When they go low

Editorial: Categorizing liberal arts

In an email to all students and employees on October 12, 2016, President Clayton Rose spoke on the direction of the College regarding its "purpose, culture, opportunity, and innovation." Rose questioned: "How might we enhance the ‘quantitative literacy’ of our students, in much the same way our curriculum is currently designed to enhance their writing skills? Critically, this is not a STEM issue, but rather is something germane to our entire curriculum."
In this email, Rose raises an important point about defining liberal arts and areas of study at Bowdoin in the context of our evolving world. When considering all of the departments at Bowdoin, the categorization of the humanities, such as English or religion, as liberal arts is more intuitive for many than categorizing those that fall under the sciences, such as biology or computer science, as liberal arts.
The value of a Bowdoin education lies in its liberal arts curriculum that explicitly values critical thinking, curiosity and cross-discipline dialogue. Interdisciplinary conversation is only made stronger by the recognition that all types of departments—humanities, science or others—have an equal value in the conversation on liberal arts.
Not everyone, however, shares this point of view. Often, certain departments are criticized for the supposed pre-professional nature of their area of study. Perhaps this point of view is best summed up in an op-ed by an alumnus in the Orient from January 2015, after Rose was named former President Barry Mills’ successor.
"Thank goodness, for instance, we preserve a liberal arts curriculum, despite the fact that the two most popular majors are government and legal studies and economics, whose courses feed directly into careers in law, business and finance. Thank goodness we sustain a classics department, despite our petitions to open up more computer science courses to ensure opportunity for careers in the lucrative high-tech industry."
This interpretation of certain departments Bowdoin misses the goal of liberal arts and the distinction that schools like Bowdoin can draw between the way we teach classes in computer science or economics compared to other educational institutions.
There is a difference between economics and business, physics and engineering and computer science and software development. Bowdoin’s conscious decision to not include programs in these fields is evidence of a commitment to framing a Bowdoin education in any discipline as one that teaches students to be creative and think critically.
Despite this, certain departments are still treated like they do not fit the definition of a liberal arts discipline as well as others. We should affirm our commitment to liberal arts education by highlighting the contribution of these departments in campus-wide culture.
The contributions that each department individually make are key to maintaining strong, productive conversation and research on campus. Recognizing the unique perspective and approach each department employs celebrates the liberal arts education as a whole.
This editorial represents the majority view of the Bowdoin Orient’s editorial board, which is comprised of Marina Affo, Julian Andrews, Steff Chavez, Grace Handler, Meg Robbins and Joe Seibert.

Editorial: At home in all lands

A petition is currently circulating through the Bowdoin community, in Brunswick and beyond, to make Bowdoin a sanctuary campus. According to the petition, this would mean those documented under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and undocumented peers “are able to remain on campus and focus on their education instead of their fears of being forced to abandon their education and separate from their families.” The initiative comes in response to President-elect Donald Trump’s threat to deport undocumented immigrants from the United States during his presidency.
The petition—addressed to President Clayton Rose, Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster, Dean of Multicultural Affairs Leana Amaez, Director of the Student Center for Multicultural Life Benjamin Harris and Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols—seeks to “protect our current and future students from intimidation, unfair investigation, and deportation.” The petition urges administrators to take action prior to Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2017.
The Orient’s editorial board vehemently endorses the establishment of Bowdoin as a sanctuary campus. In an email to the campus community on November 10, following the debrief of the election organized by the McKeen Center, Rose noted “that Bowdoin is among a small number of institutions in America that are designed and especially well-equipped to engage, understand, and debate ideas, to build the skills necessary to respectfully disagree and bridge differences, and to transform ideas into action.” He continued to note that taking action is “[at the] center of our purpose, and also at the center of our democracy.” Establishing Bowdoin as a sanctuary campus is a way to transform conversations about support into action establishing inclusion.
Many cities, including Portland, Maine, Boston, New York, Washington, D.C, and Seattle are designated sanctuary cities. Sanctuary refers to cities who have pledged to refrain from assisting federal officers seeking to deport undocumented immigrants.
In addition to established sanctuary cities, many campuses across the country have launched similar petitions and staged walkouts over the course of the last week. We believe Bowdoin should join this effort for national action. This is one of many ways the College can take an active, public stance in favor of the Common Good both on and off campus.
Bowdoin as a sanctuary campus not only embodies the Offer of the College, but contributes to the Common Good. Given the nation’s current political climate, working towards the Common Good and ensuring everyone knows that they are accepted and have a true home here is more important than ever. To echo the petition, “This is not a time for silence.”
This editorial represents the majority view of the Bowdoin Orient’s editorial board, which is comprised of Marina Affo, Julian Andrews, Steff Chavez, Grace Handler, Meg Robbins and Joe Seibert.

Editorial

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

November 11, 2016

Bowdoin is in a unique position following the results of Tuesday’s election. People are feeling many things—from elation and joy to pain, sadness and fear. We have an opportunity as a campus to recognize our privilege of living in this intellectual environment, where we are encouraged to think critically and question openly.

For those who want to fight the bigotry of the incoming administration, we must begin to engage actively and productively with those who feel the outcome is the best move for America so that we can demonstrate actively and productively.

This is not a plea to come together and blindly accept the outcome of the election. This is not a plea to suppress the feelings of anger or fear. This is a plea to reform our method of discourse.

If you want empathy from those that did not vote for your candidate, you need to show empathy to those individuals. As difficult as it may be, we must accept that a significant number of Americans feel that Donald Trump’s proposed policies are valid and the change needed for America. While many of us do not agree with this subset of America’s thought process, there are some real fears at the root of the votes they cast.

Dialogue and communication where we listen and fully understand another’s point of view before beginning to respond is how we ought to engage with America’s next four years. In doing this, we can recognize the validity of the fears many Americans feel on both sides of the political spectrum. We can use this understanding to stand up for what we believe in and to fight what we don’t.

For those of us who are disheartened, outraged and otherwise affected by this election outcome, this is the time to mobilize. We can take our better informed discourse and propel it into productive activism. This is the perfect opportunity for different groups to bridge gaps and come together to affect change.

Bowdoin can help provide the skills and tools to push back against the sexism, xenophobia and racism that still runs through America’s veins. Some professors here fought the good fight in the past—our classes can give us the intellectual perspective and speakers and workshops can refine activist skills.

There is a lot to be learned from movements in the 1960s and 1970s in this country that fought for civil rights, women’s rights and against the Vietnam war that can help us ensure that everybody’s civil and human rights are protected, no matter their class, race, ethnicity, immigration status, gender, sexual orientation, ability, etc. It’s time to act now.

This editorial represents the majority view of the Bowdoin Orient’s editorial board, which is comprised of Marina Affo, Julian Andrews, Steff Chavez, Grace Handler, Meg Robbins and Joe Seibert.

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