Living the party

Editorial: Rules of engagement

In October 1972, an Orient columnist quipped, “As most upperclassmen will readily agree, it requires a fairly strong issue to fire Bowdoin students up over virtually anything, with the possible exception of the hockey season.” For the most part, this sense of political apathy has continued within the Bowdoin Bubble. However, the past two years have seen student activism coalesce around a handful of topics more forcefully than at any point in recent memory. Bowdoin Climate Action (BCA), Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and the 2012 Yes on One initiative, among others, have involved students, faculty and staff in efforts that have produced meaningful conversations—even if they have not always met their goals.
Today, President Barry Mills plans to receive a petition from BCA that was signed by more than 1,000 students and asks Bowdoin to divest its endowment from the top 200 publicly traded fossil fuel companies. This weekend also features the College’s first Palestinian Film Festival, organized by SJP. These are only small steps toward addressing contentious global issues, but they have fostered lively debate among a historically apathetic student body. When Bowdoin students attend a lecture by an activist from the West Bank or a hearing at the Maine Public Utilities Commission, they are engaging with a community that lies beyond Brunswick.
These student-led efforts have not gone unnoticed by Bowdoin faculty. Last May, 24 professors emailed BCA a letter of appreciation for its efforts encouraging the College to divest. The note communicated that while the individual faculty members might not believe that divestment is the best solution for climate change, they “are grateful to the students for dramatically energizing the conversation on campus.” In opening up a critical space for dialogue on social, political or economic issues, students have earned the right to collaborate with their educators and administrators.
It can often feel overwhelming to navigate a Smith Union filled with event posters and tables of vocal activists. Many students blindly accept pamphlets and sign petitions out of a sense of social obligation or brush by without engaging at all. This is a disservice to peers who are pushing for change, even if that change comes incrementally. We do not have to sign the petitions if we disagree with them, but we should be willing to have a conversation and think deeply about our own beliefs. When our signatures reflect a genuine desire for change, the petitions will carry more weight when presented to the administration.
Activists at Bowdoin face a particular challenge because their goals may not come to fruition during their four-year tenure at the College. Though we might not agree with each component of what SJP, BCA and other advocacy groups fight for, it is detrimental to look down on student activism at Bowdoin as a whole and abstain from the conversation. These efforts should be respected, not derided.
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, Leo Shaw and Kate Witteman.

Editorial: Looking forward

In the wake of President Barry Mills’ announcement that he will leave the College next spring, Bowdoin faces a decision about its leadership and future. A president sets the tone for the College’s direction and represents it to the wider world. As the Board of Trustees works with input from students, professors and others to find his successor, it is important that it considers bringing a new perspective to the College.
In the past few years, the College has filled several important administrative positions from within. Tim Ryan ’98 was promoted to director of athletics after serving as the interim director. Just last month, former associate dean of student affairs Meadow Davis replaced Mary Pat McMahon as director of Residential Life. There is a convenience in promoting dedicated and capable servants of the College, but we encourage the presidential search committee to choose a candidate who does not already work here. An outsider will be able to evaluate campus culture without the bias toward the status quo that comes with having been a part of it; he or she will also have a fresh start with Bowdoin’s various interest groups—the students, the faculty, the staff, and the Brunswick community.
Mills told the Orient two weeks ago that he wanted the College’s next president to serve for 10 to 15 years. The higher education landscape is already changing rapidly: college costs are rising precipitously and online courses have permeated the traditional brick-and-mortar classroom model. There is no telling how much the academic environment will have changed by 2025 or 2030. Mills has spoken about avoiding the “arms race” with peer schools to provide lavish amenities, but we are embroiled in it all the same. Moving forward, we think we should attract students not with frills like sparkling new buildings, but with forward-thinking policies and substantive curriculum changes. The College has not shied away from making pioneering moves in the past. In 1969 the Office of Admissions stopped requiring applicants to submit SAT scores to favor a more holistic evaluation approach. Many selective peer schools are just implementing this policy now. Additionally, Bowdoin bravely abolished fraternities in the face of alumni resistance in 1997, and replaced them with the more inclusive College House System. Mills replaced loans with grants in 2008, dedicated millions more to financial aid, and led the College’s endowment past the $1 billion mark.
We want our new president to continue to uphold Bowdoin’s legacy as a leader among NESCAC schools. The College has taken first steps in a few critical directions that should be followed going forward. These changes include the creation of the new Marine Science Semester, which could allow Bowdoin to lead its peer schools in marine biology. The Robert H. and Blythe Bickel Edwards Center advances the quality of arts facilities and opportunities at the College. Additionally, the new courses in the Digital Humanities promise to help the College offer a curriculum with relevance to web-based communication and data infrastructure.
In his first week on the job in 2001, Mills outlined his vision for Bowdoin under his tenure: “We have recognized that growing the College is incredibly expensive and I think it is time for us to focus on curriculum, faculty resources, [and] financial aid.” Our next president will have to keep pace with the significant strides the College has made on these goals in the last 15 years while adhering to the ideals to which it has historically subscribed. He or she must also be prepared to adapt imaginatively to shifts in higher education while working within the College’s means.
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, Leo Shaw and Kate Witteman.

Editorial

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

April 24, 2014

Even one hundred and forty-nine years after the Class of 1867 first planted ivy near the Chapel, the Ivies celebration continues to serve as respite from academics. Despite some obvious differences, the Ivies weekends of yore bear a surprising resemblance to the Ivies of today. In “Tales of Bowdoin,” a collection compiled by former students, President Kenneth C. M. Sills of the Class of 1901 recalls a day when “the expectant mothers, the passive fathers, the pretty sisters” descended on Bowdoin’s campus for a day of oratory performances. Sills describes a tennis match that began at dawn after a night of debauchery, contested between two seniors and two young alumni who were only “slightly clad,” and refereed by one Tim Taylor, who was—even at such a late hour—“rather drunk.” Sills uses the elegant language of a more restrained era, but many current students can read their own Ivies experiences into his account.

From the College’s perspective in 2014, this weekend is primarily about attempting to impose order on chaos. E-Board members hand deliver notices to our neighbors in Brunswick, and some professors even skip town. Rain contingency plans are in place. Multiple emails from Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols have enumerated strategies to “Survivies.” While there is plenty of debauchery already underway, the Ivies spirit has as much to do with breaking the norms of everyday interaction as it does with bending the rules. The near-magical quality of Ivies comes from a meaningful sense of liberation from social divisions within our small community. Today’s party on the Brunswick Quad marks the one moment when a large portion of the student body will gather together informally.

This communal revelry makes Ivies a uniquely inclusive opportunity for fun. Demarcations drawn by class years, varsity teams, College House affiliations and extracurricular involvements dissolve. First years will find that this last weekend in April is the first significant opportunity to invoke the “Bowdoin Hello” since the early months of the academic year. Above recognizing tradition and celebrating the long-awaited start of spring, we gather to celebrate our common experience as the academic year reaches its final crescendo.

We see Ivies as a utopia because of the collective release it brings. But instead of saving the date, we might take the experience instructively. We are capable of substituting bacchanalian camaraderie with substantial—and sober—conversation with new friends after the weekend ends. Ivies sets an example and poses a challenge for the last few weeks of this term and our Bowdoin experience more generally. The long-celebrated Bowdoin tradition brings a state of mind that should linger long after the hangover fades.

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, Leo Shaw and Kate Witteman.

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