Sparks could really fly for those University of Maine residents living in Edith Patch Hall and Doris Twitchell Allen Village if darker smoke billows by way of an oven mishap or a countertop range calamity.

Apparently, the mantra “better safe than sorry” isn’t one touted by the Orono Fire Department when an alarm activation is patched through from Patch or DTAV. Emphasis on conserving resources trumps the slim possibility of a UMaine inferno smoking a handful of upper-hill campus dwellers.

The current fire policy dictates that when a UMaine dormitory alarm goes off, the Orono Fire Department is to send the engine, one of the town’s two ambulances and the ladder truck to the scene.

But a department memo sent out in December 2010 rejects the latter two options in the case of Patch and DTAV, requiring instead that only the engine be dispatched initially.

Of course, a large percentage of the alarms sounding from the Patch and DTAV complexes are made on behalf of nonthreatening, minor infractions — burnt popcorn, overcooked cookies — but all it takes is one roiling, scorching exception before the memo plan dissipates to ash.

If the policy demands a full crew must respond to an alarm incident on campus, then the entire team available should counter the call, period — even if the signal originates from a kitchenette of DTAV or Patch.

It isn’t the fire department’s job to decide whether one incident is more dangerous than another — whenever an alarm goes off, it should be treated as though legitimate danger is imminent and requires all resources at hand.

Following a memo written for the sake of convenience instead of heeding the original call of duty — no matter the location — is a vicious gamble.

One true instance of combustion could claim numerous young lives, and if the OFD arrives half-cocked when a full crew could have been there at the onset, the aftermath is sure to be heavy with the soot of guilt.

Fire can be tricky — it can imply more than is actually there, it can be beautiful, and it can yield many edible delights. But when it is uncontrolled, fire can leave things in complete ruination.

So don’t play with fire, OFD, because one of these days you, along with the people you have sworn to protect, will get burned.

In our first years of college, we’re forced to move away from our homes, which are often in small communities in far-flung places.

Then we’re forced to do more work than ever before. Many students take jobs to stay afloat financially, yet we’re spending more and more of our and our parents’ money to hopefully get jobs in fields we love.

And when you mix those stressors with all-too-common life issues like breakups, troubles at home and difficulty becoming involved in campus activities, it’s no shock that students are struggling.

Doug Johnson, director of the counseling center, told The Maine Campus he’s seeing students come through his doors more and more showing signs of anxiety and depression.

“We do hear it a lot from the students we work with that they feel there’s a lot of pressure on students nowadays,” he said.

A 2010 Maine Youth Suicide Prevention Program fact sheet stated that suicide is the state’s second leading cause of death in youth, a category spanning the ages of 10-25. Though Johnson said college students have proven to be at a lower risk for suicide than the 18-24 demographic that chooses not to go to college, many do strain to adapt to the new environment.

UMaine hasn’t seen the volume of suicides other Maine schools have, something Johnson chalked up to an aggressive community approach to engaging students. He said he doesn’t know of any other UMaine student suicide in the past four years.

According to The Free Press, citing unofficial University of Southern Maine numbers, that university had 13 student suicides between 2007 and 2011.

But in 2009, the university community was impacted when police said Collin Bates, an Orono resident who had stopped taking classes at UMaine, died by suicide.

The local response was great. In 2010, players from the Orono High School football team, which Bates had played on, showed up at the Out of the Darkness Community Walk, an annual event at UMaine aimed at bringing talk of suicide to the forefront of campus attention and community social dialogue.

We can’t be shy about discussing suicide, no matter how much it hurts. We must engage those close to us who may be feeling down and lift them before issues are aggravated.

If you or someone you know are feeling depressed or even suicidal, representatives from UMaine’s Division of Student Affairs and the counseling center are available to provide help. Information on warning signs and contact information for support are available below.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is partnering with Google and Facebook to monitor potentially suicidal behavior online, according to CNN. When one Googles suicide-related topics, the hotline’s number appears; on Facebook, one can report any suicidal content seen or engage suicide prevention specialists in a chat.

TJ’s death doesn’t define his life. Those who knew him must remember him at his most  gregarious.

After all, he’s the one who friend Alex Young described as prone to dance in crowds back home in Rockland. His mother said he was a free spirit, full of vim and vigor.

