The Bowdoin Orient

The Orient chooses the male and female "Athlete of the Season" based on exemplary performance, leadership and committment to their respective programs. The winners are selected by the editors of the Orient.

Neither wind nor rain, nor unlocked mailbox, keeps these couriers from delivering the mail. Perhaps this should be the new motto of the Bowdoin Mail Center, as it was recently discovered that student mailboxes are not as secure as many may think. The Orient tested 100 mailboxes at random and was able to open 12 without entering combinations. This security breach suggests that student mail could be at risk for theft.

According to the Orient's most recent approval ratings survey, the 2012 and 2014 Class Councils are losing the support of their constituents. The 2014 Class Council's rating dropped 13 percentage points to 73 percent approval, while the 2012 Class Council received the second-lowest approval rating, 44 percent.

Cheaters never win and winners never cheat; but this mantra does not always hold on college campuses. In a recent article published by the Chronicle of Higher Education, an anonymous man, who works as a professional academic essay writer, discussed the prevalence of cheating on college campuses. He warned administrators across the country that "you have no idea how deeply this kind of cheating penetrates the academic system, much less how to stop it." A recent survey conducted by the Orient revealed that while there is cheating at Bowdoin, students who cheat are few and far between. Out of 358 respondents 87 percent said that they had never handed in an assignment at Bowdoin that was not wholly their own work. Seven percent of respondents admitted to handing in fraudulent work less than five times and 2 percent admitted to five times or more. The most common types of fraudulent work were problem sets and lab reports.

"Baby you can drive my car" is more than just a Beatles lyric for some first years. A warning sent out two weeks ago by Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster brought to light the tricky way some students navigate around the policy that prevents first year students from having a car on campus.

The shelves of Hawthorne-Longfellow Library (H-L Library) became the targets of pointed religious propaganda when Christian tracts were discovered inside several books concerning Islamic and Jewish Studies. The tracts have appeared several times before, most recently in 2007, when a local resident was found inserting them in books. The tracts were brought to the attention of the library staff on Sunday evening by an upset student who found one in a book relating to Islamic studies.

It's lights, camera, action as the Eveningstar Cinema is under new ownership this fall. Barry Norman, whose impressive résumé includes stints at with professional wrestling, Cartoon Network and CNN Sports, has made the move to Brunswick and taken over the popular Maine Street theater from former owner John Favreau.

Nervous excitement filled Dagget Lounge last night as the 2010-2011 Quints and Quads housing lottery took place. The Office of Residential Life announced 60 available beds for the 85 students registered for quints and 267 beds available for the 367 students registered quads.

Blondes are dumb, brunettes are boring and redheads are seductive and mean. These stigmas are widely used as the punchline of jokes and a group of Bowdoin redheads won't stand for it anymore. "Gingers have always been the butt end of jokes," said co-founder Julia Bender '13. "One joke I've heard: what do gingers have to look forward to in life? Going grey." The first meeting of The Bowdoin Ginger Society (BGS) was held this week at Moulton Dining Hall as an opportunity for redheads on campus to band together against the stereotypes they face daily. At the meeting, the gingers discussed the dangers of the sun to fair-skinned redheads, inflammatory jokes, and the need to propagate their red haired lineage.

Spending 14 days in a van with your friends may not be the way most Bowdoin students envisioned their Winter Break, but for the well-known campus band The Milkman's Union it was ideal. The group, which is made up of Henry Jamison-Root '10, Peter McLaughlin '10, Sean Weathersby '10 and Akiva Zamcheck '12, spent two weeks during their break touring New England and New York, a trip that brought them together musically and as a group.

With Early Vote Day over and State elections on November 3 just around the corner, political change is on the minds of Mainers and Bowdoin students. National issues and local policies have become the subject of debate, both on campus and in the Brunswick community.

There is something in the water in Maine. A 2008 report by the Associated Press released on September 24 of this year shows that Maine has the third-most water quality violations in the country. Focusing on schools in towns that obtain their water from well systems, the study focused primarily on contamination from poisons like lead, arsenic and bacteria.

