The Bowdoin Orient

Between 11:30 p.m. and midnight last night, a number of female students were allegedly assaulted by teens on bicycles on and near campus, according to an email to campus from Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols sent at 1:30 a.m. The teens allegedly slapped and touched the women from behind. Two suspects were taken into police custody, and both will be barred from Bowdoin property. 

One suspect was arrested near Quinby House, and the second was arrested in Freeport by the Freeport Police Department. The suspects are 16 year old males, and have been released to their parent's custody. 

Before the email was sent to inform the community, two of the affected female students posted about the incidents in the Bowdoin Safe Walk facebook group, which saw a resurgence in posts last night. The group was created in response to a number of incidents where female students were grabbed from behind while walking alone at night this past fall. 

This story will be updated as more information becomes avaliable. 

More information about the impeachments can be found here.

Members of Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) will introduce articles of impeachment against Representative at Large Duncan Cannon '18 and Representative of the Class of 2018 Clare McInerney '18, according to the agenda for tonight's BSG meeting.  

Cannon and McInerney are held under articles of impeachment for alleged violation of the spirit of the statement of solidarity issued by BSG in October, violating the nondiscrimination policy of BSG and for "injurious actions towards other members of the General Assembly," according to the agenda. The actions that resulted in the articles of impeachment are unclear, though they are likely related to the "tequila" party held on February 20.

Representative at Large Lucia Gibbard '18, Vice President for Facilities and Sustainability Kevin Hernandez '18 and Inter-House Council Representative Jacob Russell '17 will introduce the articles of impeachment.

According to the articles of impeachment, the impeachment proceedings would take place on Saturday.

Stephen McIntire, a 55-year old Bath man arrested in late December after allegedly breaking into a woman's home and exposing himself to her, was charged today with six counts of violation of privacy, according to a Security Alert from Bowdoin Safety and Security. He was charged based on nonconsensual videos of students taken through their windows.

McIntire is currently being held at Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset on unrelated charges. 

The investigations into the sexual assault at Mayflower Apartments in November and the two students grabbed while walking on Potter St. and Longfellow Ave. are continuing. 

McIntire was convicted of gross sexual assault in 1997. He was also convicted in 2015 for failing to comply with the sex offender registry and for violating "peeping tom" laws at the Hyde School in Bath.

McIntire attended the support group for sex offenders that was held, until recently, at the First Parish Church just off the College's campus. According to the Brunswick Police Department Commander of Support Services Mark Waltz, the group is no longer meeting in Brunswick. 

This story will be updated as more information becomes avaliable. 

Investigations into the break in and sexual assault at Mayflower Apartments, the grabbing of a female student on Potter Street and the numerous reports of suspicious individuals peering into windows, and the grabbing of a female student on Longfellow Ave. are ongoing, according to Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols. Nichols said that Bowdoin Security has been working closely with the Brunswick Police Department (BPD), and that progress has been made.

“We’re making significant progress,” said Nichols. “We have been interviewing a number of students and those interviews are continuing.”

BPD Commander of Support Services Mark Waltz said that they have put considerable effort into all of the incidents. Neither Waltz nor Nichols were able to comment further because the investigations remain ongoing.

In early December, a person of interest in the break in and sexual assault at Mayflower Apartments was arrested in Bath. Stephen McIntire attended the sexual offender support group that, until recently, met at at the First Parish Church just off the College's campus. Though Waltz did not say where the group has moved to, he confirmed that the group is no longer meeting in Brunswick.

A female student reported that she was grabbed from behind by an unknown male assailant at 1:40 a.m. this morning while walking alone on Longfellow Ave., according to an email from Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols. The student was able to break free and run to Brunswick Apartments. 

This is the second incident in which a female student reported being grabbed from behind since the reported break-in and sexual assault at Mayflower Apartments in November. It is unknown at this time if there is any connection between the incidents. 

Earlier this month, a person of interest in the reported assault at Mayflower Apartments was arrested in Bath for breaking into a woman's home and exposing himself. 