That’s who he was. Nobody can rewrite that.

Now, we need to take this to heart. Maybe we can find help for the next person considering suicide.

Editor’s Note: The University of Maine’s Counseling Center can be reached at 581-1110. Warning signs for suicide, via the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, can be found here. When school is in session, the University of Maine Police Department offers the services of a 24/7, emergency counselor upon request by calling their dispatch line at 581-4040.

Could you ever forget going twice as high as a butterfly in the sky just by cracking open a book?

The wonder of reading transplanted itself into our generation just as that quirky bespectacled worm burrowed deep inside the schoolteacher’s apple — it got to us while we were young and fresh and it made a permanent home in our developing minds from the dawn of grade school.

Such were the Reading Rainbow, Roald Dahl days of glory — when youngsters transformed into brainy schoolgirls trumping Trunchbulls, or orphan boys navigating giant peaches alongside crews of affable insects.

We can all look back at the experience of reading our first books, without the bumpers of parents and teachers, with the same fondness as for that first kiss or that moment when we peddled our bikes for the first time liberated of training wheels.

Unfortunately, according to a study conducted by the National Assessment of Education Progress and reported Sunday by the Bangor Daily News, the fourth-grade national reading level is currently 32 percent, and Maine, unlike in years past, has dropped to stand dead even with that grim statistic.

As it appears, those first-time memories for today’s grade-schoolers are coming around far too late or not at all in the realm of literature.

Maine had once established itself as one of the best states in the country with regards to reading ability. In 1994, approximately 41 percent of fourth-graders were at that grade reading level or higher.

Compared with the rest of the nation, then at 28 percent, that number was fairly impressive. It was so grand, in fact, that the Maine Development Foundation projected the state would reach 50 percent by 2015.

With the cuts to education and the tumultuous economic climate as of late, reading isn’t getting the kind of attention it deserves. Whereas the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education coalition is being touted heavily by higher-ups in Maine — and for good reason, no doubt — it’s still imperative to promote linguistics with an equal vigor.

After all, you can’t work through a math problem if you’re unable to read the question. Thus, organizations such as STEM should place more emphasis on reading at the lower grade-levels to further their own incentives for the future.

We can be a state driven by vocation and more logical disciplines, but without literacy, Maine’s children will literally be getting nowhere fast.

What good are STEMs without reading roots? Without importance placed upon literacy, all this state will have is a bunch of holes and fewer characters like Stanley Yelnats to dig them.

Words can be coined as 25-cent, they can see stars and they can cut deep. Yet few words can compete with the damage done by the Genocide Awareness Project’s scaffolding of gruesome imagery temporarily erected on the University of Maine mall Monday and Tuesday.

The word “obscene” doesn’t even begin to describe the photos of bloody quarters and what lay upon them.

And “insufficient” can’t even come close to illustrating the dinky warning signs — declaring within their meager confines: “Warning: Disturbing Images Ahead” — which were easily overshadowed by the steeple of gore beyond.

Regardless of one’s stance in the controversial abortion debate waging ever onward across the nation — GAP touts, without tact, the “pro-life” doctrine — UMaine’s campus was entirely affected by the carnage.

Students were doubled over in tears; others were doubly angered by both the intensely graphic nature of the display and the unfaltering attacks made by GAP spokespeople against all sorts of cultural denominations; more still merely gaped and hurried along, attempting as best as they could to avoid the blaring offense.

Groups of middle school and prospective college students were said to be taking tours. Wilde Stein, mere feet away on the mall, were forced to raise the rainbow flag to mark the beginning of Pride Week next to a huge billboard backhandedly defacing a gay gene.

The bottom line: Life did not go off without a hitch on April 9 and 10. We all saw too much and our gazes were unfairly snagged — hijacked by debauchery, a majority had nowhere to hide. GAP’s presence cast a dark shadow not just on the mall, but on the better judgment of everyone involved, and for days it seemed as if light would never return.

Shame on GAP for its crass demeanor on all counts. There are other methods to spread your creed without forcing it upon many who have already made up their minds on the issue.

Indeed, free speech does protect the ability of a person or organization to discuss ideas in public, but it certainly doesn’t bestow forgiveness for abandoning basic human decency.