There may not be massages to combat Bowdoin back pains, but the numerous new fitness and wellness programs at the Peter Buck Center for Health and Fitness, opening this Tuesday, should help take the edge off.

Eight cases of H1N1 were confirmed at the College on Wednesday, after 29 students reported flu-like symptoms this past week. Preparations for the possibility of a swine flu epidemic began last spring after Maine's first official case of swine flu was confirmed.

If you had one act to tell your story, what would you say? This week, three Bowdoin students, with the help of their peers, are answering that question during the annual One Act Festival. Produced by Masque and Gown in collaboration with the Hunter Frost Fund, the festival gives student playwrights, directors, and actors a chance to showcase their work by completing the challenging task of performing a one act play. The festival is also a competition. The writer of the best play is awarded at Honor's Day and memorialized on a statue in Memorial Hall.

Over the past few weeks, Bowdoin's Printmaking II students have worked to bring art back into the classroom. Led by Visiting Professor of Art Anna Hepler and local artist Andrea Sulzer, the advanced printmaking class took over a classroom in the old Brunswick High School for its latest project. With a little inspiration and a lot of muscle, the class created a large-scale woodcut in the floor of a classroom and transferred them to multiple large prints. Students worked together to plan, carve, ink, print, and coordinate all aspects of their exhibit, "Carving the Floor," which opens tonight at SPACE Gallery in Portland.

While many Bowdoin students hit the beaches this Spring Break, the Meddiebempsters embarked on a trip of a different sort. Equipped with their recognizable blue blazers and well-known sense of humor, the Meddies, Bowdoin's oldest a cappella group, toured southern states and performed everywhere from college campuses to the Bowdoin Club in Washington D.C. The tour was documented by Christopher Li '11, who created and maintained the Meddies' travel blog throughout the trip. Complete with pictures, sound clips and set lists, the blog was a way for the group to connect with friends, fans, and family while on the road.

Bowdoin alumni Cassie Jones '01 and Wade Kavanaugh '01 are painting the Big Apple red this month, boasting solo art shows in New York City. Since graduating from Bowdoin, Kavanaugh has flexed his artistic muscle in galleries on both the East and West coasts. In his individual work, Kavanaugh uses large scale industrial materials such as bricks, plywood, and metal to create room-sized sculptures that echo the work of Bowdoin Art Lecturer John Bisbee. Kavanaugh cites his time at Bowdoin as inspiration for later work. "Bobo helped me become professionally curious," Kavanaugh said. "All of the life skills and tools came later."

Even during the slowest hours, at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, there's always a crowd at its newest exhibition. "Curating Across the Disciplines: Drawing a Crowd," curated by Visiting Professor of Art Anna Hepler, examines the repetitive theme of crowds through various art media. Specifically designed to incorporate both long-standing and familiar museum pieces, as well as a variety of new additions, the exhibit questions both the uniformity and the individuality of figures in a crowd.

While the violin and the glockenspiel may not be the first instruments that come to mind when considering indie rock music, Andrew Bird will showcase not only his talent for blending unconventional sounds but also his ability to make old folk and bluegrass modern and danceable at Pickard Theater on Saturday.

A digital photograph keeps the idea that art must be presented in traditional forms away. Assistant Professor of Art Michael Kolster has posted one digital picture each day since November 2002 on his Web site, the Daily Post, as a way to mark the passage of time and to experiment with a less traditional art form.

Gibson Hall is alive with the sound of music this afternoon as a group of Bowdoin students showcase their musical talents at the Note Book Café. Initially a way for Polar Bears enrolled in music lessons to exhibit their semester-long endeavors, the Note Book Café features vocalists, pianists and violinists, as well as finger puppets.

