Window of opportunity

Editorial: The Bowdoin goodbye

When members of the Bowdoin community reminisce about President Barry Mills in five, 10, or 15 years, they will talk about his expansion of financial aid, his fundraising skills and the many campus buildings constructed during his career. But when the students who matriculated during Mills’ tenure talk about him, they’ll remember other things: the times he sat down with students during lunch at Thorne Dining Hall, his slow walks across the Quad, his printed face glued to popsicle sticks during this year’s Bowdoin-Colby hockey game. President Mills achieved the ultimate success at Bowdoin: He grew the College’s national profile while still making it feel like home.
Considering how well he fits the identity of the College, it is ironic that Mills was an afterthought for the 2001 presidential search committee—a committee Mills himself chaired. A biology and government double major and a member of the Class of 1972, Mills took full advantage of the liberal arts experience while a student at Bowdoin. After leaving Brunswick, he continued his varied academic pursuits, earning a doctorate in biology and a law degree. Mills then became a successful lawyer in New York and began volunteering his time as a Trustee of the College shortly thereafter.
Once chosen as President, Mills’ prowess as a fundraiser stood out among his other achievements. Some may only remember him for the capital campaign from 2004 to 2009 that raised $250 million, or for his stewardship of the College recession, but Mills was much more than just a financial leader. He took a genuine interest in the experiences of the students, attending and participating in lectures, performances, presentations and athletic events. He also took campus issues head on, responding directly to the National Association of Scholar’s conservative critique of the College in 2013 and meeting continuously with campus activists throughout his tenure.
President Mills’ accessibility and affable nature extended to his approach to admissions, an area in which he did hands-on work to bring the best and brightest to Bowdoin. Many remember Mills approaching them and their parents at Accepted Students Day to give an honest assessment of the College, while others received personal phone calls from Mills when they were still in the midst of choosing the right school. For Mills, bringing the best to Bowdoin meant relentlessly dedicating himself and the College to increasing financial aid funds and ensuring that no accepted student would be unable to attend for monetary reasons. This past December, the faculty endowed a scholarship in honor of Mills and his wife, Karen, and their commitment to the practice of need-blind admissions. The faculty gave him a standing ovation, and he deserved nothing less.
Although Mills will not officially relinquish leadership of the College until July 1, he is probably experiencing many of the same sentiments of nostalgia that graduating seniors are feeling. Fittingly, he will soon be made an honorary member of the Class of 2015. When you see President Mills around campus before you pack up for the summer, don’t hesitate to stop him and thank him for what he’s done for the College. If we’ve learned anything about him, it’s that he’ll be more than happy to stop and chat.
This editorial represents the majority view of the Bowdoin Orient’s editorial board, which is comprised of Garrett Casey, Ron Cervantes, Sam Chase, Matthew Gutschenritter, Nicole Wetsman and Kate Witteman.

