Come rain, shine or research paper deadline, Ivies weekend is here.
Last night's Racer X concert kicked off the College's annual Weekend of campus-wide celebrations and concerts.
Across campus, students and administrators have been hard at work finalizing preparations for the weekend in the hopes of offering something for everyone.
Eventful
The Entertainment Board (E-Board) is on track to ensure that tomorrow's concert goes off without a hitch.
The Sills Drive gate will open for students at 1 p.m. tomorrow. Student band Eleven will take the stage at 3 p.m. for a 30-minute performance.
Passion Pit will follow with an hour-long set scheduled to begin at 4 p.m., after which E-Board Co-Chair Chris Omachi '12 said the band is off to catch a plane, as they are currently on tour.
The Cool Kids will play for an hour starting at 5:30, and Reel Big Fish will close the show with a 75-minute performance beginning at 6:45.
E-Board member Laura Connolly '11 has compiled a 200-song playlist comprised of student suggestions that will be broadcast between the musical acts, according to Omachi.
The Dining Service will provide barbecue fare at Whittier from 4 to 7 p.m. Moulton Dining Hall will be open for dinner from 5 to 7 p.m. and Express meals will be available from 5 to 7:30 p.m.
According to Ken Cardone, associate director of dining service, the Thorne Dining Hall staff will begin setting up for the barbecue at noon, with the only real change to the annual event being its new location. He noted that last year's barbecue was "very successful," with over 3,000 entrees served. A Bowdoin ID for students, or cash for guests, is required for the meal.
Whittier Field will be outfitted with approximately 13 portable toilets for student use throughout Saturday afternoon. E-Board staff members will begin setting up for the concert at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, and will meet with Security and all parties related to the concert, including representatives from all bands, to ensure that everyone involved is on the same page.
Program Adviser for the E-Board Megan Brunmier and Omachi both expressed enthusiasm about the new stage being used for the concert, which is larger than past Ivies stages and in its position in the corner of the field, allows greater ability to manage the crowds, as the E-Board and band managers won't need to worry about students hanging out behind the stage, a logistical concern of past Ivies held on the Quad.
Brunmier also praised the Whittier location of the concert for its proximity to Pine Street Apartments, where Pinefest, traditionally Ivies' final school-wide event, will take place on Saturday night. Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) will provide cheese pizza and hot dogs free of charge.
BSG President Mike Dooley '10 said the addition of pizza to the menu was not a response to Directory of Safety and Security Randy Nichols' quote in last week's Orient suggesting that hot dogs were not as filling as pizza, and that it was a plan already in the works. The Office of Residential Life (ResLife) is helping to pay for the cost of the pizza.
BSG is also subsidizing the Dining Service spread of snacks at the registered Harpswell Apartments party tonight, which will include cheese, pepperoni, soft drinks, and a wide variety of other snacks, said Ken Cardone. The food will be located at the edge of the Watson Arena parking lot, adjacent to Harpswell Apartments.
Alt-Ivies
A couple of events have been organized for students looking to avoid the traditional Ivies revelry.
On Friday night, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., ResLife and the Bowdoin Christian Fellowship will host an evening of music, games and food at 30 College St., according to a post made to the student digest on Wednesday.
On Saturday, ResLife student staff members Jillian Eddy '12 and Andrew Cushing '12 will lead a group of students on a day trip to Portsmouth, N.H.
As of Wednesday, Eddy said that only a handful of students had signed up for the trip, and anticipates that the group will spend the day shopping, visiting Strawbery Banke Museum, or getting lunch, depending on the group's interests.
The idea behind the trip was to allow an option for students who "don't necessarily want to be on campus," according to Eddy.
"[Ivies] isn't really as exciting for me," said Eddy, as she does not drink and does not particularly care for the bands that are coming to campus. Additionally, she plans to spend both Friday and Saturday nights on duty.
Keeping it safe and secure
Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols stressed that throughout Ivies celebrations, students should be "more aware, more cautious, more safe," and emphasized that they not hesitate to call Security for any safety issues they may encounter.
"I'm more concerned this year," said Nichols, "...because of how this year has gone," attributing his worry to this school year's increase in alcohol-related transports, student arrests and student court summonses.
Nichols said he and his staff started their increased Ivies presence on Wednesday. Security officers were at last night's Racer X concert in Morrell Lounge and will be at tomorrow's concert at Whittier Field. The number of officers at work over the weekend will be significantly increased from regular weekends—doubled and in some cases tripled, according to Nichols.
The Bowdoin Shuttle will also increase its services, with three shuttles running tonight and tomorrow night.
Nichols said that the extra shuttle is "still not going to be enough" to meet his anticipation of student demand.
Of the change of location of Saturday's concert from the Quad to Whittier Field, Nichols remained positive. Though he acknowledged that the change was made for technical reasons, he reflected on the benefits of the move from a safety and security perspective.
"Each year on the Quad we have incidents," Nichols said, comparing the space to a sieve in its inability to be secured.
To gain entrance to the Whittier concert, students must present a Bowdoin ID card. Students may bring guests to the concert, according to Brunmier, but are expected to take responsibility for any non-Bowdoin students they bring to Whittier Field. In past years when the concert has taken place on the Quad, it has been open to the public.
Some Brunswick residents were disappointed that they could not attend the concert this year.
"I'm a high school student," said Carter Blease, who attends Mt. Ararat High School. "I would love to go [to the concert]. It's disappointing because every year I go to this concert. It's really disappointing."
Francis Meisenbach, who also attends Mt. Ararat High School, said he had planned on going to Ivies concert for the first time this year and said that he was surprised he would not be able to.
"That's really surprising because Bowdoin has always been part of the Brunswick community," he said.
Other Brunswick residents said they recognized the concert was a Bowdoin-specific event.
"It's a Bowdoin thing," said a cashier at Little Dog who preferred to remain anonymous.
The ability to control access is a "big thing" for Security, according to Nichols, and will help with his goal to keep students off the public streets.
On Saturday night, gates on either side of Whittier Field will be unlocked, allowing students to cross the field to the Pinestock event to keep students from cutting through the cemetery and off the streets as much as possible. According to Nichols, the area will be lit appropriately so students will not be left in the dark.
"Students need to be more cautious than ever," Nichols said in regard to the public imbibing that traditionally occurs over Ivies.
Nichols referred to the $12,000 grant that the Brunswick Police Department (BPD) received in February by Communities Against Substance Abuse (CASA) when discussing the recent increase in student arrests and court summonses.
Nichols maintained that he was confident in the efforts of his and other campus departments in educating and informing the student body about their safety if they choose to be publicly intoxicated.
Characterizing the College's work to ensure a safe environment for students as "very proactive," Nichols said that the coverage of alcohol-related incidents involving Bowdoin students in the local news has made him worried that "we're getting a bit of a bad reputation," one he said he finds "unwarranted."
This Ivies will be Nichols' fifth, and he said that over the past four Ivies, there have been only two alcohol transports, both of which he called "precautionary" and were not life threatening.
Nichols called student cooperation with Security "a huge part of that success" and he emphasized that students should never hesitate to call Security for help.
"[We] never penalize," students who call for assistance, Nichols said, "we thank them."
"Ivies is a great community time for Bowdoin," Nichols said, musing that some of his best memories of his time at the College have occurred over Ivies weekends. "Let's work together to keep it safe," he added.
Nichols said that he would rely on catnaps over the course of the weekend to maximize his availability to respond to students' safety and security needs. In his office, he gestured to an area of space in front of his desk, saying, "I'm about ready to haul up my cot."