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The dangers of assumptions and expectations on and off the dance floor
As last semester wound down, one of my professors asked the class why such a large percentage of students would want to take depressants every weekend. It took me a second to register that he meant alcohol. A couple answers were offered: peer pressure, cultural norms, liquid courage. All were correct, but the last stuck with me.
While alcohol doesn’t quite take us to the level of Ron Weasley on Felix Felicis, it can make even the most awkward of us just that little bit smoother. Our understanding of parties as places without consequence adds to our confidence.
Not only is this idea dangerous in and of itself, but it blurs the boundaries of acceptability. The confidence that alcohol provides can translate into sexual aggression, and in many cases consent is not sought out but assumed. As a guy, I can prowl College House basements, and think that it’s normal if I forgo questions and choose actions. I can just dance up onto a girl. If the girl keeps dancing, sweet. If she walks away, ah well, I guess she wasn’t feeling it. Her loss. And so it goes, with the aggressiveness translating into attempts to make out or to do whatever else can be done.
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Talk of the Quad: The reality of Arabic at Bowdoin
I keep telling myself, "walk backward, but speak forward." I'm just about to run into one of those damn poles when a kind parent on my tour alerts me.
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Wild weekend brings Bowdoin title
For the first time in its quarter of a century history, the women's volleyball team has won the NESCAC championship title. In an almost unheard of 3-0 NESCAC final victory, the team handily defeated defending champion Middlebury last Sunday with set scores of 25-21, 25-22 and 25-17.
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Mired in mediocrity or on the brink of success?
Sports Analysis
In the buildup to tomorrow's game against Williams, there are signs that the matchup will not only herald the beginning of a new season for the Polar Bears, but possibly a new era.
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Talk of the Quad: Idiots steal table
"I'm telling you man, there're no cameras in West, we'll be fine." First mistake. My accomplice, who has asked to remain anonymous (name rhymes with Villain Lammer), was a bit unsure about the whole thing, so I told him a few things that I thought were true. They weren't.
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45 Maine St. owner faces criminal charges over April fire
Close to four months after the April 17 fire at 45 Maine Street, the building's owner Orville Ranger has been issued with both a civil and a criminal summons. He is expected to stand trial in the coming months, and will appear at a dispositional conference scheduled for November 17.
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Department prizes vary for each
Scholarly excellence can be rewarded in a variety of ways. If you are a chemistry major, your possible prizes range from a certificate to a Merck Index. On the other hand, if you are majoring in government and legal studies, you can apply for the Philo Sherman Bennett Prize Fund and, if successful, could walk away with close to $200. "There is no 'one size fits all' for departmental prizes," said Senior Vice President for Administration and Treasurer Katy Longley. "First, the terms of the prize may vary; one fund may designate the size of the prize, and another may leave the size of the prize to the discretion of the department. Second, some prizes, such as certain book awards, carry no monetary value."
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BPD to open investigation on fire at 45 Maine Street
In the aftermath of the April 17 fire at 45 Maine Street, the Brunswick Police Department (BPD) has decided to commission a criminal investigation after the Brunswick Fire Department (BFD) discovered several violations of the building's fire code.
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Early morning fire strikes 45 Maine Street
A fire at 45 Maine Street on Sunday caused significant damage to the three-story commercial and residential building. The damage was deemed to be too significant to repair and led authorities to raze the building to the ground. The official cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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Internet woes to be addessed with upgrades
Tour guides often say that a good wireless Internet connection is available everywhere on campus, even in the Bowdoin Pines. Yet over the past few weeks, students have been forced to endure faulty connections, long loading times and inaccessible websites, no matter the location.
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Kwame's Kolumnalu: Discovering women’s lax
So it's been a while since the last Kolumnalu, and a lot of stuff has gone down. Spring played a cruel joke on us for a few weeks, we got to go home for a bit, and most important, I learned the cruel lesson that, contrary to popular belief, eating and sleeping for two weeks will not lead to incredible gains in muscle mass.
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‘I Am Bowdoin’ promotes diversity awareness
In the aftermath of the March 6 Daggett Lounge discussion regarding acts of racial and sexual intolerance and the March 9 "I Am Bowdoin" community protest, members of the student body and the administration are taking steps toward ensuring that there is no repeat of the March 1 bias incident that occurred in Coles Tower. In particular, "I Am Bowdoin" recently transitioned from being a protest group to an organization of around 40 students geared toward spreading diversity awareness.
