Maine Senior College Network news & updates | |
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Welcome to the October issue of the MSCN newsletter, and welcome back to Fall classes! I know many of you are enjoying the chance to attend classes in person once again. And, for those who prefer online offerings, this month's newsletter showcases just some of our Zoom classes.
You will also see that OLLI invites you to their October SAGE lectures and popups! Meanwhile, over in Brunswick, Midcoast Senior College and Bowdoin College are hosting an in-person debate between advocates and opponents of the Pine Tree Power Referendum.
So, it's time to sit back (with a nice cup of tea) and savor the network's tremendous lifelong learning opportunities. All classes are possible thanks to the volunteer instructors and board members who generously give so much of their time and energy to the senior colleges.
Anne Cardale
Program Director
Maine Senior College Network
Wikimedia Image:
by Winslow Homer
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Forum invitation from Midcoast Senior College
and Bowdoin College
A debate between advocates and opponents of the Pine Tree Power Referendum.
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Monday, October 16, 2023 from 7:00-8:30 p.m.
(Doors open at 6:30 p.m.) Admission is Free
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Midcoast Senior College and Bowdoin College invite you to their "Voter Forum on Pine Tree Power Referendums."
This November, Mainers will vote on the Pine Tree Power Initiative (Question #3). The Pine Tree Power Initiative asks whether the voters support the creation of a non-profit electricity transmission and distribution utility to replace the privately owned for-profit Central Maine Power and Versant. Also to be voted on is a related referendum (Question #1) that affects the financing of Pine Tree Power.
An advocate and an opponent of Pine Tree Power will appear at the forum and answer questions from the moderators, Tux Turkel (formerly of The Portland Press Herald) and Lori Valigra (Bangor Daily News), about the referendum proposal.
Presenting opponent of Question 3
James Cohen, James Cohen, an attorney with the Portland-based Verrill law firm.
Presenting proponent of Question 3
John Brautigam, chair of OurPower, the organization that put the initiative before the legislature.
Audience members will also be allowed to question the panelists. The goal of the forum is to provide voters with detailed information about the referendum issues.
* Kresge Auditorium is in the lower level of the Visual Arts Center. The building has a lift for wheelchairs, but no elevator to the lower level. Please advise us if you use a wheelchair and require the lift. Seating is limited; reservations are not accepted. You may arrive up to 30 minutes before the program begins. If all seats are taken, we will close the room. Please call 725-4900 or email Midcoast SC with any questions.
Midcoast Senior College
Wikimedia Image
Official pattern of the 1901 Maine State Flag
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Caring for the Future
International Zoom Course Addressing Climate Change
Free seats open to interested MSCN members
10:00- 12:15 (EDT) 17:00-19:15 (Israel)
Tuesdays Oct.17th - Dec. 5th 2023
Online via Zoom
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Maine Senior College Network members are invited to join this unique international Caring for the Future course for free. The original inspiration for this educational opportunity was a small class taught by Bert Cohen and Glen MacWilliams at the South Coast Senior College in Wells, Maine, in 2019. This was an in-person course with five students, followed by a course in Fall 2020 via Zoom with six students.
Bert’s nephew in Israel joined the Fall Zoom class and brought along two other Israelis. Bert, his nephew Larry, and Larry’s friend Morani formed a small team to bring Caring for the Future to Israel. From this small start, we now have the third Caring for the Future course sponsored by the Israeli Ministry of Education.
This third course has been expanded to include an intergenerational, international audience to accelerate and scale the movement towards a climate-safe planet. Learn more about this unique opportunity by downloading the attached "Caring for the Future" pdf. Note the pdf includes the course registration link.
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Online Classes with the Gold LEAF Institute
(Zoom Opportunities!)
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Writing Workshop with Michelle Navarre Cleary
Wednesdays with 9 sessions
Oct 18 - Dec 20th, 2023
Wed from 10:00 - 11:30 am
Do you want to write a story, start your memoir, work on a novel, publish an essay, or just play around with words and see what happens? If so, this workshop is for you. In this supportive writing group, we’ll explore strategies for generating ideas, getting words on paper, revising, and polishing them.
Link to more information and registration for the Writing Workshop
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Laughter Yoga
with Denise Macaronas and Marcia Jackson
Nov 30th, 2023
Thu from 1:00 - 2:30 pm
Learn to laugh at nothing at all and gain all the benefits that laughter has to offer. Previous experience is not necessary as the yoga portion includes deep and slow breaths along with some stretches – no yoga poses.
Link to more information and registration for Laughter Yoga..
