College must address bigoted joke culture

Letter to the editor: Bowdoin must lead in energy reduction

Back in the early ’80s we started to hear about the disturbing increase in carbon dioxide levels measured atop the Hawaiian volcano Mona Loa. Then not much later, fellow scientists talked increasingly about the implications of this increase, and the likely effects on our climate. Public awareness at the time was minimal at best, and even most climate scientists failed to adjust their living habits to provide an example toward a reduction in carbon dioxide emission. Times have certainly changed in that there is now far more awareness of the consequences of increased carbon dioxide emissions. Clearly we have far to go, but there is a change afoot. But this change will drag on slowly, too slowly, until there is a realization of a sense of personal responsibility.

Letter to the editor: An exchange with President Mills

To the Editor,
I write to tell you about my communication with President Mills regarding the NAS study.
I sent the following letter to President Mills the morning after Monday’s faculty meeting. He was kind enough to call me upon receiving it. During our phone conversation I voiced my agreement with parts of the piecemeal reports that the NAS has already released; with the gist of Thomas Klingenstein’s arguments in his Claremont Review of Books essay and in the Bowdoin Orient; and with Mills’s own argument, in his September 2010 convocation address, which I excerpted in the letter.

Letter to the editor

College must address bigoted joke culture

March 28, 2013

To the Editor:

“It’s no big deal.” That was my initial reaction to the recent spate of racial incidents at Oberlin. Of course, I loathe bigotry in all its forms. But, I thought to myself, the actions of one or two malicious cretins at Oberlin is hardly indicative of a systematic problem there, let alone at liberal arts colleges in general.

My initial reaction was not an uncommon one at Bowdoin. It was also deeply mistaken. This is a vital opportunity to confront the sinisterly subtle types of bigotry that are widespread at Bowdoin.

The average white guy at Bowdoin lives with other white guys, and most are comfortable letting loose chauvinist jokes in the privacy of their dorm rooms. When challenged, a typical response is, “Chill, bro. Whose feelings am I hurting? I don’t mean anything bad by it.” In other words: no big deal. “It’s okay to use the N-word when you’re singing along with a rap song,” a Bowdoin student once told me. So, no big deal. “That’s gay.” “That’s retarded.” Same answer: no big deal.

As Bowdoin students, we’re better than “no big deal.” Homophobic jokes don’t suddenly become acceptable when you’re hanging out with your straight friends. Anti-semitic slurs aren’t fair game when there are no Jews around. Oberlin is dealing with a couple isolated incidents of public bigotry. It’s time Bowdoin dealt with its systematic scourge of private, rationalized bigotry.

Sincerely,
Jesse Gildesgame ’13

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