The University of Maine DigitalCommons@UMaine General University of Maine Publications University of Maine Publications 6-4-1993 Maine Perspective, v 4, i 31 Department of Public Affairs, University of Maine John Diamond Acting Director, Department of Public Affairs, University of Maine Monty Rand Photographer, Department of Public Affairs, University of Maine Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/univ_publications Repository Citation Department of Public Affairs, University of Maine; Diamond, John; and Rand, Monty, "Maine Perspective, v 4, i 31" (1993). General University of Maine Publications. 1301. https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/univ_publications/1301 This Newsletter is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in General University of Maine Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. For more information, please contact [email protected]. UNIVERSITY COLLECTION I a. Ui UMaine Scientists Find Greenhouse Warming Unlikely to Melt East Antarctic Ice Sheet Contradicting now-popular theory that the Marchant and colleagues from the Institute East Antarctic ice sheet melted three million for Quaternary Studies have returned to years ago, and could retreat again if the earth Antarctica for the last eight years as part of a warms, University of Maine scientists studying UMaine research team testing the hypothesis of the Dry Valleys region report no evidence of a a changing ice sheet moving across Antarctica. change in the ice sheet. The recent Science article is the first to chal­ “It’s highly unlikely that the ice sheet will melt lenge the theory of the so-called dynamicists due to future greenhouse warming. In fact, we who argue that the ice sheets melted when the find that the Antarctic Dry Valleys region is one earth was just a few degrees warmer than it is of the most stable places on earth,” said David today. Stablists like Marchant, on the other Marchant, research associate and primary author hand, believe the East Antarctic ice sheet has of the new findings recently published in Science. not expanded or receded significantly since mid­ Miocene time, or about 14 million years ago. An understanding of the ice-covered Antarctic VP Search Committees Wrapping Up region is critical for scientists studying global On-campus interviews and open meetings warming trends and examining potential effects. with candidates for vice president for Academic Scientists have calculated that if the ice sheets Affairs and vice president for Research and melted, that would result in a 60-meter, or 200- Public Service have been taking place foot, rise in sea levels worldwide. throughout the past three weeks. With the continued on page 5 conclusion of the candidates’ visits to campus this month, the two search committees are expected to make recommendations to A PUBLICATION In Perspective FOR THE University of Maine Fred Hutchinson. UNIVERSITY OF Hutchinson could make final decisions on the 3 Calendar MAINE two vice president positions as early as mid­ 7 Look Who’s On Campus July. continued on page 5 18 Viewpoints VOL. 4, NO. 31 JUNE 4,1993 UMaine Dedicates Jonathan Biscoe Reading Room The University of Maine Department of Physics and Astronomy has named 116 Bennett Hall the Jonathan Biscoe Reading Room in honor of a retired professor who served UMaine for 27 years. A plaque was presented to Biscoe, professor emeritus of physics, during a dedication ceremony May 8. As authorized by the University of Maine System Board of Trustees in March, the plaque notes in its inscription that the Jonathan Biscoe Reading Room is named in appreciation of a beloved teacher, scholar, colleague and friend. Biscoe retired June 1973 "after 27 years of devoted service to the University of Maine, to the Department of Physics and to generations of students.” Biscoe, an Orono resident, joined the UMaine faculty in 1946 and was recipient of the 1968 Distinguished Professor Award. During the dedication ceremony, Kenneth Brownstein, Department chairperson, noted that, in almost 20 years of retirement, Biscoe has "never lost his enthusiasm for the University of Maine or for its students. Jon was a superb teacher. He was a creative scholar in experimental X-ray crys­ tallography (and still comes in to help us when we have prob­ lems in that area). During his tenure, almost one-quarter of the Jonathan Biscoe, left, professor emeritus of physics, is presented a plaque by students who received graduate degrees in physics here were Kenneth Brownstein, chair of the University of Maine Department of Physics and Jon’s students. Indeed, he produced our first Ph.D. student after Astronomy, during the dedication of the Jonathan Biscoe Reading Room last month. that program was authorized in 1966. But teaching always Photo by Monty Rand came first....” Brownstein added that the name ‘Reading Room’ was chosen Hudson Museum Notes instead of library to emphasize its availability to students as a place for study and reflection, rather than simply as a storage place for