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We are AI: Taking Control of Technology Learning Circle
with Michelle Navarre & Chip Cleary
Jan 16 - Feb 20th, 2024
Tue from 10:00 - 11:30 am
Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) refers to a growing world of sophisticated computer programs that “learn” from data in order to make decisions. Many of these AI systems are invisible to the public, yet the results of the decisions they make (or help humans make) have a huge impact on modern life.
Link to more information and registration for "We are AI"
| Click on the blue button link below to see more Zoom offerings with the Gold LEAF Institute | |
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Midcoast Senior College
Announcement
New Fall Courses Start in November!
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Midcoast SC is offering 13 new classes in November, this includes 5 online Zoom offerings!
The Midcoast SC Zoom Classes are listed below.
Click on the course titles to go to Midcoast Senior College for more information and registration.
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Quick Picks!
Some more Zoom offerings from the Network
Here are some hand-picked Zoom classes. You will find Blue-Button-Links to College Course Catalogs with all their upcoming Zoom and in-person classes.
Note: At the time of publishing this newsletter, the following colleges were still open for registration. All colleges promote classes to their members first before opening seats to their sister colleges.
Colleges that have closed their registration are not listed below.
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Lewiston Auburn Senior College | Image: Good Heavens! by Judy Hierstein | |
Lewiston Auburn Senior College featured Zoom Class
Good Heavens! with Judy Hierstein
Oct 13, 2023 at 10 am, runs for 6 weeks
If you are looking for inspiration, just look up!
Artists (and, indeed, poets, writers, and musicians) have sought inspiration in the heavens. Whether it is the beauty of soft clouds, the ferocity of a raging storm, the lonely and serene moon, the incredible, unbearable sun, or the galaxy’s mysteries beyond: the novas and supernovas, black holes, astrological star formations, celestial spheres. There has always been plenty up there to spark anyone’s artistic creativity.
LASC has 7 online offerings.
Click on the blue link button to see more LASC Zoom and in-person classes!
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Penobscot Valley Senior College featured Zoom Class | |
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BOOK BANS and BEYOND
Instructor: Ben Treat
(4-week ZOOM course with recordings)
09/26/2023 - 10/17/2023
01:30 PM - 03:30 PM
Words create life and magic; they inspire and teach; they also challenge and threaten. People have been trying to ban books and to suppress words since books existed. Burning and bowdlerizing books have also been part of that offensive.
This class will discuss book banning, some of the books that have been banned in the past or are being banned now, and the reasons for their banning. Since the topic is so vast we will try to narrow it in various ways, often focusing on the idea of the power of words.
How to register for PVSC classes
Members of sister senior colleges should call 207-659-1359 or send an email so that the membership fee can be removed before registering online or mailing in course fees.
See more PVSC classes by clicking on the blue link button below
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Sunrise Senior College - Hybrid Class (Zoom & In-Person)
Estate Planning Basics with Rebecca Sargent
Part of preparing for the future and planning for the worst is setting up your business and health affairs so that whoever is responsible after you has the proper authority and information to act. That’s what estate planning is and you don’t need to be rich to need or have an estate plan.
See more Sunrise SC Fall Classes by Clicking the Blue-Box-Link below.
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OLLI's Sage Lectures for October |  | |
OLLI's Sage Lectures for October
Attend in-person or online via Zoom.
Cost - Individual lectures are $10 each.
Download PDF Brochure
OCTOBER 10
The Roux Institute: Shaping Tech Talent & Innovation in Maine
DAN KOLOSKI
Professor, Professional Studies, Northeastern University
Learn how the Roux Institute’s education and research model partners with industry, academia, and government, to drive innovation,
develop talent, and create economic opportunity in Maine and beyond.
OCTOBER 17
Edible & Medicinal Wild Mushrooms: Explore the Benefits, Avoid the Risks
GREG MARLEY, LCSW
Founder, Mushrooms for Health Wild mushrooms have captured the interest
of the nation; this talk will focus on the diet and health benefits of mushrooms through the lens of a few popular Maine mushrooms.
OCTOBER 24
Vertical Harvest: Maine’s First Large Urban Farm to Grow Produce Year-Round
NONA YEHIA (Co-founder) & CAROLINE CROFT ESTAY (Chief Potential Officer)
Learn how Vertical Harvest’s hydroponic, state-of-the-art, indoor farm being built in Westbrook will revolutionize the way we locally grow produce 365 days a year.
OCTOBER 31
Diving to the Andrea Doria: The Mt. Everest of Ship Wrecks
ROB STEVENSON
Author, Adventurer, and Ship Wreck Explorer Rob Stevenson will share his accounts as a deep sea explorer, and his perilous dive to the Italian luxury liner, the Andrea Doria.