The Brunswick Police Department is investigating this latest incident with assistance from Bowdoin Safety and Security. 

This article will continue to be updated if more information becomes avaliable. 

A 55-year-old Bath man, arrested after allegedly breaking into a woman’s home and exposing himself, has been identified as a person of interest in the ongoing investigation into the reported sexual assault at Bowdoin last month, according to an article in the Bangor Daily News. 

Stephen McIntire was convicted of gross sexual assault in 1997. He was also convicted in 2015 for failing to comply with the sex offender registry and for violating “peeping tom” laws at the Hyde School in Bath.

McIntire attended the support group for sex offenders that was held, until recently, at the First Parish Church just off the College’s campus. The group was told that they could no longer meet there after the College voiced concerns to the church following the reported sexual assault.

The police are still looking into other persons of interest as part of their ongoing investigation according to Brunswick Police Department Commander Mark Waltz. 

“The Office of Safety and Security is continuing to assist the Brunswick Police by sharing information that we have that may be helpful to the investigation,” said Director of Safety Security Randy Nichols in an email to the Orient. “Often investigative leads come to the attention of Security, and that information is immediately passed on to the police. We communicate with the police continually and we receive regular briefings and updates from them.”

On Tuesday, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) announced that the Office of Safety and Security, Student Activities, the Office of Gender Violence Prevention and Education and the Women’s Resource Center had organized three free self defense classes, to be held today and Saturday. According to the email from BSG President Danny Mejia-Cruz ’16, the classes will be held again next semester if there is enough interest. 

According to Nichols, the increased security and police controls, extended shuttle hours and modified student parking rules are continuing. 

Safety concerns seemed to have affected some of the 131 students who will be returning to campus for the spring semester after studying away. Twelve returning students will be living off-campus with the rest planning to live in on campus housing. Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs Scott Hood said that this is consistent with the ratio of students living on and off campus this fall. 

Eva Sibinga ’17 is currently in Rome and is planning on living at an off campus residence on Spring Street when she returns next semester. Although she is aware of the recent security concerns, she is not planning on changing her living arrangements.

“Honestly it didn’t even cross my mind to change my housing plans,” said Sibinga in a message to the Orient. “I can’t feel the campus changing nearly as acutely when I am not on it.”

She says that she is currently on guard when she is walking around the streets of Rome, something she never felt she had to do while at Bowdoin. 

Victoria Pitaktong ’17 is abroad in Bejing and, while not changing her plans, is concerned about housing.

“I couldn’t change my plan now so I [have to] go with it. I am just worried because my house is very far away and it is a long walk in the dark,” Pitaktong said in a message to the Orient. “I feel like if [an incident like the sexual assault] can still happen [in college housing], I don’t feel comfortable living off campus anymore. So it’s just scary.”

Danny Mejia ’17, who is abroad in India, will be living in an off-campus house at 41 Harpswell next semester.

“[Recent security concerns have] had zero effect on where I’ve chosen to live—mainly because we had chosen [41 Harpswell] before the security concerns arose,” Mejia said in a message to the Orient. “I was shocked, saddened [to hear the same problems of gender discrimination surrounding me in India are existing in Brunswick]. But as a male, I personally do not have concerns for living off-campus [especially because of 41 Harpswell’s proximity to campus].”

While no students have asked for a change in residence from off-campus to on-campus in light of recent security concerns, the College will continue to be aware. 

“At this point, we don’t know of any students asking to change their off-campus housing plans to move back on campus. This includes those students who are currently studying away and who will be returning for the spring semester,” said Hood in an email to the Orient. “Of course, this could change and it is something we will continue to keep an eye on.”

See the updated story here.

A 55-year-old Bath man, arrested after allegedly breaking into a woman's home and exposing himself to her, has been identified as a person of interest in the ongoing investigation into the reported sexual assault at Bowdoin last month, according to an article in the Bangor Daily News. 

Stephen McIntire was convicted of gross sexual assault in 1997. He was also convicted in 2015 for failing to comply with the sex offender registry and for violating "peeping tom" laws at the Hyde School in Bath.

