia

7 p.m. to 11 p.m.

The Bear’s Den

Wednesday, April 28

Maine Day

Thursday, April 29

Tavern Trot

7 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Downtown Orono

Friday, April 30

Senior Pride Day

Onlookers leaned over the balcony on the second floor of Donald P. Corbett Business Building eyeing Harkins, who sat in the lobby covered with a blue towel. Crowd members held their breath in anticipation as Katherine Deegan filled a pie tin with a mountain of whipped cream.

Moments later, the pie was in his face.

As he cleaned up, the crowd dispersed to Wednesday noontime classes while a few stragglers snapped last-minute pictures on camera phones.

“I’m glad I intelligently chose whipped cream,” said Harkins, a professor of management in the business school. As he wiped the whipped cream from his face, he jokingly tried to hug a colleague, who darted away.

Harkins was this year’s winner of “Pie Your Professor,” an annual fundraiser for the American Marketing Association. AMA’s University of Maine chapter is a part of the national association and boasts 30 members on campus.

The group has used “Pie Your Professor” as a fundraiser for the past four years. A handful of business professors offer themselves as candidates and donations are collected under each one’s name. The one with the most donations gets the honor of being “pied.”

Nine professors were nominated this year, but Harkins came out on top.

“I don’t know if it’s really winning,” joked Emily Antonico, a member of AMA.

The event brought in approximately $140 in the past week. AMA members collected donations from students walking through DPC and professors who were titillated by the prospect of a pie being thrown in the face of a colleague.

“They [professors] all want to throw their hat into it,” Antonico said.

Donators also had the chance to participate. For each dollar they gave, they received a raffle ticket for a chance to be the one to throw the pie.

“It’s totally worth the investment,” said Deegan, a member of AMA and last year’s raffle winner.

AMA uses the donations for group events around campus throughout the year. In the past the group has worked with local businesses, like Harvest Moon Deli in Orono, when they conducted a survey to improve foot traffic for the company. They have also worked to promote the Audubon Society and other local organizations.

One of the group’s biggest events is the annual business conference in the fall semester. Local business representatives hold workshops for participants and give lectures on how to survive in the business world.

“It’s an excellent networking opportunity,” Deegan said.

“Pie Your Professor” is the AMA’s last fundraiser of the year and is on the smaller-scale of donation efforts.

“It’s great because everyone has this pent up energy,” Deegan said. “It’s not a huge fundraiser, but it gets our name out there.”

“We did pretty good for a week of tabling,” Antonico said. The group gathered for its last meeting of the year the evening after the pie-throwing extravaganza. Regularly meeting on Wednesdays throughout the year, AMA is open to all students on campus. Members range from new media to accounting students.

“We’re really open to different people to get all different ideas,” Antonico said.

“We’re always looking for new people,” Deegan said.

The Rotaract Club, a service organization at the university, hand-delivered the cheesy treat to students living on campus and College Avenue on Wednesday for $1 each.  The group took orders for the sandwiches — with a choice of white or wheat bread — all week and up to delivery time.

A portion of the 20 active members of Rotaract gathered in the Campus Activities Board office to prepare the grilled cheeses and worked to distribute the orders around campus. At least one person was in the office to continue taking orders through text and instant messages in the allotted time slot from 5 to 8 p.m.

The club had over 60 orders when members began to prepare the sandwiches. Ali Dunn, the group’s president, said she received a number of text messages asking for delivery to class, then afterthoughts deciding pre-class delivery would be better.

Most of the orders were to residence halls though.

The idea came from the group’s advisor, Justina Demott, who did a similar fundraiser at her undergraduate college in New York.

“We just decided to try it and see how it worked out,” Dunn said. “We hope to get it to grow over the years.”

Falling in a week strewn with last minute tests and assignments in preparation for spring break, the group thought grilled cheese delivery would be a welcome accommodation for students.

“We thought it would be a great de-stressifier,” said David Brown, a member of Rotaract.

The proceeds from the sandwich sales will quickly be put to use this spring break. On Saturday, Rotaract will depart on its annual trip to New Orleans to do service work for a week.

Rotaract is a nationwide service club for people aged 18 to 30, although the UMaine chapter consists of only college-aged members. Sponsored by the Rotary Club, there are more than 7,000 members of Rotaract in 163 locations across the world.

UMaine’s chapter is sponsored by the Old Town Rotary Club. The organizations work closely together, sponsoring events such as a hunters’ breakfast in the fall.

