Controversial art display

Letter to the editor:

Taking action to combat global warming/climate change is worthy. Without listing all of the reasons why divestment from fossil fuel companies sounds good, but will do nothing in pursuit of the cause, let me suggest that members of Bowdoin Climate Action (BCA) join the effort in Augusta to develop Maine state solar energy policy that really will move the needle.
Spending time and energy, so to speak, working with the Natural Resources Council of Maine and other environmental organizations to affect policy change in Augusta that has practical, immediate consequences would be far more effective in achieving BCA’s laudable goals than the one they insist on pursuing.
Richard MersereauBrunswick

Letter to the editor: Career Planning Center does not always show bias towards lucrative fields

Responding to Rachel Baron’s column from last week entitled “Career Planning’s misguided prioritization of lucrative fields:”
I felt that the article relied heavily on anecdotes and I wanted to share a counter-anecdote. Personally, I am hoping to pursue comparatively low-paying jobs in public service. I have met with my Career-Planning advisor periodically and they have never in any way pressured me to pursue corporate positions. The only time they pushed me in any direction was when I asked if I should consider applying to some corporate jobs alongside the public sector positions I was actually passionate about. They immediately reminded me that I was not interested in corporate jobs and encouraged me to pursue my passions. I completely acknowledge that this anecdote does not disprove the claim that Career Planning prioritized lucrative fields, but I do believe that it demonstrates that this subject requires further inquiry. I would love to see an investigative piece that looks closer at the services the Career Planning Center provides; I would propose that they are more balanced than they immediately appear.
Jacob Russell is a member of the Class of 2017.

Letter to the editor

This piece represents the opinion of the author:

January 26, 2017

We live in a society where very little is sacred and every element of the human condition is on display or exploited for pure shock value. It seems that either destroying or entirely laying waste to previously taboo barriers and boundaries has become an accepted practice in today’s curriculum. This sentiment was recently on display in the most recent installment of The Bowdoin Orient, and I challenge anyone to read Nell Fitzgerald’s article, “Provocative Student Art Brings Menstrual Blood, Trump’s Face in View” and not be repulsed. I cannot fathom how offended I would be to stumble upon photographs of women’s used menstrual pads while visiting a Bowdoin College men’s bathroom. It begs the question: who validates these graphic and visually repugnant pictures as art? Presumably this was sanctioned by the Bowdoin College Visual Arts Department, so I am assuming there was both consent and possibly encouragement to pursue this project. I strongly doubt any individual who witnessed these horrifying pictures ever drew the sympathetic connections regarding “period angst” that the artist had hoped. Both this project and its presumed objective have failed miserably and has likely fostered antipathy and gall towards its intended subject rather than empathy. Repulsive and disgusting.

Michael W. McCullom ’86

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