As Maine goes

Editorial: Creating a "safe place"

In an op-ed published in the Amherst Student on Wednesday, “An Account of Sexual Assault at Amherst College,” Angie Epifano, a former member of the Amherst Class of 2014, bravely recounts how she was raped by a classmate as a first year. Since it was released, her account has sparked an outpouring of sympathy and outrage at the administration’s response, and has inspired others to come forward with similar stories. Epifano writes that she felt unsafe on the small campus and did not tell anyone about the assault. When she did seek help from the college’s sexual assault counselor, she was asked whether the rape might have been just “a bad hook up” and was dissuaded from pressing charges or initiating disciplinary proceedings. Months after the assault, Epifano confessed suicidal thoughts and was transported to emergency care. When she returned to school, she was blocked from studying abroad or writing a senior thesis in light of her “unstable” condition. Epifano withdrew from Amherst after her sophomore year, one year after the assault. One of the most disturbing aspects of Epifano’s testimony is her characterization of how administrators tried to whitewash her assault and subsequent withdrawal from the college. “Silence has the rusty taste of shame,” she writes, condemning the school’s attempt to “sweep sexual assaults under a rug,” and noting how administrators failed to provide her with a support system and instead insisted that “Amherst is a safe place.”

Editorial: Sandy’s groundswell

While Hurricane Sandy largely spared Bowdoin, the storm left thousands of Maine residents without power and devastated much of the eastern seaboard. The death toll currently stands at 88, and the situation may get worse before it gets better. Still, life at Bowdoin goes on more or less as usual, even as the families of many students continue to cope with the storm’s damage. Since Sandy hit, much has been written about how the storm will impact the election on November 6. Pundits and public officials across the nation have called for both presidential candidates to seriously address global warming after avoiding the issue for months, an imperative Walter Wuthmann elaborates on in this week’s Talk of the Quad. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg have both linked the severity of the storm to climate change. In an op-ed in Bloomberg View yesterday, the mayor endorsed President Obama in part because he feels the president will “place scientific evidence and risk management above electoral politics.” We agree.

Editorial

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

October 26, 2012

A week from this Tuesday, Brunswick must cast its vote not just in the race for president, but for representatives to both houses of Congress and to the State Legislature. The choices this election day have particularly high stakes, especially Question 1, which would legalize same-sex marriage and narrowly failed in 2009.

If Question 1 passes, Maine will be the first state to affirm gay marriage by popular vote. By denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples, our state, and most of the country, has withheld basic civil rights from too many of its citizens, for far too long. A “yes” vote is a vote in favor of equality for all.

Democrat and Brunswick native Mattie Daughtry will best represent the 66^thDistrict in the Maine House of Representatives. We are convinced by her sense of civic responsibility: Daughtry read every bill proposed in the 125^th session of the Maine legislature, is dedicated to improving public education, and is committed to bipartisan policy making.

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree faces a challenge from Republican Jonathan Courtney for her seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, and we support her bid for a third term. Pingree, the first woman to hold this seat, led the debate on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and strongly supports a woman’s right to choose. Pingree also backed the Affordable Care Act, whereas Courtney opposes the law and has pledged to work toward its repeal if he is elected. Pingree supports Question 1; Courtney disapproves of it, demonstrating a far too narrow view of what equality means. Pingree has made clean energy a high priority, advancing projects that would modernize Maine’s electricity infrastructure by harnessing offshore wind and tidal power and reducing state dependence on oil.

Bowdoin’s distinguished lecturer and former Governor Angus King is our choice for Senate. Last year, Senator Olympia Snowe attributed her decision not to seek reelection to the paralyzing partisanship of Capitol Hill. If elected as an independent, King will have the unique potential to leverage his vote and create consensus across the aisle. His choice to run as an independent underscores the fact that King’s primary loyalty is to the State of Maine and its citizens, not to the institutional interests of either party.

King has been a strong voice on environmental issues, though we disapprove of his support for fracking and the Keystone XL Pipeline. He prioritizes transitioning the state to renewable, domestic energy sources, and he endorses carbon-reduction initiatives and increased fuel efficiency standards. Like Pingree, King stands for marriage equality and a woman’s right to choose, and supports the Affordable Care Act. He is working towards realizing a health insurance mandate that would cover all citizens, and in the debate over student loans he has taken a stand against financial institutions seeking to change interest rates to profit at students’ expense.

This election offers the opportunity for voters to immediately witness the impact of their ballots. As college students, we need politicians who will work in the present to secure and improve our future. We support those who will pursue equality in all arenas, uphold the historic expansion to the social safety net established in the Affordable Care Act, address the reality of global warming, and advance sustainable environmental and economic policies.

If Question 1 passes, Maine will number among the few states that were early to affirm marriage equality for all citizens. Should the measure pass, we hope the old saying that “As Maine goes, so goes the nation,” proves to be true.

This editorial represents the majority view of the Bowdoin Orient's editorial board, which is comprised of Claire Aasen, Erica Berry, Linda Kinstler, and Eliza Novick-Smith.

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