“It’s probably one of our most fun events,” Dunn said. “We are really close to them.”

The UMaine chapter of Rotaract does mostly local service work in the greater Bangor area. The group works with Manna Inc., Crossroads Ministries and events on campus such as Race for the Cure.

“We do a lot of little projects in the community,” said Meredith Atkinson, vice president of the group. “Spring break is something we kind of do on the side.”

For the past three years, the group has been using a week of spring break to volunteer with Operation Nehemiah, a non-profit organization in New Orleans that continues the cleanup from Hurricane Katrina.

Several colleges work with the operation during spring break. Previous projects have included home repair, fence construction, roofing and even a bowling alley construction project.

“There’s a lot more help needed [in New Orleans] than people think,” Atkinson said.

“It happened and then people forgot about it,” Dunn added. Atkinson explained the last time the group was in New Orleans, members were surprised by how much work still needed to be done. She described the devastation that still dominated the ninth ward — abandoned houses, boarded-up windows and empty streets.

The recent Super Bowl win for the New Orleans Saints and the aftermath of Mardi Gras celebrations are exciting bonuses of the trip for Rotaract.

The group still had a way to go in its fundraising efforts earlier this week. On Tuesday, it was still almost $1,000 short.

The grilled cheese sale was not its only unorthodox fundraising effort this semester. The group held a raffle for a kayak that brought in $190 and used a traveling bake sale that brought in $285. Members brought a cart of baked goods around campus to gather more attention and reach people near classrooms and offices when they had their wallets with them.

Old Town Rotary Club also donated $550 earlier this week to help with trip costs.

“We’re just raising as much as we can to go on this trip,” Dunn said.

Spike has taught me more than how to love a small, furry creature, though, and the other day he gave me a lesson about Orono, the community in which I live.

As I left the house to go to school Tuesday morning, I let Spike out for his daily romp in the neighborhood. With his dog-like qualities, he followed me to the nearby bus stop, then climbed a tree and watched me board the BAT. I thought nothing of it, as he often follows me and always makes it home on his own.

A few hours later, I received a phone call from a man I didn’t know, who told me Spike had been hanging out in his yard all morning. The man saw my phone number on his collar and wanted to make sure he was all right and would make his way home.

Spike had not left the yard he saw me off at when I boarded the bus.

The loyalty of Spike and the kindness of a stranger made me think about the Orono community.

This semester has been a trying time for the UMaine community. We have dealt with undeserved violence, a natural disaster in a foreign country, a house fire and the death of our peer and friend. But we’ve also seen the University of Maine and Orono community gather in the abundant times of need these first few months of the new year.

These tragedies have certainly brought the community together, but it’s the everyday things that keep it close on a day-to-day basis: the stranger calling to make sure Spike will get home safe, the cashier at Big Apple who knows me by name, the mechanic who will listen to my car squeak at unannounced times of the day, the BAT Bus driver who makes jokes with his passengers.

Maybe I notice the small things that make Orono the close community I’m proud to be part of because I’m from Thorndike, Maine: population 712. Thorndike’s a place where Saturday night community dinners at the Grange still exist and the first car to see you pulled off on the side of the road will stop to make sure everything’s all right.

Orono is slightly larger, but I see those traits here too.

Maybe it’s because I’m a Sagittarius. I read a cheesy horoscope that said Sagittarii are blindly optimistic. Maybe that’s so, but I prefer to live in a world where my neighbors are my allies and I can depend on the strength of an entire town.

Bad things happen, but what results from those mishaps is what’s important. How we deal with tragedy, along with everyday trivialities, as a community says a lot about who we are.

Spike is like Orono. I can always depend on him to be there for me. When I returned home from school five hours after we parted ways, he was still waiting around by the bus stop and walked me home.

It doesn’t matter that when I let him out this morning, I was mad at him because he lost one of my rings in a fit of playfulness and left dirty cat prints on my white sheets. I was happy to see him and glad he curled up in a ball on the couch with me while I ate lunch. Most importantly, someone in my neighborhood in Orono cared enough to make sure I could have that experience at the end of the day.

Rhiannon Sawtelle is features editor for The Maine Campus.

The members of the University of Maine Swing Dance Club were hard at work practicing their moves for the upcoming International Dance Festival. The festival will be held Feb. 20 at the Collins Center for the Arts, with shows at 2 and 7 p.m. Admission is free.

