Voter drives register more than 140 students to vote
Scores of SMCC students have registered to vote in the past couple of weeks through student and faculty efforts to register students ahead of the Nov. 8 election.
Students from the SMCC chapter of Maine Student Action, as well as faculty members from the Social Science department, have been holding voter registration drives to motivate students to get involved and vote. Between them, they have registered more than 140 students.
SMCC students with Maine Student Action plan to continue staffing a voter registration table in the Campus Center on selected dates in the coming weeks. Students can also obtain voter registration cards from a wall rack near the front desk in Spring Point Hall, or register by visiting municipal offices where they live.
On the Midcoast Campus, students can register in the L.L.Bean Learning Commons during a political forum from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 4
Dimitri DiBiase, a first-year student from Harrison, was among those who registered to vote at a table staffed by Social Science instructors on Sept. 16.
“I feel every voice should be counted,” he said. “It’s an interesting time to be a new voter. I hope kids my age take the time to vote.”
For this year’s election, Mainers will vote for president, representatives to Congress in Districts 1 and 2, and members of the State House and Senate. There will also be six referendum questions on the statewide ballot: five citizen initiatives and one bond question.
Among the citizen initiatives are referendums asking if voters support legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, raising the minimum wage and requiring background checks prior to the sale or transfer of firearms between individuals.
For more information about how to register to vote, please visit the Maine Secretary of State’s State of Maine Voter Guide webpage.
College visit season underway
Interested in transferring after graduation? Baccalaureate colleges and universities have begun visiting campus, and SMCC’s annual Transfer Fair isn’t far away.
Throughout the Fall Semester, representatives from four-year institutions in Maine and other states will visit the South Portland Campus to answer questions and provide information about their schools. Each year, SMCC graduates transfer to private and public institutions across Maine, New England and the country.
Here’s a schedule of visits by college admissions representatives in the coming month. Unless otherwise noted, all the visits are in the Campus Center.
- Wednesday, Sept. 28, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.: St. Joseph’s College
- Wednesday, Sept. 28, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.: University of New England
- Thursday, Sept. 29, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.: University of Southern Maine (information table and one-on-one meetings)
- Thursday, Sept. 29, 2-5 p.m., Emerson College
- Wednesday, Oct. 19. Smith College and Mount Holyoke College. Meeting on the Midcoast Campus from 9:30-11 a.m., and luncheon on South Portland Campus for prospective students at noon. Call 741-5726 to arrange luncheon attendance.
- Friday, Oct. 21, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., University of Southern Maine (one-on-one meetings and information table)
Students can also browse information and meet admissions representatives from more than 30 schools at the annual SMCC Transfer Fair, to be held in the Campus Center lounge from 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 20.
SMCC has transfer agreements with dozens of universities and colleges in Maine and across New England that can make the transfer process seamless. For a list of transfer agreements, click on the “View transfer partner agreements with four-year colleges” link on My Career & Transfer on the MySMCC student portal.
Sim lab gets a makeover
SMCC’s Health Science Simulation Lab has a new look.
The lab, located in the Health Science Center, allows students to develop practical skills and gain hands-on experience on high-tech mannequins that simulate symptoms and conditions that healthcare practitioners are likely to see in a professional setting. The Midcoast Campus also has a health science simulation lab in the L.L.Bean Learning Commons.
Over the summer, the South Portland lab was renovated with new walls, new doors, a new configuration, new lighting and new insulation to create a more realistic clinical setting that will advance the Health Science programs and contribute toward student success.
Simulation Lab Manager Leah Mitchell (in photo) invited people to take a look at the renovations at a Sept. 16 Open House.