A mixed blessing

Editorial: Safety in numbers

The sexual assault that occurred on Tuesday has left campus in a state of shock. While similar incidents may be a more common reality outside of Bowdoin, it’s greatly distressing to find that such a horrifying act of random violence could happen here. Our thoughts are with the victim, and with all the members of the Bowdoin community deeply affected by this attack.
As college students, a number of resources for dealing with sexual assault are available to us. This year’s Clery Report recorded 20 sex offenses in the 2014 calendar year, and others almost surely went unreported. We’re trained—formally and otherwise—to think about sexual assault in specific ways that aim to confront this unique problem of sexual assault on college campuses. We’re told that the victims of sexual assault usually know their attacker, that alcohol is involved in a large percentage of assaults on campus, and that a culture of affirmative consent is key to stopping sexual assault before it happens. We’re told that the notion of a stranger entering your room is a narrow and rare conception of what sexual assault is for college students. All of this education is accurate and necessary, but it also makes it all the more jarring when an incident like this happens.
While each student may have felt a different level of safety at Bowdoin before this event, many of us, particularly women, feel significantly less safe this week. Behaviors we take for granted—jogging without a cell phone, wandering home from a party alone, leaving a door propped open for a roommate—will be given up by many students after what happened on Tuesday. These everyday activities, rarely second-guessed, were reflections of a collective belief that Brunswick and Bowdoin are generally safe. Every time a student makes a conscious effort to avoid such a behavior will be an implicit statement that campus is perhaps not as safe as we once thought. While these privileges of safety are small individually, losing them all at once profoundly affects how we perceive our environment.
There’s no shortcut to regaining the sense of security that many of us had until this week. Many of us are scared, and unfortunately, there’s no way that we can be entirely comforted after an incident like this. There are things that help, however. Student affairs staff have been on hand at 24 College Street so students can convene there, providing many students a way to cope with the emotional toll that an incident like this takes. In less formal settings, students have found comfort through simply sharing their feelings and offering support to friends. This week, we lost some of the small privileges of our experience at Bowdoin and in Brunswick. Coming together as a community will continue to help us slowly regain some sense of security.
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.

Editorial: Puck Colby

Tomorrow’s the big one, friends: Bowdoin vs. Colby ice hockey in Sid Watson Arena. Easily the biggest sporting event on campus every year, Bowdoin-Colby takes a normally sedate student body and whips it into a frenzy for three periods of puck. But, like Thanksgiving dinner at Thorne or Ivies weekend, this iconic campus event requires careful planning. In the interest of providing the fans in the stands with a fun night and helping secure a win for the boys on the ice, the Orient’s editorial board humbly presents to you the ABCs of Bowdoin-Colby hockey.
Access
Were you one of the lucky souls that waited in the now-infamous line that snaked around Smith Union throughout the week and emerged victorious with a ticket? Kudos, your dedication to Bowdoin men’s hockey is a huge part of what makes the program the NESCAC powerhouse that it is. Don’t feel bad if you didn’t score a seat to the big game, though. There’s an unspoken understanding that those who show up to the game will find a way in. That said, don’t make the ushers’ jobs hard or awkward by begging them for admission. Have the courtesy to bring a homemade ticket or just dart past them inconspicuously.
Booze
It’s going to be tempting to drink all day in preparation for the game, because that is an awesome thing to do if you’re 21 years old. Don’t darty too hard, though—there’s nothing worse than passing out at 6 p.m. and not even making it to the game. And don’t pregame intensely directly before the game, either. The bleachers will be packed and you’ll be uncomfortable. Drink in moderation before the game, and save turn up o’clock for immediately after the boys get the W. As hockey legend Wayne Gretzky once said, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.”
Chants and Chirps
The best anti-Colby chants, ranked:
1. “UMaine-Waterville”2. “Mules are sterile”3. “Safety school”
These are the essentials, the classic war cries shouted by generations of Bowdoin students. They will be chanted, and they will be chanted often. But don’t hesitate to take things a step further. Scan the Colby men’s hockey roster and put some names into Google. Does the goalie speak Russian and French? Yup—shout some things at him in Russian and French! Does the leading scorer have an embarrassing Vine account that hasn’t been updated in two years? He sure does! Please loudly make reference to it while he’s on the ice. It’s not about insulting the opposition—in fact, that should be avoided. The best chirps are obscure, innocuous references to the players’ lives.
If you’ve ever felt envy while watching a student section go wild at a big-time college sporting event, tomorrow night is your chance to live that life. The Mules are coming to town, and every self-respecting Polar Bear should be present to defend the hallowed grounds of Watson Arena. It’s time for Bowdoin-Colby hockey.

Editorial

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

November 20, 2015

This past Sunday, members of the Bowdoin community gathered on the steps of the Museum of Art to hold a candlelight vigil to reflect on recent events both near and far. Attendees reflected on a variety of sobering incidents varying in scale and proximity to the Bowdoin community, including nationwide student protests for racial equality, a sexual assault in Mayflower apartments and, most recently, the terrorist attacks in Paris. Students and administrators gathered to comfort others and be comforted themselves. It was but one example of the Bowdoin community finding a way to come together in a difficult, confusing time.

After an occurrence of cultural appropriation that harmed students of color and others on campus, many—including those affected—performed public displays of protest and unity in the following days. A Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) meeting provided a platform for many to voice their sadness and frustration, and resulted in the General Assembly releasing a Statement of Solidarity. The next week, many students gathered in the Union for a protest that called attention to difficulties students of color face on campus. This month, BSG’s annual No Hate November initiative has provided outlets for support and education, including a photo display showing support to those affected by racial bias and an Uncommon Hour presentation today on racism by Associate Professor of Africana Studies and History Brian Purnell. Last Friday, dozens of Bowdoin students marched in solidarity with students of color across the country fighting forms of racism on their campuses. While large issues of racism cannot be immediately solved and there is much more work to be done, it’s encouraging to see many Bowdoin students work relentlessly to make change in our community.

The sexual assault and other troubling incidents of a similar nature have caused many on campus to reconsider their sense of security. Many members of the student body feel confused and vulnerable. However, the response has not been one of helplessness. Hours after Tuesday’s incident, a Facebook group called Bowdoin Safe Walk was created as a forum for students to offer and seek out rides or “walking buddies.” The group has over 1,500 members. That same night, Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols visited several off-campus houses on and near Potter Street to check on the wellbeing of students living there. The next day, BSG organized a community safe walk through campus and the surrounding neighborhoods. These responses have affirmed the strength and resilience of our community. The events that have forced us to reconsider our sense of security have also revealed the ways that members of the Bowdoin community can come together to support one another.

The past few weeks have been trying in a way that few on campus remember in the recent past. It is necessary to view Bowdoin critically and honestly, and the administration’s handling of some of the recent events has at times left something to be desired. But at the very least, we should still be grateful for the movements at work here: the responses we’ve seen across campus have reaffirmed for us that Bowdoin’s community is something to be thankful for.

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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