A Word From the Editors

Hello everyone and happy spring! Dare I say we are in the clear of any more uncomfortably cold weather? Knock on wood. This is my second time helping lay out the school newspaper and I hope now that I have the hang of it. This issue was an especially fun one for me as I had the privilege to talk to a former New York Times journalist for my story (shameless plug). This was a great issue for everyone and I hope you enjoy reading what’s been going on around UMPI (like that talent show). -Ricky Goupille


Hi everyone! Kyle again. It really feels as if everyone has fully gotten back into the swing of things school-wise since coming back from break. Personally, it took me a couple days of my own to truly start back up with everything. That’s expected coming back from Spring Break. We’re getting close to time for finals, so that means everyone will start to get hunkered down and studying. In the meantime, enjoy this issue of the University Times that Ricky and I worked on. I truly enjoyed working on this issue and really felt as though it came together nicely. As a first year editor, that really brings a smile to my face. -Kyle Nichols

A Professor’s Journey

     Dr. Jacqui Lowman is a professor at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. But they are unlike any other professor you may have met. This difference is not because of the wheelchair they use daily. Or because of their two service dogs, Saint and Dusty. Or because of their use of the plural pronouns –we, us, and our– which they use to include their extension of themselves: Saint and Dusty. Dr. J is unique because of their positive outlook on life and determination to fix what is not right. “We’re really good at encouraging people. We’re really good at helping people believe in themselves. And so that’s the thing we do,” Dr. J said. For a long time, Dr. J’s goal was to teach their students to achieve great things. Later on, the goals grew.

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Discover the Benefits of Meditation for Students

     Transform your mindset with daily meditation practice. You will see a big difference.

     As students, we can get stressed and anxious with school and social pressures. Taking a few minutes to meditate each day can really help us feel better.

     Meditation has been around for a long time and people of all ages and cultures use it. It means focusing on one thing, like a thought or activity, to become more aware of our thoughts and feelings.

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The Humanity in a Moment

     Beginning in 1942, the Pulitzer Prize began selecting winners for photojournalism. Since 1968 there have been winners from two categories each year: Feature Photography and Breaking News Photography. The Pulitzer Prize for Photography is a huge honor that a small number of people earn. It is a very respected award. The pictures picked are more than photos of great moments. They are a journal of human life. These amazing images move people across the globe. They shape the way we see the world and make us want to make it better.

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Sunbathing for Energy

     Every day our world is changing to benefit people and the environment. Many people are changing the way that they live by going green. Farms have started to go green to support their potato houses. And schools are starting to go green to support buildings, while helping the environment. There are many ways that you can go green. But for places that use a lot of electricity, solar panels can be one of the best choices. Though they can be a lot of work to obtain, they are very beneficial. 

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The Spring Effect

     Here in the Berwicks of Maine (which consist of North, South and Central Berwick), spring is finally here. People come out of their homes to feel the sun on their skin and clean up their overgrown yards. There are people running on the sidewalks and kids playing in the neighborhood’s parks again. It’s peaceful and a true breath of fresh air after the long winter and continuous storms of not too long ago.

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Lost Dog Reunited With Family After Weeklong Search

     The Garcia family is celebrating now that their 14-year-old dog has been found safe after being missing for a week. Their family dog, a golden retriever mix named Bailey, disappeared on March 6th after digging a hole and crawling under the family’s backyard fence. The family searched their local area and put fliers up around the neighborhood. There was no sign of Bailey anywhere.

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Bringing UMPI to D.C.

      During the spring break of 2023, Dr. Jacqui Lowman brought 10 students and two service dogs to Washington, D.C. The students who went are part of clubs advised by Dr. J. The two clubs – University Times and International Students – worked together with Dr. J to make this journey to Washington possible. “I really appreciate how the club and the school supported us and how all of the students and also Dr. J helped each other,” Yunqian Zhan – senior at UMPI—said. 

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    Hearing the Story Behind the Photo

     Winning a Pulitzer Prize is not an easy thing to do. You may have to put your life at risk to get the perfect picture. And most of the time the greatest picture you have ever taken is when you least expect it. Every day photojournalists go out into danger to get that perfect picture. A movie called “A Glimpse of Life: The Pulitzer Photographs” shows some of the best pictures taken in history. There are not many photojournalists who have won the Pulitzer Prize through the decades. 

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15 Minutes of Fame, 14 Years Later 

How New York Times writer Bill Pennington put UMPI on the map

     It is not often that Presque Isle, Maine, gets national attention. In 2009, New York Times beat writer Bill Pennington wrote a story on the UMPI Baseball program. “A College Baseball Team, Always on the Road” highlighted the many hardships that players from UMPI endure to play the game they love. “I was on a kick then. It was an on-and-off series to write about people who were involved in athletics, essentially for the love of the game,” Pennington said. 

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