McIntire did attend the support group for sex offenders that was held, until recently, at the First Parish Church just off the College's campus. The group was told that they could no longer meet there after the College voiced concerns to the church following the reported sexual assault.

The police are still looking into other persons of interest, according to Brunswick Police Department Commander Mark Waltz. 

Student concerns about safety persist following last week’s reported break-in and sexual assault at Mayflower Apartments and a second incident on Potter Street on Tuesday. In addition to increased security measures from the College, a number of student initiatives including a Safe Walk Facebook group, a Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) proposal and self defense classes have been created to increase real and perceived safety on campus.

According to Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols, all of the incidents from the past few weeks are under active investigation.

“We’re investigating these crimes with all resources,” he said. “I will not rest until we get some answers here. These can be very difficult cases, but that makes me more determined to get to the bottom of this. I’m really impressed with the effort and seriousness with which the BPD is taking this investigation and they're keeping us fully apprised and information is coming into us on a regular basis. One of these times it’s going to be the critical piece that we need.”

Multiple reports of prowlers and individuals looking through windows have been reported so far this year. Though Nichols said that BPD and Security have no reason to believe that any incidents are connected, the investigation has gone back to examine all past reports. Nichols said that there have been more prowler reports this year than in previous years.

“We always go back,” he said. “Sometimes there’s only so far you can take an isolated incident. As part of this larger investigation we go back and look at all our reports… We get bits and pieces every time of something that could be important.”

According to Nichols, students on campus are anxious about their personal safety.

“We’ve really gone from a situation where many students were oblivious about personal safety...to a point where they become quite panicked about it,” he said. “We really need to get back into the middle where people are just taking good, reasonable precautions to ensure their and their friends’ personal safety.”

Nichols said that there have been many more suspicious person calls than usual over the past week.

“People are being more vigilant… I was actually called in as a suspicious person last weekend,” he said. “That’s the level of hyper-vigilance that’s going on right now. But that’s okay. I'm glad the call came in.”

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Increased security

Nichols highlighted multiple steps that Safety and Security and Facilities are taking to improve student safety on campus.

The porch lighting at Mayflower Apartments now turns on automatically. Additional lighting has also been added to the front and rear of the building.

Nichols also said that there will be significant changes to lighting at Brunswick Apartments, updates to cameras around campus and additional cameras in key areas.

“Whenever a serious incident happens, of course it galvanizes us and of course we start to look at things more deeply and things become more urgent,” he said.

Security has increased patrols around campus, and the BPD has increased their presence in neighborhoods around campus, according to Nichols.

Following the reported assault on Potter Street, Nichols went and talked to students who live in in that area.

Charlotte Alimanestianu ’16 lives on Potter Street, and said that the increased security and BPD presence has been reassuring.

“On Tuesday night there were police cars parked on the street and I’ve seen Security actually in Howell more, like when I’ve been coming home, which has been really reassuring,” she said. “And I genuinely do feel like campus security and the BPD has handled this very well, and I feel very safe… They’ve definitely been reaching out to us and reassuring to us, which I think makes a difference.”

Parking restrictions around campus have also been relaxed—students can now park in the Dayton lot behind Smith Union, the Coffin Street lot and College House lots beginning at 3 p.m., rather than 5 p.m.

Soon after an email from Nichols on Tuesday informed the student body that a female student reported that she was grabbed from behind on Potter Street, Zachary Duperry ’18 created a Facebook group, called Bowdoin Safe Walk, to coordinate walking buddies and rides around campus.

“It kind of started as an idea that I actually saw on Yik Yak,” said Duperry. “As soon as the second email came out about the second incident, I thought to myself, “Well that’s actually a good idea,” so I made the group, asked one of my friends to invite everyone she knew, and within an hour, 1,300 people had been there.”

He said that he’s had a lot of positive feedback.

“A lot of people are super thankful that it’s a thing, and they’re able to use it,” Duperry said. “My opinion is even if you’re not using it...it’s nice that there’s just the reality that you know that so many people are willing to help you.”

