Ray Luc Levasseur

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USM takes on another politically themed art show

More inmate work
The muse can arrive anywhere. After the protracted confusion of his arrest and trial, it's no surprise Antonio Guerrero emphasizes clarity in his work.
By NICHOLAS SCHROEDER | January 27, 2011

Former inmate, activist now free to speak out

New releases
Last year, when Ray Luc Levasseur was invited to speak on the University of Massachusetts — Amherst campus to commemorate the anniversary of a federal sedition trial held in Springfield, the speech prompted vehement protests from police groups and state officials.
By RICK WORMWOOD | October 12, 2010

Why did the liberals help construct our concentration camps for the poor?

Prison complex
Why did middle-class liberals, historically the leaders of compassionate social reform, allow, with nary a peep, the construction of our colossal Prison Complex? Two books, one new and one a few years old, explain why liberals not only went along with this right-wing, racist project — they encouraged it.
By LANCE TAPLEY | September 08, 2010

Anti-solitary campaign expands

Stopping Supermax Torture
As the February 17 State House public hearing approaches on the bill to restrict solitary confinement at the Maine State Prison, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), which sparked national debate about Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo, has announced its support.
By LANCE TAPLEY | February 03, 2010

Critical Mass

Over the years, UMass Amherst has proven to be a reliable hotbed for political hypocrisy and squelching of free speech
If free speech is what gives value to the campus "marketplace of ideas," UMass Amherst would long ago have gone bankrupt.
By KYLE SMEALLIE AND HARVEY SILVERGLATE | November 18, 2009

Courthouse bomber to speak about social change

Censorship averted
After it was initially canceled, a controversial talk by a radical activist will go on Thursday at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Ray Luc Levasseur, who grew up in Sanford, Maine, and became a radical in part due to his experiences as a soldier in Vietnam, will talk on campus in connection with a symposium on “social change.”
By RICK WORMWOOD | November 11, 2009

Promoting human rights at home

The enemy within
“We have a holier-than-thou” attitude in the United States about human-rights violations abroad, said Bart Carhart, a student organizer of the new Amnesty International chapter at the University of Southern Maine.
By LANCE TAPLEY | April 02, 2008

Prisoners of politics

After organizing an exhibit to spark debate, USM closes it when the talk gets too tough
The giant sucking sound that all of Southern Maine heard coming from Forest Avenue last week was not some accidental draining of a huge milk tank at Oakhurst Dairy, but the integrity and independence of Maine’s largest public university going down the toilet. Slideshow: Thomas Manning's exhibit at the University of Southern Maine Brut portraiture: Inmate Manning's art part of outsider tradition. By Ian Paige
By RICK WORMWOOD | September 14, 2006

Liberals collapse

Could a compromise have been reached, or would Manning's art have come down regardless?
Could a compromise have been reached, or would Manning's art have come down regardless?
By RICK WORMWOOD | September 12, 2006