And while lack of decency isn’t punishable by law in such a realm or mentioned in the First Amendment, affording a common courtesy to your fellow human, no matter their political sway, is something precious. GAP repeatedly abuses the trust of the public by desecrating the unspoken expectation of free speech — have at least an ounce of decorum in your presentation.

Shame on student organization Life Support for inviting the project to our campus. This was not a decision made in the best interests of fellow scholars; it was made to evoke knee-jerk violence rather than discussion. The student body is owed an apology for having their university foundation of peaceable discourse demeaned by Life Support’s “guest.”

Shame on all those who fed the mayhem by yelling and engaging, full of malice, with the members of the GAP circus. Such clash is what they thrive on; it’s why they came. The best way to fight back in cases such as these is to carry on and remain quiet.

Sometimes silence is the most effective weapon. GAP knew that, utilizing images. Students should have realized that and refused to let the vulgarity get to them.

And lastly, shame on this paper and all the other media that could have provided more prominent coverage of this event’s coming to campus before it happened. We all could have been more prepared, and better notice should be pursued if another instance arises.

No one was left unscathed by GAP’s maltreatment. Everyone has a wound to cater to and treat. Let’s hope this mending time will bring us back together and lead us to the high ground, moral or otherwise.

That need — the one for speed — has been offered potential sate by the Gig.U project, an online order of 37 universities across the country hoping to spread the wings of expedience.

Taking a gander at the list of the 37 esteemed colleges and universities is sure to yield a pleasant surprise, too. There, nestled alone in the region of New England is none other than the University of Maine, which joined the Community Next Generation Innovation Project in September 2011.

“These research universities are looking to bring gigabit-speed Internet to communities,” John Gregory, executive director of information technologies at UMaine, told The Maine Campus in a story on A1. “We have — at [the] 37 universities — gigabit-speed Internet on campus for researchers and so forth, but we don’t have it in our communities.”

Clearly, when the people are raring for a more rapid rate, UMaine knows how to flock toward agents of change to ferment such societal revision.

It’s one thing to have top-notch technology at your disposal when attending to your higher education needs, but once departed into the real world — where state-of-the-art facilities aren’t just two buildings over — a major downgrade is sure to jar your system with a harsh boot.

Specific locations don’t come equipped with the ability to transmit Wi-Fi at high-five speeds and with the necessity for machine connectivity climbing higher by the day, dead zones can kill more than just availability — they’re also the fatal blows to social lives and modern business chops.

The fact that UMaine has referred to this reality and moved forward with a plan to tweak it is one example of the positive trajectory this university is capable of. And the association with Gig.U is sure to add another dimension to the UMaine academic circuit, catapulting technological studies into a whole other stratosphere.

The flying ‘U’ of Gig.U is one sure to cover much of America’s blue yonder, and it’s truly an honor to have UMaine join the fleet for the betterment of student-kind and beyond.

Following an investigation into the fraternity’s misconduct — specifically instances of underage drinking at the house — UMaine officials decided to suspend the fraternity for five years, effective immediately. Dean of Students Robert Dana informed The Maine Campus that come 5 p.m. this Friday, the Sigma Nu house must be unoccupied.

Although the university has offered to provide the brothers housing for up to a week, Sigma Nu members are on their own to find alternative homes for the remainder of the semester.

Given the severity of the punishment — the fact that the decision was handed down a mere three weeks before finals suggests an aggressive urgency only associated with acts found especially heinous — it would be expected that the brothers would be eager to express their side of the story.

But clearing the air is seemingly the last thing the UMaine chapter of Sigma Nu wants to do.

Whereas other fraternity follies have resulted in transparency between brothers and other students, Sigma Nu spurned opportunities to have a say. Daniel Downey, the chapter’s president, has told The Maine Campus that Sigma Nu’s national headquarters must communicate for the chapter.

In the aftermath of Pi Kappa Alpha house’s closing by Orono officials in September 2011, then-chapter president John Dufour worked with news outlets, showing reporters through the house before and after it was reopened in November.

And in April 2010, Zachary Hunt, then-president of UMaine’s chapter of Sigma Chi, conducted multiple sit-down interviews following charges of hazing after Joshua Gilmore, then a fraternity pledge, went missing for hours during an initiation ritual. Hunt vigorously defended his fraternity, and they are active and thriving.

