The University of Maine Student Government (UMSG) met on Oct. 29 for their weekly meeting in the Bangor Room of the Memorial Union. This week, members and senators wore costumes to ring in the spirit of Halloween weekend on campus at UMaine. Led by UMSG President Keegan Tripp and Vice President Memphis Peterson, the gathering featured a number of club recognitions, a guest speaker and conversations regarding voting day on campus.
Club Maintenance:
Students For the Awareness of Overdose Prevention sought preliminary recognition. The goal of the club is to spread awareness about drug-related overdoses, the dangers of opioid use, and to encourage the distribution of Narcan and Fentanyl test strips. Narcan training is also encouraged by their club. An Executive board member of the club, Kilee McAtee, is trained in Narcan usage and urged members of the UMaine community to carry it in case of emergency.
“Overdose is a big issue in the state of Maine and we have the information,” said McAtee.
Fundraising for their club includes flyers, social media promotion and eventually tabling — especially around the dates of big campus events like Halloween weekend and Maine day. With a clear majority from UMSG, the preliminary recognition passed.
Fiber Arts also sought final recognition from UMSG. The club is a community focused on all-things fiber arts-related, and they are holding a fundraiser the first week of December. They currently have 30 active members who are all undergraduate students. The club meets in Colvin Hall on campus at 1:30 p.m. every Friday. The club shared that funding for the storage of donated materials will be needed in the future. The club is hoping to donate fiber works for children during the holidays, so they may also request funding for this cause at a later date. With a clear majority, final recognition passed for the club.
The last group seeking final recognition during this meeting was the Dressage Club. The club is UMaine’s only equestrian team, and focuses on jumping. However, they are working towards more flat strength training with the horses and riders. The club has 14 members currently, and is looking to show at different universities and travel to equestrian events.
This club takes anyone that wants to ride regardless of their experience. Students who wish to ride on the show team associated with the club are required to ride at least once a week, but being on the show team is not a requirement. There are no dues for the club, but lessons have individual prices. Lessons are held at Puckerbrush Farm in Newburgh Maine. The vote for final recognition from UMSG passed.
Guest Speaker
Dr. Scott Marzilli, who is the Associate Provost of Student Success & Innovation at UMaine, was a guest speaker at the meeting. Dr. Marzilli will have been at UMaine for two years this coming February, though he notes he has been looking at this position since 2002. His job is to increase student retention rate by making sure all students have resources.
The highest retention rate that UMaine has seen on record was the freshman class in 2023. He notes that UMaine can increase their retention rate by being more selective in admissions. However, UMaine maintains a high acceptance rate in order to allow for more students to have a chance to attend college and succeed.
Dr. Marzilli also mentioned the Black Bear Early Alerts that were introduced last year. These alerts are an opportunity for faculty to support students that may be at risk of dropping out due to grades or lack of attendance. Marzilli noted that the new system has greatly improved UMaine’s retention rate. Marzilli also said that over 850 cases of students in need of support were reported in the first six weeks of school. This allowed the faculty to offer support.
“All I can share with you is what I’m learning everyday bit by bit,” says Marzilli.
He was happy to share information regarding the retention rate and possible news coming in the future here at UMaine.
Students can contact Dr. Marzilli here:
scott.marzilli@maine.edu
207.581.1591
Executive Reports
Vice President Memphis Peterson made time to thank all members for scheduling their individual senator meetings with him and to reach out if they hadn’t done so already.
Lauri Sidelko, who serves as Advisor to UMSG, discussed how important it is for students to vote this coming Tuesday. Voting for Orono residents will be held Nov. 5th in the Collins Center for Arts on the UMaine campus.
UMSG meetings are held every Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the Bangor Room of the Memorial Union for those who wish to attend. The meetings are also recorded and posted here.