Duperry said that he’s had conversations with Information Technology, and if demand for the group continues, they might be able to develop an app with the same function.

“The question is whether there is going to be long enough term demand for that type of service,” he said. “It’s whether this is enough for now or if it becomes a longer-term problem and a streamlined service becomes necessary.”

As of publishing, Bowdoin Safe Walk had 1,565 members.

Jacob Russell ’17, president of the Inter-House Council and member of the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) Facilities and Sustainability Committee, brought a proposal to BSG at the meeting on Wednesday night aimed at increasing safety and security at College Houses. The proposal called for increased lighting at College House parking lots, the return of College House lots to student parking spaces and increased availability of SafeRide. The proposal also asked that Nichols and a representative from Facilities come to a BSG meeting to discuss campus security.

“We want to make sure the residents of the houses are feeling supported and are safe,” Russell said.

The proposal was unanimously approved by the BSG.

“The proposal is written in pretty broad strokes,” Russell said. “The next steps are follow-ups.”

Members of Safe Space have also been available to provide support to the community.

“Most of the sexual assaults that occur on college campuses here and throughout the country are not perpetrated by a stranger, and so I think that this feels really different to Bowdoin’s community in that way,” said Meg Broderick ’16, one of the leaders of Safe Space. “We talked about a feeling on campus of community crisis.”

Though Safe Space members are trained as confidential advocates for survivors of sexual assault, their training focuses on issues surrounding sexual assault that are more common on college campuses, such as date rape.

“Most of our conversations about sexual assault are about issues of consent, whereas this feels different,” Broderick said.

However, they’ve held open hours for students at 24 College over the past week.

“In this case, one of the difficulties Safe Space members are facing right now is that we’re members of the community that we’re supporting,” she said.

A number of students, including Kylie Moore ’16 and Mary Frances Harris ’16, are planning to teach self-defense.

“I’ve taken self-defense classes in Alaska,” said Moore. “Coming from a family where self-defense is really emphasized, I felt like I wanted to be able to share that, and I wanted other people to have a sense of security.”

Harris took self-defense classes in high school.

“I just thought it was really beneficial,” Harris said.

Though neither is certified to teach self-defense, they both believe that they can pass along some general skills.

“I think a lot of students really appreciate the idea of having a self-defense course, and a lot of people have tried to come together to find the best way to approach that,” said Moore. “We just wanted to do something that would help campus feel safe.”

Update Wednesday, November 18 at 12:25 a.m.:

A female student reported that she was grabbed from behind at 8 p.m. on Tuesday night while walking alone near the Union Street end of Potter Street, according to emails sent to students by Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols.

The student was uninjured and quickly ran to a College House. She was not able to identify the suspect. Bowdoin Security and the Brunswick Police Department responded and are conducting an investigation.

In response, students have created a Facebook group to coordinate a walking buddies and rides around campus. As of publishing, Bowdoin Safe Walk had 1,353 members and numerous posts from students offering walks and rides.

This story is developing and will updated as more information becomes available.

Update Monday, November 16 at 8:20 p.m.:

The Brunswick Police Department (BPD) has released a sketch of a "person of interest" in last week's reported sexual assault. The BPD is unsure if the individual was involved in the assault, but they are trying to identify him because he was seen loitering near the Mayflower Apartments around 7:30 p.m. the night of the reported assault. 

The person of interest is described as a white male in his late 20s with a slender build between 5-foot-10 and 6 feet. Anyone with information should contact the BPD.

Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols also announced today in a campus-wide email that the student parking policy would be changed until further notice. Students can now park registered vehicles on campus behind the Union, in the Coffin Street Lot and at college houses beginning at 3 p.m. 

The change was made "in light of recent security concerns, combined with the time change and earlier seasonal onset of darkness," according to the email from Nichols.

Original article, published November 13:

At 10:40 p.m. Tuesday night, a female student living in Mayflower Apartments called 911 and reported that she was sexually assaulted when an unknown assailant entered her apartment through an unlocked door, according to Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols. The Brunswick Police Department (BPD) responded and notified Bowdoin Safety and Security at 10:49 p.m. 

