By Garrick Hoffman

In recent weeks, Timothy Gilboe, a Jackman native and student here at SMCC, found himself on the front pages of multiple publications, including The Portland Press Herald and the Bangor Daily News. This is because Gilboe was awarded the Silver Star, the nation’s third-highest medal for gallantry in war.

Three years ago, Sergeant Timothy Gilboe and his squad members, assessing battle damage in a village in Afghanistan, were befallen by gunfire of Taliban soldiers. Gilboe’s squad leader, Matthew Daniel Hermanson, was fatally wounded; his platoon leader, severely wounded; and the rucksack of his assistant machine-gunner, Private First Class Scott Anderson, ignited into flames. After a series of events, Gilboe, unarmed, was besieged by one of the Taliban soldiers carrying an AK-47. Gilboe re-positioned the muzzle of his adversary’s weapon, directing it toward his own chest plate, and a shot was fired, shooting shrapnel into his legs and knocking the wind out of him. Nonetheless, Gilboe was able to conquer the soldier, driving him into the ground, and within minutes Private First Class Anderson saw a window of opportunity. Anderson shot the Taliban soldier dead. Gilboe then proceeded to establish security within his team, clear the area of insurgents, and facilitate his fellow soldiers to medical attention before seeking medical attention for himself.

For this episode of titanic valiance, Gilboe has received the Silver Star, although he asserts that it truly belongs to his squad leader, Hermanson, who Gilboe believes relinquished his life in regard for his squad members.

Gilboe is still in the National Guard, and here at SMCC he is working towards a Construction Technology degree. Currently, he is finishing the Heavy Equipment Operators course. Gilboe also mentions that he is trying to help a former Marine from his hometown, Ryan Begin, pursue medical marijuana for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Begin, Gilboe says, “has a petition floating around the internet…(and) he is always looking for supporters!”

In additional news, the South Portland SMCC campus will soon be graced with the presence of the Maine Leukemia Foundation in an effort to find a donor match for Lisa Dolan, a 28-year employee of SMCC. She has been re-diagnosed with Leukemia and has been receiving chemotherapy at Maine Medical Center. On May 1st, during Spring Fest, students will have the opportunity to potentially help Lisa or other Leukemia patients. There will be a donor registration from 10:00am to 3:00pm in the Campus Center wherein students will fill out a form and “get swabbed” – swab the inside of his or her mouth – and have this information processed and sent to a national database. By participating, you could “be the match” and be of invaluable medical aid for Lisa Dolan or other Leukemia patients.

Further, in a letter to the editor included in the last issue, a student here at SMCC broached The Beacon’s lack of coverage of campus events, including club meetings, open mic nights, organizations, volunteer projects, and more. The student implored The Beacon to get more involved with these events so as to include them in subsequent issues. As a result of this letter, I have chosen to respond.

Dear Imploring Student,

Thank you for voicing your concerns to The Beacon. Your argument is sound. It is indeed The Beacon’s duty to cover events on campus to feature in the newspaper.

That being said, The Beacon staff encourages anyone and everyone to contribute. As the paper says, it’s for the students, by the students. That means that any SMCC student or faculty member is enabled to submit freely.

Regular Beacon writers comprise only a small band of people, all of whom, like you said, are students with commitments located elsewhere and class work to tackle. With that, it can be very difficult to be present everywhere at once, covering the grand multitude of events that are happening on campus. Because of this, and because The Beacon is an entity for student expression and an outlet to hone their writing skills, students themselves can report on events, clubs, and organizations that they were involved in. All students are empowered in that regard. The Beacon is not an exclusive club by any means.

So, with that addressed, The Beacon is open to submissions from any and all students. The staff is always enthusiastic to see more submissions from contributors, regular and irregular alike. And, as mentioned, the regular writers can only be in so many places at once, undertaking so many things, although it is no doubt paramount to see a coverage of events by the staff. So The Beacon urges you: step up and write something for your newspaper! It IS yours, after all, and there’s no exclusivity behind it!

Speaking of writing for The Beacon…

Are you travelling this summer? Good news for you travel writers: The Beacon will remain alive, and continue to serve as an outlet for your writing proclivities. This means that The Beacon will accept submissions of students’ work and proceed to broadcast it in online form. All YOU gotta do is, you know, write. And submit. Just like the average semester. So get on it, and help keep The Beacon alive for the summer of 2014!

Me? I’ll be serving as my buddy’s travelling companion in early May. We’ll be driving cross-country to the Grand Tetons, and I’ll be sure to write all about it for my school’s newspaper.