In both cases, transparency was paramount. These fraternities have set a precedent: Appealing to the majority through openness is the best course of action to assume after a setback.

Vowing silence won’t get anyone very far in the Greek Life setting. While secrecy is part of groups’ collective luster, these organizations are also founded on being accommodating and accountable. Ostracizing communication is a quick way to heighten criticism and doubt.

As the suspension has already garnered its fair share of ill favor, why not take the high road and come clean?

Administration has already said you messed up, Sigma Nu. Freshen up by fessing up or defending yourselves. If you don’t, you’ll be trapped hereafter to roam among the ruins of seemingly grave mistakes.

A group of 10 state legislators put to parchment its grievances about the business practices of Vermont-based Casella Waste Systems Inc. and sent them along to the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability on Jan. 30.

The proverbial postcard from the edge was delivered to the Government Oversight Committee and could lead to committee members calling for an investigation into the operations of Casella’s deposit darling, the Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town, as soon as next week.

Due to the fact that GOC has already requested more information about the letter’s seven core arguments — and will be receiving said intel during its regular meeting on April 3 — it’s fair to assume the Casella examination will get the green light eventually.

Casella certainly lacks a squeaky clean reputation, especially among locals and University of Maine students, staff and faculty.

Thus, the legislators’ laundry list of complaints — ranging from the legality of dumping out-of-state waste at the landfill to the non-existent auditing process of waste materials that must be instilled — is a catalog known all too well by those residing in the valleys shrouded in Juniper’s shadow.

Indeed, it is a victory for Maine that groups with sway in the legislative circuit have taken an interest in the shady dealings of Casella, but the letterhead in particular was missing some key components — a couple of representatives from the area.

Whereas on one hand, we agree — an investigation must be pursued to take Casella to task — it’s questionable as to why representatives from Portland, Augusta and Allagash were among the names heading the charge while Rep. Jim Dill, D-Old Town and Rep. Bob Duchesne, D-Hudson, representatives, who have been vocally opposed to Casella’s practices, say they were not asked to join in.

Utilizing the likes of local representatives seems like a no-brainer when challenging a landfill in that region, yet the letter writers opted out of including such pivotal constituents to the issue.

It’s a decent proposal, but the legislators missed the post-mark by excluding other representatives from the landfill’s backyard. Hopefully, somewhere down the line, they are able to right that wrong and acquire justice where it is most definitely deserved.

The result of a passionate affair between synthesizers, acrobatics and a whole mess of paint, Florida-based company Committee Entertainment’s Dayglow is hailed as the “World’s Largest Paint Party,” redefining the palette to which concerts were previously confined.

Hoses plump with paint prime the crowds in various hues of neon; a lone DJ perched behind a massive booth pumps out techno beats, which pummel the pigmented spectators for nearly four straight hours; numerous dancers clad in garish leotards gyrate across the stage, fly through the air and scamper across the crowd in human-sized hamster balls.

It’s your most scintillating nightmare set to hyperactive beats. And it’s coming to coat the University of Maine in a lot more than blue on April 25.

Students at this campus have seen their fair share of wild festivities, from the honky-tonk romps of country crooners like Dierks Bentley to the hip-hop cavorts of such acts as Ludacris and Girl Talk.

As far as live entertainment goes, UMaine has offered a diverse experience to match anyone’s musical tastes. In contrast to the ferocious partiers listed above, this campus has also hosted more tranquil acts, like Ben Folds and The Decemberists.

But Dayglow seems to be another beast entirely. Dayglow concertgoers in Florida were rout with dehydration, and one known case of Ecstasy overdose was disclosed.

The Dayglow experience requires a hoard of people enclosed in one-size-too-small space, shrouded in paint and being literally run at by acrobats for a sizable chunk of time. And despite having this information at hand, UMaine public safety doesn’t seem all too concerned.

Whereas the Ben Folds crowd sat in serenity, Dayglow’s crop will surely be hopped up on some sort of psychedelic substance, spinning about in one giant stockpile. To have the same amount of security at hand, both medical and otherwise, simply won’t suffice.

This isn’t to say that Dayglow shouldn’t make an appearance, but those involved in public safety should be taking the proper steps to prevent those highly probable mishaps.