The assailant has not been identified, and it is unclear at this time if the assailant was a student or affiliated with the College. Commander of Support Services Mark Waltz with the BPD did say, however, that the initial report made the assailant appear older than a Bowdoin student. “If the reported age was accurate, he’s probably older than a Bowdoin student would be,” said Waltz.

The BPD is in the process of investigating the reported assault with assistance from Bowdoin Safety and Security. 

“I would say probably next week or so, we’ll have run out of anyone we could possibly talk to,” said Waltz. “But other than that, it depends on what kind of leads there are. If there aren’t a lot of leads, there may not be a lot more that can be done until something changes.”

Mayflower Apartments are campus housing located on Belmont St. The student who reported the assault was examined and treated at Mid Coast Hospital.

Zoe Borenstein ’18 lives in Mayflower Apartments. 

“It’s a lot of emotional stuff to process,” she said.

According to Borenstein, police asked her roommates if they had heard or seen anything unusual when they were at the complex on Tuesday night. The officers did not give them any other information.

“Cops were congregating and talking about things, and apparently everyone else was pressed against the windows watching, and they didn’t know anything,” she said. “Some people came out and asked the police officers what was going on, and they just said ‘It’s not your concern’... they told us ‘You’re not in danger,’ but that just seemed totally unfounded.”

Borenstein said that residents of Mayflower were not given any additional information until Nichols emailed the entire student body at noon on Wednesday. 

Nichols confirmed in an email to the Orient that Mayflower residents were not given information until the campus email was sent out. 

“Throughout most of the night until 4:30 a.m., Brunswick Police and/or Bowdoin Security were present at Mayflower, and it was determined that no students were in danger at the complex,” he wrote. “Rather than issue incomplete information, we thought it best to let the entire community know what happened at once as soon as we could.”

Nichols met with the residents of Mayflower on Wednesday night, according to Borenstein. She said that people were unhappy that they hadn’t been given information earlier.

“I was pretty impressed by how persistent people were,” Borenstein said. “People grilled him and were like, ‘We should have gotten notified before the rest of campus.’” 

According to Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster, the College is accommodating Mayflower residents who request temporary or permanent changes in housing. As of Wednesday night, seven students had made that request and been relocated. 

Foster, Nichols and Associate Director of Safety and Security David Profit have met with the BPD to discuss the investigation and plans for improving safety on campus.

“The College has already made changes to the lighting at Mayflower,” said Nichols in an email to the Orient. “These lights will now be on permanently between dusk and dawn and will not be able to be turned off by individual residents, which was the case previously. The College has also checked the windows and doors at Mayflower and is encouraging students, faculty, and staff to report any issues with other doors or windows.”

Both the BPD and Bowdoin Security will increase patrols on and near campus. The College will take steps to provide additional Bowdoin Shuttle service for students who want a ride, according to a email sent from Nichols to students Wednesday evening. Brunswick Taxi will also be free of charge Friday and Saturday from 10 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. 

Safety and Security conducted an evaluation of the lighting on campus on Thursday night and will perform security assessments of other campus buildings. 

Since the start of the academic year, multiple incidents involving an unknown man looking through windows have been reported to Security and the BPD. On September 21, a student reported an unknown man looking into windows on the second floor fire escape of Smith House at 10:15 p.m. On September 29, a student walking on Potter St. saw a hooded man attempting to open the window of her off-campus house on Potter St. On October 7, students living off-campus on School St. reported an unknown man peering into their windows at 1 a.m. On November 3, a female student at an off campus house reported an unknown man taking pictures of her through the bedroom window. No suspect was ever located in any of the incidents. 

On Tuesday night around 7 p.m., residents of a Harpswell Apartment reported to Bowdoin Security that a figure was looking through their window. No suspect was located.

Because none of the suspects have been identified, the BPD and Bowdoin Security have not been able to establish a link between any of the incidents or between past incidents and the recent reported assault.

“We have no reason to know either way,” said Waltz. 

