By Dick Harrison

Welcome back, returning students, and welcome to new UMPI students during this, the third week of your Fall 2012 semester. While you were away…

At the Olympics in London, 27 openly gay and lesbian athletes earned seven gold, one silver, and two bronze medals. Their events included bicycle racing, triathlon, dressage, handball, beach volleyball, archery, soccer, tennis, field hockey, basketball and diving. They represented Australia, Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, South Africa, Sweden and the USA. In the Paralympic Games, two “out” participants were Claire Harvey, captain of the British women’s sitting volleyball team, and British equestrian Lee Pearson, who is the winner of nine gold medals from prior games.

By: Dick Harrison

October is LGBT History Month, first celebrated in 1994 and founded by a Missouri high school history teacher. An early coordinating committee included representatives from the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network, the Gay and Lesbian Library and Archives in Chicago, journalists, teachers, scholars in women’s studies and the National Education Association. October was chosen for the celebration because National Coming Out Day already was established on Oct.  11.  October also commemorated the first March on Washington for LGBT rights in 1979. LGBT History Month is intended to encourage honesty and openness about being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

By Kathleen York

It’s lunchtime, and today you’ve opted to bring your humble sandwich and chips in a flat-bottomed paper bag.  You adjust your glasses while checking your text messages on your phone.  There are only three at the moment, so you put it away and notice a woman out of the corner of your eye walking down Main Street.  She has a backpack-like contraption called a Snugli strapped on her back, which contains a sleeping baby.  You watch her go around the corner before continuing on your way.  What do flat-bottomed paper bags, non-reflective glasses and a Snugli have in common?  They were all invented by women.

By Dick Harrison

 So you’ve finally met that special someone. You fall in love and make plans to build your lives together as a couple. You tell your families and they’re happy for you. They think, “Finally, my son/daughter has found someone. I thought he/she would be alone forever. I’m so happy.” If you fall in love with someone of the opposite gender, then here’s the scenario: engagement, wedding plans, invitations . . . the whole shebang.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta, left, kisses her girlfriend of two years, Petty Officer 3rd Class Citlalic Snell at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek in Virginia Beach, Va., after 80 days at sea. Credit: Brian J. Clark/The Virginian-Pilot/Associated Press

Dick Harrison

Significant strides were made toward achieving full equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people in the United States during 2011. Just before the year began, Congress repealed the military’s exclusionary “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Despite opponents’ warnings of dire consequences, even Marine Commandant Gen. James F. Amos, who was once the most vocal critic of repeal, told the Associated Press that “Marines across the globe have adapted smoothly and embraced the change.”

By Donna DeLong

Have you ever wondered what happens to a language that isn’t written down?  Imelda Perley, a linguist and cultural adviser, has dedicated her life to educating the Maliseet people about quickly expiring language.  Perley teaches about the seven generations left to be born and how she’s currently working to record the language so that the new generations will have a written record of their language.

By Donna DeLong

Is the clock going to stop for the Maliseet language?  David Perley, a lecturer and teacher on both sides of the border, is working to help the young people acquire language skills, which will help them have a healthy self-identity and self-esteem.  Perley said that one of his jobs was to identify the needs of the students and develop programs to address these needs. 

By Stephanie Corriveau

PG-13

86 minutes

**

Do you remember watching “Beauty and the Beast” as a kid?  You probably loved this Disney movie.  The songs were catchy and the characters were sassy.  “Beauty and the Beast” is truly a classic that you might even consider having your children watch.  The thing about classics, though, is that it’s hard to look at them in a different light.  They become so dear that any other version might not feel quite right.  Unfortunately, this is the case with “Beastly.”  The problem is that “Beastly” is too predictable, but that’s most likely because it relies on the “Beauty and the Beast” storyline that you may already know too well.

By Anne Chase

Tom Weber, formerly a columnist for the Bangor Daily News, annually revisited his vivid description of what he termed “the lost men of Christmas.” These were lonely, bereft and increasingly panicky characters who appeared in shopping malls on Christmas Eve like unwelcome ghosts in the bed chamber of Ebenezer Scrooge.  Lacking ideas or inspiration, rudderless and directionless, they wander aimlessly and hopelessly. In Weber’s own words, they are “like the Lost Boys in Peter Pan, but with long pants.”

Michael Greaves

The newest sensation to the Xbox nation is the all new Xbox Kinect. The Kinect is Microsoft’s attempt at wireless gaming and a way to compete with the Wii and the Playstation Move.

The U Times interviewed Becca McNaughton, electronic associate at Kmart, who had this to say about the Xbox Kinect: “The Xbox Kinect is an added feature that allows you to play games hands free.”