The club, which has existed on campus for at least seven years, usually practices Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in the Student Recreation and Fitness Center. But Monday they took to the empty space of the Hauck Auditorium lobby to step-up their practices for the show.

The core group that will perform at the festival will consist of six dancers — two men and four women. The balance is a little uneven, but the members work through it in a fluid way.

“It will be what we can pull together with choreography,” said Robert England, a club member and engineering graduate student. “It’s really an informal couples dance.”

Members will continue to practice every night this week.

England noted although swing dancing is usually improvised, the six performers will work out a routine for the festival.

Beyond working on a routine for the dance show, the group has 12 to 15 members who show up on a regular basis and has a large social aspect.

“The best part about Swing Dance Club is that it is a very social dance and people of all skill levels come to have fun, meet new people and learn how to do some damage on the dance floor,” said Benton Shattenberg, a sixth-year parks, recreation and tourism student who instructs the team.

Andrea Nakamura, a member of the club and a first-year bio-chemistry student, agrees with Shattenberg. She said her favorite part is the people.

Nakamura has been swing dancing since a friend “dragged” her to a dance in high school. She fell in love with the art and actually hunted down the club when she came to UMaine.

England had only had a brief encounter with swing dancing before he began at UMaine and has been with the group for the past four years.

“I hardly even remembered the basics,” he said about joining the group.

Members of the Swing Dance Club encourage all skill levels to join.

Shattenberg, the group’s instructor, was actually dragged to his first practice, as a novice, by an ex-girlfriend in 2005.

“Anyone who wants to come is welcome,” England said. “You don’t need experience, you don’t need certain clothes … just have a good time.”

At normal practices, the group starts with a review of last week’s lesson, followed by dance time and ends with an instruction on a new move or dance.

“We mostly do swing, but we also dedicate some time at the end of each session for other ballroom dances such as tango, waltz, salsa, etc.,” Shattenberg said.

While Shattenberg does a lot of the dance instruction, England said they also cultivate dance moves from new members and online videos.

The only restriction Shattenberg puts on practice is no lifts on a first practice. Lifts are when dancers pick up other dancers between moves.

“After coming for several weeks and I think you have what it takes to safely do a lift, then I will teach some,” Shattenberg said.

While the group focuses on swing dance, many members practice other types of dance. Shattenberg has started other ballroom dances and tap since he began swing dancing in 2005.

Other members participate in salsa dancing with another group on campus and some even help with DAN 130; Ballroom and World Dance.

“It’s a rare semester when we don’t have someone from the group in the class,” England said. “We’ve had people from everywhere.”

The UMaine Paranormal Investigation Club is ready to confirm or disprove these legends. With a resurgent presence on campus, the group is working on building their base of members to expand their ghost-hunting endeavors.

“We’re still working on trying to get it up,” said Denise Bickford, a second-year English student and president of the group.

The group has been on campus for at least six years, but has declined in membership over the past few years. When Bickford joined in the fall of 2008, she began to pick up the slack of the dissipating group.

The club made strides last semester when it became an official student group, recognized by Student Government.

“That was really exciting,” said Amie Dick, a second-year social work student and vice-president of the club. “We just got back on our feet.”

The numbers are growing, with a solid base of 10 members and five or six more new recruits who grew interested after a presentation from Mike Marino, a member of the Bangor Ghost Hunters.

Marino spoke to the group during their usual meeting time Monday from 5 to 6 p.m. in the Senior Skulls room. He spoke about his experiences in the group, how to investigate and the equipment used in the process.

“It was really informative. … It was interesting to hear from someone on the case,” Bickford said.

With growing interest in the group, the club is escalating their efforts to investigate the paranormal.

“We’re trying to expand to all paranormal stuff,” Bickford said.

This year, they plan to investigate hauntings around campus, take a tour of a cemetery in Lewiston and visit a cryptozoology museum.

According to Bickford, this is a great improvement over last year when the group only went on one investigation in Estabrooke Hall.

The members’ interests lie in all things paranormal, and they takes different steps depending on what they are investigating.

When they investigate supposed hauntings, they bring camcorders and still-frame cameras, hoping to capture ghost sightings.

During the cemetery visit, they will use their own observations and electrical readings that denote the presence of spirits. There has been a lot of reported activity around a mausoleum in the cemetery.

“A lot of people have felt a presence there. … It’s intuitive,” Dick said.

