A healthy debate

Editorial: Liberate the arts

Earlier this month, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art received 320 pieces from the legendary collection of Dorothy Vogel, a donation that—in the words of Colby art museum curator Diana Tuite—“catapults [the Museum] into a whole other league.” A former librarian, Vogel collected almost 5,000 works of art with her late husband Herb, a postal clerk, gathering it in their rent-stabilized, one-bedroom apartment in New York City. Their donation marks a 33 percent increase in the museum’s contemporary art collection and adds work from modern and postmodern artists such as Richard Tuttle and Julian Schnabel. With this addition, the Vogels—long-time friends of Museum co-directors Anne and Frank Goodyear—have furthered the Museum’s developing reputation as an artistic heavyweight. Since the renovated art museum reopened in 2007, it has attracted record-breaking crowds and national attention with Edward Hopper, William Wegman and Maurice Prendergast exhibits.
Bowdoin’s art world is inarguably in the public eye, and with the September opening of the Robert H. and Blythe Bickel Edwards Center for Art and Dance, art has moved closer to the nucleus of student life. Apart from this academic building, the Ramp Gallery opened in Hawthorne-Longfellow Library last semester, creating a forum dedicated to student-curated and created art. Meanwhile, the Art Society’s inaugural interactive exhibit in Ladd House succeeded in turning traditionally social spaces into artistic venues. We applaud these efforts and want to see the trend continue. Why not put artwork in other high-traffic areas like the dining halls or classrooms? By largely confining art to the Museum, the Visual Arts Center and the Edwards Center, the College limits its exposure to people already engaged in Bowdoin’s artistic circles.
Some colleges have taken bold steps in their attempts to integrate visual art into student life. Oberlin College rents artwork to students and faculty, including pieces by Picasso and Dali, for $5 per semester. Bowdoin’s Museum has over 20,000 pieces in its collections, the vast majority of them in storage. It could consider rentals, not only to better take advantage of its incredible quantity of works, but also to expose students to their beauty. The benefit to students is obvious: an original Winslow Homer painting would make a nice alternative to an Animal House poster in your Coles Tower bedroom next year. Another option is designating a public space—like Pomona College’s Walker Wall—where students could create art. These sorts of public projects can be marred by crude expressions, but we believe that Bowdoin students would rise to the challenge. Art has the power to elevate both aesthetics and attitudes. In 2008, residents of Quinby House partnered with students from Professor Mark Wethli’s public art course to redecorate a basement room frequented by urinating revelers, according to a 2008 Orient article. Designed by Sara Griffin ’09 and Cami Osorno ’10, the “European Portrait Gallery” continues to be appreciated, not defaced. Transformations like this one remind us that we can remake our campus spaces and reimagine the ways in which we interact with art both in and outside of the Museum.

Editorial: Keeping house

As first years scrambled to figure out their sophomore year housing plans last week, the Office of Residential Life (ResLife) announced a major change to the College House system. In an effort to entice rising juniors and seniors to apply, ResLife will now allow larger blocks if they include rising upperclassmen.
Walking into a College House filled with sophomores can be intimidating for first years. The residents might only be one year older, but they boast a year of collegiate experience and familiarity with the norms of campus social life. Over time, that divide can be easily bridged, but the wider gap between first year affiliates and upperclassmen residents has—in past years—proven too vast. As first years, members of the Class of 2015 who were affiliated with the senior-heavy 2011-2012 Helmreich House remember feeling unwelcome and uncomfortable at House events. ResLife maintains that this House was an example of what a College House should be. Having upperclassmen residents may have been a positive experience for House members, but any benefit seems to have come at the expense of those students who we think depend most on the College House system—first years.
Approximately half of each sophomore class lives in a College House. This gives these students an opportunity to live in a house full of peers and gives the year a sense of distinction that does not exist at other colleges. Just on the cusp of becoming upperclassmen, sophomores who live in College Houses are put in leadership positions and asked to organize events for the whole community. Even for sophomores who live elsewhere, the Houses provide a fundamental space for programming and socializing. Incorporating juniors and seniors into this setting may be a valuable way to connect class years, but we feel that this compromises the quintessential sophomore and first-year experiences that currently exist.

Editorial

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

January 31, 2014

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Obama reaffirmed his commitment to overhaul the current health care system in America. The day before, Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster referenced these ongoing reforms when he sent a campus-wide email about the state of the Bowdoin Health Center. In light of Director of Health Services Sandra Hayes’ imminent departure, the school is reviewing the structure of the College’s Health Center. In his email, Foster outlined three possible plans for its future: a partnership with an outside agency to handle increasingly complex administrative work, a complete replacement of the staff with employees of a private firm, or a continuation of the College’s current system with a new director.

We welcome this review. Although the Health Center received its highest approval rating ever—76 percent—in the fall installment of the Orient’s biannual approval ratings survey, it has consistently ranked among the lowest of campus administrators and offices. Even with higher ratings this year, a vocal minority still expressed the need for improvement. One female senior wrote last spring: “Bowdoin should be ashamed of the poor quality of the services provided by the Health Center. It’s a joke.” These complaints are nothing new. A 2005 Orient editorial called for extended weekend hours,continuing a decades-long debate over the availability of health care on campus. Last year, Hayes told the Bowdoin Student Government that the opening of the Mid Coast Primary Care and Walk-in Clinic had alleviated demand for walk-in hours. While we understand that the Health Center is not a 24-hour hospital, we believe that busy students would benefit from a daily drop-in hour after classes.

The Dean’s office could have reviewed the Health Center behind closed doors and announced its findings to the community once a decision was made. We thank Foster for reaching out to the campus in his email. Amidst the confusion and anxiety that have recently characterized national health care, we feel lucky to have a low-hassle system in the serene atmosphere of the Buck Center for Health and Fitness. Under the current system, an ailing student does not have to worry about providing insurance details or other personal information for a checkup. The Health Center’s total integration into the College makes dealing with sickness simple, particularly when health concerns can interfere with a student’s campus life. While we might not immediately notice a change in the Health Center’s staffing, it would—in all likelihood—impact our lives at the College. We are glad that any changes made to the administration of the Health Center will come as the result of a thorough on-campus dialogue. While we may be exhausted by the national debate, we look forward to exploring new options at Bowdoin.

The editorial represents the majority view of the Bowdoin Orient’s editorial board, which is comprised of Erica Berry, Nora Biette-Timmons, Garrett Casey, Ron Cervantes, Marisa McGarry, Sam Miller and Kate Witteman.

Th e editorial represents the majority view of the Bowdoin Orient’s editorial

board, which is comprised of Erica Berry, Nora Biette-Timmons, Garrett Casey,

Ron Cervantes, Marisa McGarry, Sam Miller and Kate Witteman.Th e editorial represents the majority view of the Bowdoin Orient’s editorial
board, which is comprised of Erica Berry, Nora Biette-Timmons, Garrett Casey,
Ron Cervantes, Marisa McGarry, Sam Miller and Kate Witteman.

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