The Bowdoin Orient

President Barry Mills sent Professor of Economics Jonathan Goldstein a six-page letter of censure this week, effectively ending the eight-month-long dispute between Goldstein and College officials over a 2008 paper the professor began disseminating last August.

Following a College investigation of alleged research misconduct, a Bowdoin professor now awaits a final decision on the matter from President Barry Mills. Professor of Economics Jonathan Goldstein, a former chair of the economics department and a 29-year tenured veteran of the College, researched in a 2008 paper the effect of athletics on academics at 36 small, liberal arts colleges, including Bowdoin. The paper, which contained results potentially harmful to the reputation of the College, has not been published in a scholarly journal but was posted last August on Goldstein's faculty page of the Bowdoin Web site.

Professor of Economics Jonathan Goldstein's paper, "The Tradeoff Between Extra-Curricular Activities and the Academic Mission of Small Liberal Arts Colleges: Why Some Schools Are Poor Educational Investments," has been the source of an eight-month long dispute between the author and College officials since shortly after it was posted on his faculty Web page last August.

Not everyone working in the financial world has been adversely affected by the current economic crisis. Just ask hedge fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller '75, who earned a reported $260 million in 2008 as manager for hedge fund Duquesne Capital.

Bowdoin can now be added to the list of institutions pursuing funds from the $787 billion economic stimulus package signed on February 17 by President Barack Obama. The College sent a letter to Maine Governor John Baldacci's office, looking to receive state funds for "shovel-ready" construction projects in Brunswick and "green initiatives" around campus, according to Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer Katy Longley.

In September of 1826, senior John Brown Russwurm's graduation from Bowdoin not only signaled a significant personal achievement. It was also a milestone for the College.

Another Bowdoin alum was tapped by the Obama Administration on Wednesday, as Kendall C. Burman '00 was named Associate Counsel to the President. The Office of Legal Counsel, where Burman will work, "provides authoritative legal advice to the President and all the Executive Branch agencies," according to its Web site.

In a letter to the Bowdoin community on Thursday, President Barry Mills recommended an increase in the number of enrolled students at the College, a salary freeze for most employees, and a myriad of other steps in order to confront expected budgetary shortfalls.

President Barry Mills announced on Monday a new committee that will look into the College's finances and make cost-cutting recommendations for next year's operating budget. The announcement, first made by Mills at Monday's faculty meeting, was sent via e-mail on Tuesday afternoon to all students, employees and Trustees of the College.

Senior Rob Halliday's Arabic 101 class will have a couple of unfamiliar faces in class this morning: two ninth graders from local high schools. "It might be a little intimidating for them, but hopefully they get excited," Halliday said.

Despite grappling with a national economic crisis and an endowment that earned minimal returns this fiscal year, Bowdoin administrators said they do not predict a tuition hike larger than normal for the 2009-2010 academic year. "We're hoping that Bowdoin isn't in that league of having to increase tuition [more than usual], and that we can stay in the 4 to 5 percent range," Senior Vice President for Finance and Treasurer Katy Longley said.

As hard times grow harder, Bowdoin is tightening its belt. While the current economic crisis has severely limited the expansion of facilities, faculty, and other college programs, President Barry Mills said that the College is economically "secure." "The message is that all of our staff positions are secure, all of our faculty positions are secure," Mills told the Orient. "Our financial aid support is secure, and that fundamentally, everything that we're doing, everything that comprises the core strength at Bowdoin is secure."

Six-term Maine Congressman and Bowdoin alum Rep. Tom Allen '67 (D-Maine) is making a bid for the U.S. Senate on November 4, hoping to unseat incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). The Orient caught up with Congressman Allen at his campaign headquarters in Portland last Friday to discuss the upcoming election, the state of the economy, and the Red Sox.

In an act suggesting that Bowdoin is not immune to the credit crisis gripping the country, Wachovia Bank froze a fund containing less than five hundred thousand dollars of the College's money on Monday. The same fund contained millions of dollars of college money before Bowdoin transferred a large portion of it to other investments this summer, according to Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration Katy Longley.

This fall, Bowdoin alum and Iraq War veteran Alex Cornell du Houx '08 has his sights on the Maine Legislature. Cornell du Houx is running for state representative from District 66, a part of Brunswick that consists of approximately 300 Bowdoin students, including residents in Howell House, Helmreich House, Burnett House, and Stowe Inn.

After two years at the helm of Bowdoin admissions, William Shain has left the College. Shain's departure was announced in an e-mail on June 5 by President Barry Mills to faculty, staff, Trustees, and members of the Alumni Council. In the statement, Mills explained that Shain, who had admitted the Classes of 2011 and 2012 in his post as dean of admissions and financial aid, was leaving the College on June 30.

Over the summer, a College-hired security firm concluded its investigation of a data breach first reported by the Orient in April.

A late night party at 17 Cleaveland St. last weekend was broken up after a neighbor's noise complaint prompted local police to intervene and issue verbal warnings to six residents of the property.