OLLI Registration Information
Register by phone. Call the OLLI office at 207-780-4406.
OLLI at the University of Southern Maine
Wikimedia Images
Think! Is There a Better Way to Do it?
Circa 1942 - National Archives and Records Administration-- NARA
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OLLI October Social Events/Pop-Ups
Free to members of Maine's Senior Colleges!
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October Social Events/Pop-Ups
Games!
Pictionary Oct. 12th & 26th at 3:30pm
&
Trivia Oct. 16th & 30th at 7pm
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Podcast Chats:
1. October 11, 7 pm
Host: Star Pelsue
Revolutionizing Social Science: Facebook's Data Diversity and Speed
Discover the future of social science with Facebook. Overcome criticisms of small, homogenous samples and witness the excitement of scientists like Dacher Keltner at UC Berkeley as they embrace diverse data and lightning-fast experimentation. Explore the transformative potential at the intersection of data and speed in social science research.
2. October 18, 7 pm
Host: Star Pelsue
What Happens When the Colorado River Dries Up?
What happens when one of the nation's largest rivers dries up? Photojournalist Pete McBride tells us about the consequences of a prolonged drought in the Colorado River, which provides drinking water and electricity to millions of Americans, and shares his experience walking the river from end to end. What can we learn from the landscape revealed by the historically low water levels, and will they become the new normal?
October 26, 7 pm
"Aging with Resilience: Stories of Triumph and Transformation"
Host: Elizabeth Housewright
Join us for the Aging Series, where participants will share the stories of how we have used our inner strength and resilience to navigate the challenges of aging. In this gathering, fellow OLLI members are encouraged to share the triumphs and transformations, highlighting the successes and strategies of those who have embraced the aging process with resilience and grace. Discover their secrets to living a fulfilling life as we celebrate the resilience that lies within us all. We hope to see you at this empowering conversation on aging with resilience.
How to register for the free OLLI Popups(PDF)
OLLI at the University of Southern Maine
Wikimedia
Elephant Parade by Pop Artist Lobo
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The Fifth Student
by Geoffrey Cooper
Maine Authors Publishing 2023
Reviewed by Pat Davidson Reef
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Five students cheated on an exam in this mystery where Professor Brad Parker is director of cancer research at the Maine Transitional Research Institute, a fictional organization, in Wells, Maine. The novel is exciting, with many real Maine locations mentioned, but the story is an imaginary one.
Professor Brad Parker, Director of MTRI, has to face a complex controversy dealing with five students cheating on an exam at a Maine State University. And, to make things yet more complicated, his most outstanding lab student is one of them. He defends the student because he knows she is an “A” student with no need to cheat. However, she is being pressured to accept an "F" grade with the other "cheats" in order to stay in school. She says she is innocent, and Professor Parker believes her.
Two people are murdered to cover up the cheating experience, as well as concealing a bribe from a wealthy patron who wants his son to be admitted into medical school.
Professor Parker and his FBI girlfriend, Karen, suspect the murders might be connected to the wealthy patron. The FBI, State Police, and the Portland Police Department set up a meeting with the wealthy patron, a man named Peter Buchanan, at DiMillo’s Restaurant in Portland. They selected this safe public space to meet because it has a large open area on two levels allowing up to 200 people to eat there. Plus plenty of parking for unmarked police cars.
Professor Parker is carrying a tape recorder in his pocket that looks like a writing pen. He heads into DiMillo’s and is escorted to a private room with a door that leads to the dock. He finds a yacht waiting to take him to an Island where the luncheon will take place. But, the plan was to meet inside the restaurant!
What should Professor Parker do? How can he tell the security people that lunch is not inside DiMillo’s but on an island? Does the writing pen with its built-in tape recorder carry voices off-land and at a distance?
In addition, cell phones are not allowed on the island; they are collected before boarding the boat. So, no cell phone signal for the police to follow.
This riveting story puts you on the edge of your seat with every page. The author's excellent writing skills lie in uniting everyday activities into the plot, making it a very believable drama.
Through it all, Professor Brad Parker and Karen, his fiancé, travel back and forth from Wells, where Parker works in a cancer lab, to Portland, where Karen works for the FBI, to Lewiston, and Augusta, and possible new jobs.!!!
Although the story takes place in Maine, the topic of cheating on exams in colleges and the use of wealthy donations to schools by parents to get their children into schools is a timeless theme and a current epidemic across the nation today. If you love the academic world and its many issues and want to find out if Professor Brad Parker survives the island episode, you must read The Fifth Student. I could not put it down!
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