Miles Pope
Number of articles: 2First article: September 22, 2006
Latest article: February 22, 2013
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Divestment: Endowment must be used for education, not politicization
See also, counterpoint by Ben Richmond '13: Administration should be more transparent on divestment issue.
While Scott Budde (“Administration’s ‘misinformed’ response to divestment raises more questions than it answers”) is surely correct that fossil fuel companies help cause serious environmental problems, this is not reason enough for Bowdoin to divest from them.
Bowdoin does more “good” by maximizing the resources it has: by promoting top-rate scholarships (including environmental) and educating undergraduates, than it would by diminishing its endowment—no matter how well-intentioned the causes may be. As President Barry Mills said, Bowdoin “is not a political action committee.”
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Pro-life: a fetal incoherence
Recently, South Dakota passed a law making it illegal for a woman to obtain an abortion in all instances, except when the abortion is necessary to save the woman's life. The law's passage, a popular event with many people, provides an opportunity to consider the rationale behind the anti-abortion (or "pro-life") movement.