Despite the closing of the Brunswick Naval Air Station (BNAS) in 2011 and mounting evidence of a national economic slowdown, work on a multi-million dollar development project adjacent to college property presses forward.

A new committee that will analyze the Inter House Council (IHC) Constitution and make necessary changes is slated to convene next week for the first of five meetings. IHC President Lindsey Bruett '09, who led the search for committee members, said she realized the constitution was outdated last year.

A group of students from the Bowdoin Christian Fellowship has begun offering a Sunday Protestant service in the Chapel. The weekly services are geared toward Protestant students who have not yet found a church to attend in the area, according to Campus Staff Member of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship Sim Gregory.

A unanimous decision by faculty to restructure committees at Bowdoin will combine and cut some existing committees, as well as establish temporary working groups to target specific issues at the College. The change, initially proposed by the Committee on Governance (COG) and voted on at the February 4 faculty meeting, seeks to more efficiently utilize committees at the College.

Former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton will be on campus today, speaking to students and guests at 6 p.m. in a location to be announced. Clinton is campaigning for her mother, Senator Hillary Clinton, who is locked in a battle with Senator Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.

Every so often, Hollywood comes out with a film adaptation that actually does justice to the book it is based on. "No Country for Old Men," the Coen Brothers' latest work (and an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel by the same name) not only does the book justice, but in many respects conveys the white-knuckle tension and senseless violence of the story better than the acclaimed novel.

Most Bowdoin students have at least some knowledge of the eminent role Bowdoin played in the Civil War. Many know that "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was written in a nearby house by Harriet Beecher Stowe, the wife of a Bowdoin professor, while others are familiar with war hero Joshua Chamberlain. But comparatively few know about an honor that Bowdoin bestowed upon a Southern politician who played a decisive role in the Civil War.

A small kitchen fire before a charity dinner at Ladd House last Friday forced organizers to cancel the event and caused an estimated $2,000 in damages. The fire broke out around 4 p.m. the afternoon before the Taste for Change dinner, when a bag of pizza dough on a stove was ignited by a pilot light.

Bowdoin's Career Planning Center (CPC), under the guidance of newly appointed director Tim Diehl, has taken steps to increase its alumni and parent networks, improve transparency, and involve students in the "career process" earlier than their senior year.

A Bowdoin professor was honored with the E.E. Schattschneider Award for the best doctoral dissertation in the field of American Government at its annual meeting on August 30.

According to College administrators and students in the Class of 2010, fulfilling the newly implemented distribution requirements has been a relatively simple process.

Two students who had money stolen by a Bowdoin employee in Coles Tower have been reimbursed by the College. Currently, they do not plan to press charges.

The College, with prodding from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), will undertake new efforts to prevent illegal downloading and file sharing on campus.

With an acceptance rate near 18.5 percent, the Class of 2011 is the most selective class in the history of Bowdoin College, according to figures released Thursday by the Admissions Office.

Wikipedia.org, the popular online encyclopedia, offers users instant access to over a million articles ranging from the Battle of Waterloo to Barry Mills to Brussels sprouts. But a recent decision by the Middlebury College history department to ban citing the ultra-convenient, yet notoriously inaccurate, Web site on papers and exams raises an important question: What role should Wikipedia play at Bowdoin, particularly in research-intensive courses?

Alex Cornell du Houx '06 candidly shared his observations and experiences as a marine in Iraq during an hour-long talk on Tuesday. He discussed day-to-day life in the country and addressed issues ranging from sectarian violence to President Bush's recent plan to commit 21,500 additional troops to the region.

Bowdoin students awaiting Microsoft's new operating system will likely have to wait until fall in order to download the program from the campus network.

The Bowdoin Women's Tennis Team had mixed results last weekend, dropping a tough match to MIT on Saturday, then rebounding to dismantle Trinity on Sunday. In doubles against the Engineers, Polar Bears fell 8-5 to their opponents at the No. 1 and No. 3 spots.

Despite a magical run to the Division III Elite Eight, the Women's Basketball Team fell to the University of Southern Maine (USM) in the sectional final three weeks ago. The Polar Bears, who lost in a 56-53 heartbreaker, finished the season with an impressive 27-3 record and their sixth-consecutive NESCAC Championship.

Last Tuesday, the men's squad dropped a close decision to Wheaton, 4-3, while, the women rolled over an inexperienced Smith team, 9-0.

The Bowdoin community learned of the passing of Phil Soule, a well-known presence in the athletic department, over winter break in a statement issued by President Barry Mills. Soule, after an exceptional athletic career in high school and at the University of Maine, joined the Bowdoin coaching staff in 1967 as an offensive line coach.

After a very successful 2004-2005 season, the Bowdoin Women's Basketball Team has added another weapon to its arsenal: Julie Veilleux. But instead of a reliable outside shot or a presence in the paint, Veilleux's contribution will be from the sidelines as an assistant coach.