Brushing up on how to handle people under the influence of substances more severe than alcohol is a necessary precaution. And procuring more manpower to monitor the event seems like a definite must.

Dayglow is an event sure to be remembered, but for it to really glow, everyone needs to make it out of the Field House  roused by paint alone.

The ocean is known for its vast, deep blueness. Pepsi cans claim cobalt as boldly as PepsiCo asserts paramount refreshment.

And as far as university settings go, scholars and spectators alike look no further than the University of Maine for their azure fix.

But on Friday and Saturday evening, the place for the big blue wasn’t the Pacific, Orono or on a cola can — Beantown was the place to go for the indigo.

UMaine traveled to Boston for the Hockey East Championship, held in the sprawling TD Garden. Although the Black Bears fell to the Boston College Eagles in the final showcase, there was no denying which team fanfare garnered the top prize.

Whereas the Garden should have been blooming with BC maroons and golds, it was UMaine blue making waves in the stands.

Ever since the phenomenal fan assemblage at Frozen Fenway in January, turnout for UMaine sporting events has been nothing short of staunchly consistent. But with the NCAA Tournament on the horizon, the big blue needs to get even bigger.

Only 16 teams in the country are invited to compete, and UMaine happens to be one. It’s a prestigious distinction — one that deserves a congregation more epic than this university has lately seen.

We’re talking a tsunami of spectatorship; a flood of UMaine hockey commotion so flashy and rapid, no one will escape undoused.

Especially now that the novelty bids have exhausted themselves — Frozen Fenway was more shtick than substance — Black Bear support is critical , as these are the events upon which the enterprise is built.

The tournament is a contest that propels the machine known as college hockey. There’s no time better or more imperative for Maine fans to support their team than now.

We don’t want them seeing red; we want them seeing blue. Win or lose, the colors of our fierce community are what they should remember.

See you all at the NCAA tournament. And go blue!

It seems we’ve proved Gov. Paul LePage right: Newspapers lie.

According to the Bangor Daily News, last year LePage, quoting something he said a state senator said to him, told fishermen, “Buying a Maine daily newspaper is like paying someone to lie to you.”

Wednesday before a hall full of eighth-graders at Waterville Junior High School, the governor decided to pick on the pressman once again.

According to a Thursday article in the Morning Sentinel, a student asked LePage what he disliked about his job.

“The press,” he was quoted as saying. ”Reading newspapers in the state of Maine is like paying somebody to tell you lies.”

What’s worse is the Wednesday event LePage was attending was one of several “Career Conversations” at the school in the months of February and March. The governor was set to speak “about his career path and answer students’ questions,” a press release said.

One jab over a year ago produced little upset among news peddlers. But another round of the same old line at a career event for kids begs for a confrontation.

Each day, journalists set out to get the best version of the truth they can find. Most of the time the truth isn’t glamorous. Sometimes the truth is underwhelming. Other times it isn’t pretty. And almost always there’s a reader that cares.

But it’s not a reporter’s job to care too much. Rather, it’s their duty to uncover information the public deserves to know regardless of who it may scathe.

It’s hard to find a journalist who knowingly writes falsehoods, which makes sense because their job depends on the truth. In an era when news is produced faster and scrutiny on each story has been heightened by the Internet and social media, journalists must be careful. There are also libel laws, and not many journalists want to be the person who costs a struggling news organization a settlement.

Maine journalists aren’t liars, but that isn’t to say other issues don’t crop up.

In September 2011, Down East Magazine media critic Al Diamon criticized The Portland Press Herald for not reporting on a round of layoffs at the paper.

In a Columbia Journalism Review column Justin Martin, a University of Maine College of Liberal Arts and Sciences-Honors College preceptor of journalism, criticized the Bangor Daily News for not being responsive to correction requests.

The media aren’t perfect. If the governor wanted to, he could make an intelligent case for Maine media under-serving the public.

Instead he chooses to flame an entire Maine profession without explanation, insulting not just the good, bad and so-so reporters and editors but all who work at newspapers, including printers, advertising representatives and delivery people.

Making a sweeping offhand comment before a room full of students (including some who may aspire to be journalists) as LePage so foolishly did is akin to denigrating any public service.

We weren’t aware deceit is required in the journalistic profession. Many would say politicians have that covered.