“It depends on what you’re looking for in a haunting,” Bickford said. “It’s not a science; you can’t really prove anything.”

Bickford and Dick note that a real ghost-hunting experience isn’t like those portrayed on popular television shows like “Ghost Hunters” and “Paranormal State.”

“You’re not going to find something most of the time,” Bickford said. “You have to go over what you think is real and what isn’t.”

“I think it’s good to go into an investigation with an open mind,” Dick said.

Both women believe there is paranormal activity alive and well in the world but admit that skeptics are good to have around to balance an investigation.

“I don’t consider myself a skeptic … but there are things that can be written off,” Bickford said.

They explained the importance of critically examining evidence and understanding there won’t be activity every investigation.

An interest in the unknown is what drew Bickford and Dick to the club; they joined through word of mouth. While Dick is still waiting for a paranormal experience, Bickford recently experienced a sighting this summer. The incident confirmed her suspicion there were things we can’t explain in the world.

Bickford’s family lives in an old house in Winterport, and her mother has always heard unidentifiable voices and music. Bickford had never before experienced a haunting but woke up one night this summer to see a figure of a man in her room.

“It’s nothing I should be scared of. … it freaks you out if you don’t know what’s going on, though,” Bickford said.

As for Dick, she is still waiting for an experience to confirm her beliefs.

“I wish,” she said.

On Feb. 7, Gardner will present a history of UFOs alongside long-time friend Cindy Proulx, at Fire Sign, a downtown Orono business.

Fire Sign, a metaphysical shop at 50 Main St., opened early September 2009. Owner Kathy Walton often hosts lectures and workshops in her store. The events range from tea leaf readings to pendulum classes to tarot card readings.

“I want them to be vaguely metaphysical,” Walton said. “It’s educational items of interest.”

The presentation on UFOs had been in the works for a while, but a date was finally decided in early January.

Walton has worked with Gardner and Proulx before. They presented a class on hauntings in Maine this past Halloween.

The presentation will focus on the history of sightings throughout the world and particularly in Maine.

“It’s about how myths go about and how people react,” Gardner said.

Gardner grew up in Old Town and graduated from the University of Maine with a degree in anthropology. He said he has always been interested in mythology and cryptozoology – an interest that stemmed from reading he did as a child.

“I’m spread out all over the field,” he said. “It’s always been kind of a love for me. I try to keep an open mind.”

Gardner spent time investigating ghosts throughout Maine before his focus turned to UFOs. He met Proulx at a metaphysical shop in Bangor that is now closed and the two began working on their research together. They annually present a talk at the Paranormal and Psychic Fair at Fort Knox in July.

The two researchers have a vast amount of knowledge on the history of UFO sightings in the United States. Gardner can easily run through the line-up of famous cases in history.

“I like to teach, obviously,” he said, pointing to his young son whom he home-schools.

Although Gardner has studied many cases of UFO sightings and abductions, he remains skeptical and practical about his area of research.

“A lot of it is based somewhat in fact. You have to separate fact from fiction,” he said. “I think there’s something out there.”

“I don’t try to change anyone’s mind; I just try to pass it on. People can make up their own mind,” he added.

Gardner is not alone in his beliefs. He estimated there are 6 million people in the United States a year that claim to be abducted by UFOs.

“Something’s going on I believe … Whatever’s going on is real to them,” he said.

A lot of Gardner’s research is based on the evolution of science. He said science-fiction movies often predict new technology. He cited old “Star Trek” episodes and other past fantasy movies and shows. He suggested that children today have an easier time accepting the idea of aliens because it’s present among popular culture.

“In time, these things do come to be true,” he said.

Gardner and Proulx will present their lecture from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 7. The cost is $5 for adults and $1 for children. Space is limited for the event, so it is suggested that attendees reserve a seat in advance. To make a reservation, call 866-3626.

The Late Night Local — more commonly known as the “drunk bus” — is on the watch for University of Maine students who need a ride home from a weekend-night out.

Driven by the brothers of Alpha Delta and the sisters of Gamma Sigma Sigma, the Late Night Local is a voluntary taxi service that offers free rides home on Friday and Saturday nights.

The service runs from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. and will take riders pretty much anywhere in Orono and Old Town. There’s no telephone number to call, as the six seats in the van would be quickly overrun, but if you’re lucky enough to spot it, the driver and assistant will get you home in one piece.

The blue van, rented from UMaine’s van-rental service, can be spotted by its lighted taxi-like sign on the roof and a sign with their logo on the back doors.