musty tomes. We think this is particularly in the spirit International Museum Day of Emeritus Professor Biscoe.” ▲ with Public Service The University of Maine’s Hudson Museum has presented a Roscoe Wins International gift of computer equipment to the Indian Island School, Old Tbwn in commemoration of International Museum Day May 18. Anthropology Award This year’s International Museum Day theme was “Museums A University of Maine anthropologist has won international and Indigenous Peoples.” recognition for his research illuminating the relationship The equipment was installed in the school’s new Madaline between sex, aggression and incest. Shay Language Lab, and is programmed to teach and perpet­ “I hope this is a useful contribution because incest is such a uate the Penobscot Indian language. Madaline Shay is one of terribly pressing issue in our society, especially for the victims. the last remaining speakers of the Penobscots’ native language. There is potential for doing good if we can find some basis for She worked with linguists, software designer Richard Garrett this phenomenon,” said associate professor Paul Roscoe, who is of Wellington, and the Penobscot Primer Project Jbam to the recipient of the highest award given by the Royal develop the Penobscot Primer, which is installed on the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. computer. The Curl Essay Prize is given annually in recognition of the According to Garrett, Shay’s work on the Primer led best anthropology paper submitted to its international competi­ researchers to new insights about Penobscot culture and the tion, and carries with it a stipend of approximately $1,500. tribe’s perceptions of “progress,” and its effects on the environ­ “It’s comparable to the Pulitzer Prize in the field of anthro­ ment that has nourished its members for millennia. The Primer pology .... It indicates that there is very high quality work is providing a new generation of English-speaking Penobscot an being done here,” said James Acheson, chairperson of the opportunity to recover their language and cultural heritage. Department of Anthropology. continued on page 8 Roscoe’s paper, “Amity and Aggression: A Symbolic Approach to Explaining the Incest Taboo,” explores a new theory he has developed about such taboos.“With few exceptions, every society has an incest taboo,” according to Roscoe. Maine Perspective Roscoe says he has found evidence that suggests people Maine Perspective is published by the Department of Public Affairs University of Maine • 5761 Public Affairs Building perceive sexual intercourse as an aggressive act, and that Orono, Maine 04469-5761 • 207 / 581-3745 seduction and sex are frequently discussed metaphorically in the language of hunting and war. He cites the way in which Acting Director of Public Affairs John Diamond • Executive Editor Margaret Nagle men discuss the “thrill of the chase” or are described as “lady Layout and Design by University of Maine Department of Public Affairs killers” as common examples of the equation drawn between Printed by University of Maine Printing Services sex and aggression. At some level of consciousness, Roscoe says, people understand incest as aggression. continued on page 15 Maine 2 UNIVERSITY OF MAINE Last Minute Note: Penobscot Punch Festival Beauty and the Beast, produced by Leading Penobscot Bay Area American Family Theater, part of the writers and musicians will join in a Maine Center for the Arts summer series, gala performance to celebrate the 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., June 5, Hutchins finale of the Penobscot Concert Hall. Admission fee. X1755. Riverkeepers 2000 Expedition on June 5, 4 p.m., at the Penboscot Marine Museum, Searsport. The Penobscot Punch Festival will 7 Monday feature sea shanties, ballads, poetry and music by leading “Magic Johnson's Effect on Adolescents' poets and musicians in the HIV-related Attitudes and Perceptions of Penobscot Bay Area, including Bill Risk,” an oral exam by Wendy Flannery, Carpenter, Stuart Kestenbaum, candidate for master’s degree in human Carl Little. Kathleen Lignell, development, 4:15 p.m., June 7, Sylvester Pollet, the Jay Bregman 28 Merrill Hall. Jazz Combo and the Paul Anderson rhythmic fusion band. Special appearances include performances of sea shanties by Irving Forbes, lumberjack poetry by UMaine folklore specialist Sandy Ives, and ballads by Dennis Damon. 9 Wednesday Cosponsored by the Maine/New Hampshire Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program at the University of Maine and the Penobscot Marine Museum, the Penobscot Punch Festival Open House/Retirement Reception for will focus on the value of the Penobscot Bay watershed to the people who work and Bea Pressey, 3:30-4:30 p.m., June 9, make their homes in the watershed and around the Bay. Crossland Alumni Center Lounge. X1139. The Festival is part of a weeklong celebration to welcome paddlers in the Penobscot Riverkeepers Expedition as they descend from the top of the West Branch watershed to the Bay.