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Bias incident strikes 15th floor of Tower
At some point between Tuesday night and the early hours of Wednesday morning, a message on the white board of a dorm room on the 15th floor of Coles Tower was vandalized. The initial message of "I Love Meatless Mondays" was maliciously edited to instead read, "I Love Meatful Mondays! Meatless Mondays Suck!!! F*g N***er."
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Kwame's Kolumnalu: First years on men’s basketball need to play
So in the last Kolumnalu, I left Grant White '14, who we'll call the Pride of Vermont (PoV), his forced love of riding pine and our men's basketball team so I could make a little comment on the relationship between NARPs and athletes, but I just can't seem to stay away from covering the court for too long.
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Bowdoin Brief: Security recovers television stolen from MacMillan House
The Office of Safety and Security recently recovered a television stolen from MacMillan House on May 29 of last year, according to Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols.
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Kwame's Kolumnalu: Reconsidering the division between athletes and NARPs
Coming to Bowdoin this past fall, I hadn't really thought too much about the relationship between athletes and non-athletes. I mean, why would I have?
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Bowdoin Brief: Tower hit with another theft as investigations remain open
At some point last Friday, a room on the 13th floor of Coles Tower was broken into. "There was a small amount of cash taken from a bedroom," said Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols. He confirmed that there was no sign of forced entry, and when asked about possible suspects, he said, "We've been investigating this series of thefts all this week...we're making some progress."
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Several thefts strike Tower, prescription drugs targeted
For residents of Coles Tower, another week has brought another break-in. On either Monday or Tuesday, an apartment was broken into and prescription medication was stolen. The break-in is the third to have occurred on campus in the last six weeks, and the fourth in Coles Tower since September 1, 2010. "Some prescription medication was taken out of a bedroom in the Tower, and [while] not all of the pills were taken out of the bottle, several were taken," said Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols.
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Tower rooms burglarized, investigation remains open
On Tuesday between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., the seventh floor of Coles Tower was broken into and belongings of tower residents were stolen or left disfigured. The incident marked the second break-in to have occurred on campus in a little over a month.
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Kwame's Kolumnalu: Reserving our right to talk smack on our turf
So your first question is probably, "What's up with the title?" My middle name is Kwame, that's what's up. Now thinking of Bowdoin's greatest sporting rivalries, Maine Maritime doesn't exactly spring to mind.
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Mac residents missing few possessions after break-in
Residents of MacMillan House who returned to campus last weekend after break were generally relieved to discover the majority of their personal property undisturbed following a break-in that occurred over the long winter vacation. The Office of Safety and Security reported that the break-in most likely occurred at about 4 a.m. on December 28, while most students were away for Winter Break.
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Second phase of solar hot water project begins at Thorne
Every year as the weather gets colder in Brunswick, the College manages to keep its students warm through the Central Heating Plant and other individual heating systems. This year, the College will bring its heating system one step further with the addition of the environmentally friendly solar hot water project to Thorne Dining Hall.
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E-Board survey begins Ivies preparation
It may only be December, but excitement for the annual Ivies Concert is already catching on. The anticipation has only grown over the past week as the Entertainment Board (E-Board) sent out a survey regarding the concert to the student body. As of Thursday night, 814 students had responded to the survey.
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Presentation demystifies liquor laws
On Tuesday night, former law and liquor enforcement officer Frank Lyons held an information session about Maine liquor laws at MacMillan House. The event was organized in a collaborative effort by the Brunswick Police Department (BPD), Higher Education Alcohol Prevention Partnership (HEAPP), Communities Against Substance Abuse (CASA), and the Office of Residential Life. The session was geared toward educating students about alcohol laws applicable to hosting a party on a college campus.
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Seven weeks into the semester, BCNews still off the air
So far this year, Bowdoin Cable Network (BCN) News has not aired a single episode. While there are plans in place to air the first one early next week, the program will not continue to run weekly segments on the network as it has in past years due mainly to a lack of student interest.
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New printing refund policy prompts student discontent
For Susannah Burrage '11, the printers at Bowdoin are like the vending machine that takes one's money, but gives nothing in return. On September 26, Burrage printed a document from a library computer, and after swiping and confirming her print order, she waited. Five minutes later, no documents had come, but in terms of her $60 allocation for printing, it was as if they had.
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Maine Street Station consolidates transportation options, looks to 2012
If you build it, they will come. At least that's what Onsite Project Manager of Maine Street Station (MSS) Mike Lyne said he is hoping. Along with being Amtrak's port of entry into Brunswick—a train service is scheduled to begin in early 2012—the station currently offers access to the Maine Eastern train and the Brunswick Explorer, and has recently merged all of Concord Coach's previous Brunswick-area stops into one location.