Though pounding hip-hop often blasts at Bowdoin parties each weekend, occasionally these manufactured beats are replaced with live music from Bowdoin's several campus bands. Perhaps the most well-known Bowdoin band is The Milkman's Union, which formed two and a half years ago. Members include Henry Jamison-Root '10 on guitar and vocals, Akiva Zamcheck '11 on guitar, Sean Weathersby '10 on bass, and Peter McLaughlin '10 on drums.

While most Bowdoin students were snoozing on Saturday morning, a small group of art enthusiasts gathered at McLellan Building at 9 a.m. to embark upon an epic artistic journey. Students in Advanced Studies in Visual Art, a class taught by Visiting Assistant Professor of Art Anna Hepler, spent 15 hours completing a studio marathon dedicated to whichever project they chose. Some students explored new ways of developing photography, some delved into the art of Chinese calligraphy, and some even used shoes as a medium for sculpture.

The polar bear has long been a symbol of Bowdoin and its historic relationship with the great white North. However, many students have never set foot inside of one of the college's greatest hidden gems: the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum, located in Hubbard Hall and named for two Bowdoin graduates. Named after Robert Peary (Class of 1877) and Donald MacMillan (Class of 1898), the museum boasts an impressive 32,000 artifacts, photographs, and archival films.

Few places on Earth have been left untouched by man, and determining what now constitutes nature, from a polluted river bed to a pristine Alaskan mountain, has become an increasingly difficult task. This is the concept that "Landscape Photography: Politics and Poetics," an exhibit now on display at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, investigates. The photographs present a study of the impact of man on nature's most pristine areas. They question the definition of landscape, the importance of humanity, and the role humanity's actions play in a bigger environmental picture.

Japan is known for its worldwide innovations in technology, transportation, and communication, but this week, the Bowdoin art museum showcases the artistic prowess that emerged from the land of a thousand suns during the 17th and 18th centuries. The exhibit, entitled "Glimpses Into the Floating World: The History of Ukiyo-e," features the works of prominent Japanese artists from the Edo Period (1615-1868).

As the snow slowly melts and body parts begin to emerge from beneath fleecy winter garb, it is the season of blossoming romance here at Bowdoin. Those looking for a charming way to display their burgeoning affection this spring should consider dinner at Clementine, a new restaurant on Maine Street.

Historians often acknowledge that Victorian relationships lacked sexual openness. The Bowdoin College student theater company Masque & Gown is disproving that idea this week with the production "Cloud Nine," written by Caryl Churchill and directed by senior Phil Gates.

With the 80th Academy Awards now two days away, everyone nominated is starting to sweat?everyone except the stars of the short, animated films, that is.

It is a campus-wide joke that half of the student body is from "just outside Boston." With such a large percentage of Bowdoinites hailing from suburbia, the most recent exhibit to appear in the Bowdoin College Museum of Art will make many students feel at home.

Performance art, which emerged during the tumultuous 1970s, is widely regarded as weird, obscure, and nonsensical. Artists such as GG Allin, Blue Man Group, and Yoko Ono are among the most mainstream of the avant-garde genre. Burning paintings, on-stage excrement, and bizarre body distortions are all things one may expect to see at a conceptual art performance.

Students seeking to expand their horizons need not look any further than the Frontier Café, where the Japan America Society of Maine will be celebrating its 25th Anniversary with a week-long festival of Japanese art, film and food.

Charm and quiet personality find a home at 10 Pleasant St. in Brunswick.

When Bowdoin's high-ranking cafeteria food doesn't cut it, Big Top Delicatessen is the place to go in Brunswick for a delicious sandwich. Located at 70 Maine St., Big Top offers an extensive menu chock full of sumptuous and succulent New York style lunch platters.

Of the two new exhibits opening this week in Brunswick's Icon Gallery, one is sure to please.

Curiosity was foremost as I stepped out of the rain and into the Coleman Burke Gallery. A light film of sawdust covered the floor of the bright and airy warehouse, and the smell of freshly cut wood coaxed me to investigate further. Inside was the result of five months of work and the replica of a bygone childhood.