With a recent tragic event on a college campus uppermost in our minds these days, an upcoming conference is of special interest.

Ellen Woodhead of the Peace Studies Program at the University of Maine in Orono called to report the conference, “Boys Will Be Boys: Challenging Our Cultural Stereotypes of Masculinity,” begins with registration at 8 a.m. and the keynote speech at 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, at Donald P. Corbett Hall on the UMaine campus in Orono.

Held in conjunction with UMaine’s Peace Week 2003, the event is hosted by the Peace Studies Program, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Safe Campus Project and the Division of Lifelong Learning.

Admission for the daylong event is $35 for all but students, for whom the fee is $8.

Woodhead reports the keynote speakers are David Sloane Rider of Men Can Stop Rape, based in Washington, D.C., and Dr. Myriam Miedzian, author of “Boys Will be Boys! Breaking the Link Between Masculinity and Violence.”

Woodhead said there will be several sessions on different topics both in the morning and in the afternoon.

Information she supplied from the conference flier says the event will examine what life is like for today’s boys and men and offer suggestions for helping “respond to the culture of masculinity that is, often times, so very violent, and how best to continue working toward equitable communities, schools and homes for everyone.”

For more information about this very important and timely conference, call the Peace Studies office, 581-2609.

Bob and Betty Brown of Bangor are co-presidents of the Levi-Rounders Square Dance Club, and they want anyone interested in this activity to know that while new classes already have begun, the club is accepting new students through the end of the month, which is in fact today!

The Browns wrote that the first two lessons are free, and the cost is $4 thereafter to pay the instructor.

The club hosts its classes 7-9 p.m. Mondays at Hermon Elementary School.

Levi-Rounders is a nonprofit organization and a member of the National and Worldwide Square Dance Association, which promotes modern square dancing for exercise and fun.

If you have questions or would like to join, call the Browns at 947-3527.

Reenie Mainen of the Castine Arts Association wants you to know the CAA is presenting a very interesting lecture that you might enjoy attending.

“Spiritual Gifts: The Art of Isabella Stewart Gardner,” will be presented at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 2, at the BIW building on the campus of Maine Maritime Academy in Castine by Linda Docherty, an associate professor of art history at Bowdoin College in Brunswick.

Mainen wrote that Docherty’s lecture “will focus, primarily, on Gardner’s religious affiliations and interests, and how they influenced the acquisition, display and use of her collections.”

Grandparents, aunts and uncles raising grandchildren, nieces and nephews are invited to attend a free Family Connections Legal Education Program from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, on the third floor of the Bangor Public Library, 145 Harlow St.

The program features panelists who will discuss issues of guardianship, adoption, child protective proceedings, grandparent visitation and finding good legal services.

The volunteer panel includes Joseph Baldacci, Amy Faircloth and Wayne Doane.

Child care will be provided from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Families and Children Together office, Suite 2B, 304 Hancock St., Bangor.

However, to attend you must register by Wednesday, Nov. 5.

You can register by calling Kim Osgood, (866) 298-0896 or 941-2347, or e-mailing Family Connections at info@kinshipconnections.org.

Family Connections is a program of Families and Children Together.

The third in the Bangor Museum and Center for History discussion series relating to its current exhibit, “From Away: Exploring Bangor’s Cultural Heritage,” features Georgia Paul, Poppy Davis and Arthur Brountas.

Moderated by Nicholas Brountas, the panelists will be featured in “Those Were the Days: Growing up in the Greek Community in Bangor,” 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 5, at the museum, 6 State St.

Admission to attend the program is free. Reservations can be made by calling the museum at 942-1900.

The Bangor Museum is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and from noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays. Admission is free.

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Joni Averill, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.