“It’s a way to help keep UMaine safe late at night, by keeping students, intoxicated or not, off of the streets and helping them get to their destinations faster,” said Kendra West, president of Gamma Sigma Sigma.

“Riders are very grateful and excited when they’re picked up, and they definitely let you know that they appreciate your help,” she added.

“The people we pick up are unbelievably grateful. I’ve picked up people in Old Town … and they’re walking to campus in the cold and rain,” said Luke Cyr, membership vice president of Alpha Delta.

“It makes it kind of rewarding for us too,” said Matt Shannon, another brother of Alpha Delta. “That’s what most of the riders are, at least later at night, are people that are walking.”

The brothers and sisters team up for the night. One drives and one rides along to keep order and track how many passengers they pick up. Although the service is completely anonymous, the Greeks keep a count of riders to report to Student Affairs. Drivers volunteer throughout the semester, but some like driving more than others.

The Late Night Local was established in the early ’80s with a paid driver position, but the program was cut due to budget issues. In 1988, the project was reinstated with support from brothers of the fraternity and Robert Dana, who at the time was working in Substance Abuse Services. After over 20 years and a promotion to Dean of Students, Dana still supports the program.

In the fall of 1989, the sisters of Gamma Sigma Sigma were asked to join the project in order to make women feel more comfortable.

The rules of the ride are simple enough – behave yourself and the drivers will take you where you need to go in Orono or Old Town. However, there is no smoking or alcohol allowed in the van and even if passengers are grateful for the ride, the drivers don’t accept tips.

Drivers say they have very few incidents where passengers are unruly, but they have the right to call campus police or kick people out if things get out of control.

“It’s more of a community service thing, not like trying to get someone in trouble,” Shannon said.

The problem the service faces more often is someone getting sick in the van.

“At that point we have to close everything down for the night and get the van cleaned. It’s usually a very long process,” West said.

Above all, drivers usually find passengers grateful for the help.

“My first night on the Local, one rider was so grateful for my help, he decided to give me a back massage. People have also pet my hair, which was really awkward. I’ve been serenaded and taught songs, and have witnessed some pretty intense dance parties,” West said.

“Last semester, one guy gave a potato to us because he wanted to give something in return for helping him. Where he got said potato, who knows? In general, people are so happy to see the Local that you get a good story, no matter what,” she added.

Cyr and Shannon have similar good-natured stories.

“We have a lot of sing-alongs,” Cyr said.

Although the trips are often light-hearted, the Late Night Local drivers take their job seriously. Cyr explained that one brother picked up a student at Burger King in Orono who was visibly intoxicated and wanted to drive home.

“He picked him up and told him he had to get in the van or he was calling the cops. He got him in the van and took him back home and left his car there,” Cyr said.

Cyr believes the Late Night Local cuts down on drunk driving and OUI arrests. In 2008, there were 31 OUI incidents in Orono alone. These were not all college students, but Cyr thinks the service helps keep the number down.

Although the Late Night Local can’t pick up everyone, Cyr estimated they pick up around 200 passengers a weekend. He said they pick up anywhere between 75 and 120 students a night.

“Some ride from one end of campus to the other and some from College Avenue to The Dime in Old Town,” Cyr said.

“We’re proactive about finding people,” Shannon said. “We’ll actually stop them and said, ‘Hey, do you need a ride?’”

“We get a lot of strange looks from some of the freshmen that don’t know,” Cyr said. “They think it costs money or don’t know what it is.”

However, if the van doesn’t spot walkers, Cyr and Shannon welcome people to flag them down. You’re guaranteed a ride if they’re not at capacity.

At the University of Maine, his fraternity brothers are making sure they show him as much support as they can. From Tuesday through Thursday the brothers of AGR will table in Memorial Union to raise funds for the USO, a nonprofit organization that provides morale-boosting programs and services for soldiers and their families.

“It seems like our fraternity has always had some connection to the military,” said Raymond Longvall, chapter historian for the fraternity. “We’ve always had that kind of relationship and we figured since one of our close brothers, Joe, is going over pretty soon, we found it fitting.”

The fraternity has two recent graduates who have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Derek Lucas is on his second tour in Afghanistan. Mariano Canone graduated last year from ROTC and will deploy overseas sometime in the near future.

Longvall has a cousin in the military and Mike Leimbach, another brother working on the fundraiser, has a biological brother serving in Iraq. His father also served in the military.