Editorial: Qualitative reasoning

President Obama introduced the White House’s College Scorecard, a compilationof federal data including student debt and attendance cost for over 7,000colleges and universities, last Saturday. While the scorecards aren’t an outrightranking, they are intended as a means of comparison for prospective studentsand families choosing between schools. In some data categories, Bowdoin scoredpredictably high. With a graduation rate of 94 percent and a first-year retentionrate of 97 percent, the College far surpasses the respective national averages.Bowdoin’s average annual cost for students receiving federal aid, $18,613,is only $1,824 greater than the national average and is the smallest such figurein the NESCAC. This relative affordability speaks well of the College’s financialaid packages.
One statistic the scorecard highlights is average salary after attending, whichconsiders the income of alumni who received federal student aid ten years afterthey entered school. For Bowdoin graduates, that number is $54,800. That is asignificant step above the national average of $34,343 and the sixth highest in theNESCAC. However, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, Bowdoinalums’ median annual earnings are fourth-lowest among colleges whose studentsaveraged scores of at least 1400 on their SATs. Considering their alma mater’sprestige, Bowdoin graduates are earning relatively little. Many students and familiesin the throes of the college search will find this information useful as returnon investment is an important factor to consider when choosing a school.But attending Bowdoin is more than just a means to an end. We think of collegenot only as a financial investment, but as an experience that can fulfill us inother ways, too. It’s impossible for any data-based scorecard or rating system tomeasure the relationships, values and skills we develop. There’s no way to quantifythese aspects of life at Bowdoin, but they shape our lives here and beyond insignificant ways.
Still, initiatives like the College Scorecard show that statistical comparisons dohave a role in helping people approach a large investment like a college education.One number that doesn’t appear in the College Scorecard, but that we findsignificant, is the alumni giving rate. A U.S. News article from December 2014listed Bowdoin as one of ten schools where the highest proportion of alumnidonate. As the Orient reports this week, over 61 percent of alums donated to theCollege last year, an all time high.
This statistic represents a group of people who have had time to reflect ontheir experience at Bowdoin and everything it did for them—whether intellectually,socially, emotionally or financially. And remember, this statistic measuresbreadth, not depth of giving. It does not speak to the raw amount of money theCollege receives, but it is significant because it shows many Bowdoin graduatesare still dedicated to the institution. In giving money to the College, alums areexpressing satisfaction with their Bowdoin education. Regardless of the numbersthat come out, most are willing to put something back in.
This editorial represents the majority view of the Bowdoin Orient’s editorialboard, which is comprised of John Branch, Sam Chase, Matthew Gutschenritter,Emma Peters and Nicole Wetsman.

Editorial

This piece represents the opinion of The Bowdoin Orient editorial board.

September 11, 2015

This semester begins on the heels of a busy and complex year for social justice and activism at Bowdoin. In early December 2014, hundreds of students rallied on the Museum steps in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Bowdoin Climate Action continued its push for the College to divest from fossil fuel companies, bringing dozens of students to a sit-in at the president’s office in April. At the end of the spring semester, Students for Justice in Palestine initiated a referendum and heated debate on a boycott of Israeli academic institutions. Bowdoin, a campus not known for a culture of political activism, felt an undercurrent of change.

At the same time, a more tangible change was also taking place. For the better part of a year, Bowdoin conducted an extensive search for a leader to replace Barry Mills, who had spent 14 years as President of the College. The Board of Trustees selected Clayton Rose, a man who is enthusiastic about engaging with today’s pressing social justice issues. Bowdoin, a place where students have recently complained of a stifled dialogue with administrators, was witness to a visible change.

Now, at the start of a new academic year, these two movements converge. Rarely in the memories of those on our campus has there been more of a genuine desire for dialogue on both ends. The slate is about as clean as it’s ever going to get.

Rose devoted a significant portion of his convocation speech to the topic of racial injustice, and he has taken strides to understand the perspectives of minority students at Bowdoin. Last Friday, through Director of the Student Center for Multicultural Life Benjamin Harris, Rose met with student leaders from the Multicultural Coalition, which is made up of organizations such as the Asian Students Association, Students for Justice in Palestine and The Undiscussed.

It is up to us as students to continue to take Rose up on his offer to engage. Our recent wave of activism seems to have convinced President Rose of the student body’s investment in social justice, but it remains to be seen how responsive the administration will be to concrete proposals for change. And while student and faculty activists have organized events such as the October 1 teach-in, it’s unclear exactly how effective the event will prove to be.

We have students desperate to talk and a president eager to listen. Let’s take advantage of this opportunity. All forms of campus dialogue and subsequent activism—from organized discussion to uncompromising protest—are important, and social change rarely happens through any one channel. We shouldn’t count anything out. Maybe the teach-in will effect the most change this semester. Maybe smaller recurring meetings with President Rose will. Most likely, it will be a combination of both.

This editorial represents the majority view of the Bowdoin Orient’s editorial board, which is comprised of John Branch, Sam Chase, Matthew Gutschenritter, Emma Peters and Nicole Wetsman.

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