Leimbach took a minute to answer a call from his brother in Iraq while explaining the fundraiser. He quickly returned when the call was lost.

“They do not have great phones. He basically said hello and then it cut out,” Leimbach said. A few moments later, they got a decent connection and were able to chat.

The USO, which was commissioned by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1941, is a non-governmental charitable foundation funded completely by donations. They provide entertainment and care packages to active-duty military personnel. They also provide support for military families.

Currently, the organization has more than 25,000 volunteers and hosts 5.3 million visitors to its centers each year, according to its Web site. There are more than 130 USO centers in nine countries and 21 domestic states.

The brothers of AGR hope to host uniformed soldiers to draw attention to their efforts.

“We kind of came up with the idea [the fundraiser] and once we brought it up to the brotherhood, they were all for it,” Longvall said. “Like I said, a lot of us have some relation to the military and we’re all very close to Joe. … It’s a perfect fundraiser.”

“We’d like to make it a continual thing,” Leimbach said.

Beyond raising money for the USO, the brothers are planning to surprise Carroll when his company deploys in March. They will see him off at Bangor International Airport and plan to thank his whole battalion.

In the future they would like to greet troops at the airport when they return home.

Bangor International Airport is the main departure and arrival point for troops deploying overseas and returning home from their tours.

The Maine Troop Greeters say they have welcomed more than 4,300 flights and more than 924,000 military personnel home to Bangor since May of 2003.

Longvall and Leimbach hope to make Greek Life at UMaine a part of the tradition.

“Just greet them, welcome them home, thank them for everything they did and their sacrifice for being over there,” Leimbach said.

“Hopefully if we can get this thing started, we can spread it to all of Greek Life,” Longvall said.

He noted that in previous wars, the draft greatly affected Greek life, often emptying fraternity houses.

“It’s not just us affected by the military, it’s pretty much all of Greek Life,” Longvall added.

The money collected from the USO fundraiser will go toward creating care packages for soldiers overseas.

“Just a box of cookies, maybe a letter from home can make a difference for a soldier’s month,” Leimbach said. “It’s kind of a terrible place to be.”

Sunday night, Verve co-owners Heather and Abe Furth hosted a fundraising event at the restaurant to raise awareness and donations for the cause.

Pairing with Velma, a local band, the Furths hosted an after-hours concert to raise money. Velma consists of Steve McKay, Sue Hamlett, Paul Riechmann, Harvey Kail, and Margo Lukens. Kail and Lukens are both professors in the English department at the University of Maine.

By 8 p.m. all the chairs in Verve were filled with attendees. Guests stood around the door, the cash register and the back hall as the Furths worked the counter, handing out refreshments and snacks and greeting many of their patrons by name.

The band performed on the platform which is typically occupied by couches and armchairs while more than 50 community members looked on from their seats.

Off-duty Verve employees even made the event to show their support and more guests continued to mill in throughout the night.

The members of Velma are regulars at Verve and Woodman’s Bar and Grill, which the Furths also own, so the connection seemed obvious to all involved.

The band was planning a Sunday night performance at Verve for a while, but with the recent tragedy in Haiti, they decided to turn it into a fundraising effort for relief.  The concert is one in a series of planned after-hours Sunday performances at Verve.

The event ran from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. with mandatory donations at the door. Attendees donated what they could.

“It doesn’t have to be more than a dollar,” Abe Furth said. By 9:15 p.m., Verve had already collected more than $1,200 in donations.

“Maybe you can put a little more in there, because it’s going to the American Red Cross,” Kail, the harmonica player announced in between songs. The donation basket was then passed through the laid-back atmosphere of the restaurant while patrons added to the pile of cash.

Lukens, the guitar player even altered the words of Van Morrison’s famous song, “Moondance” to encourage attendees to donate more.

“We’re here at Verve café, on Mill Street, playing for Haiti,” she crooned.

Coffee, smoothies, pastries, wine and spirits were also sold at the event, with a portion of the sales going to relief funds. Furth said he didn’t know what the percentage would be yet, but it would be relative to the sales they made for the night.

“We want to make sure we donate a decent amount,” he said.

All funds raised at the event will be donated to the Red Cross. As of Jan. 21, the American Red Cross had already committed $34 million to the cause but more help is still needed.

The island-nation of Haiti is one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world and the capital, Port-au-Prince, was devastated by the earthquake.