An updated story about the assault and the College's response can be found here: bowdoinorient.com/article/10698.

Updated Wednesday, November 11, at 5:55 p.m.

At 10 p.m. Tuesday night, a female student living in Mayflower Apartments reported that she was sexually assaulted when an unknown assailant entered her apartment through an unlocked door, according to an email sent to the Bowdoin community by Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols.

Mayflower Apartments are campus housing located on Belmont St. The student was examined and treated at Mid Coast Hospital.   

Bowdoin Security will increase patrols around campus and will take steps to provide additional Bowdoin Shuttle service for students who want a ride, according to a email sent from Nichols to students Wednesday evening. Brunswick Taxi will also be free tonight in addition to tomorrow, Friday and Saturday from 10 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.

The dean's office, Nichols and the Brunswick Police Department were unavaliable for comment at this time. 

ANDY SERWER ‘81

What’s the most valuable lesson you learned at Bowdoin?

I really learned to think independently for the first time. I learned to think about thinking.

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing Bowdoin today?

I think it’s very clear. How do you go from good to great? And where do you go from here? I mean the place is in good shape, great shape, and so how do you make it even better? And in a way, it’s almost easier if you come in, like if Clayton was coming in in a turnaround situation, it’s like oh this place stinks and fire everyone, do this, and there’s like five logical things to do. It’s harder because the place is in such great shape.

What is the one thing you think every Bowdoin student should do before they graduate?

I’m going to say climb Mount Katahdin. I’m going to say something besides that, but I really believe, climb Mount Katahdin. I really do. Because I really like doing that. That’s super cool. It’s just a little bit hard, but you should do it. I think I’m just going to leave it at that.  Some people say have dinner at a professor’s house, but I’d rather climb Mount Katahdin.  

RUTHIE DAVIS ‘84

What’s the most valuable lesson you learned at Bowdoin?

To follow your passion, to try different things, and really figure out what you’re passionate about. By the time you graduate you’re pretty clear on the areas that are your favorite, because you’ve sampled many things.

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing Bowdoin today?

I feel like Bowdoin is doing great, and I feel like I just want to make sure that it continues its unique flavor that is very down-to-earth. The people here, as much as they’re really talented, smart, it’s getting harder and harder to get into, I’d like to think that they stay well-rounded, nice people, down-to-earth people, not elitist, just cool, you know?

What is the one thing you think every Bowdoin student should do before they graduate?

I’ve definitely gone across the campus in boxer shorts many times - that would be a fun thing to do. That’s kind of like a joke answer, but I would always encourage people to, in your college career at some point, do something that no one’s ever done before. Whatever it is. It could be in any area - do something that no one’s ever done before.

SHELLEY HEARNE ‘83

What’s the most valuable lesson you learned at Bowdoin?

That knowing is not the same as thinking.

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing Bowdoin today?

In a day and age where there’s so much pressure to follow the trends and the fads, how do you keep your eye on really producing real leaders? Versus what’s the latest correct or current thing versus what really is going to matter... Don’t get sidetracked by all the latest. It’s really sticking to core values.

What is the one thing you think every Bowdoin student should do before they graduate?

Well, I would say something like swim naked off of Bailey’s Island, but... it is really important before you leave this campus to do something that gives back to the community. Not to the Bowdoin community, but to the community surrounding Bowdoin... That kind of being in touch I think is absolutely critical for every student to have that. We’ve got to share this grace.

GEORGE MITCHELL ‘54

What’s the most valuable lesson you learned at Bowdoin?

I think here I felt part of a community, and for the first time in my life, had faint stirrings of self-esteem and confidence in my ability to deal with people and issues. So for me, the small size, the warmth of the atmosphere, the welcoming attitude were the most important things.

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing Bowdoin today?

I think it’s a challenge that faces not only Bowdoin, but every institution of higher learning, indeed, educational facility. It’s that the rapid change through which the world is going, what we call the information or technological communications transformation, will, I think, be seen by future historians as impactful on human history as was the industrial revolution. And keeping pace with that, making sense of the tremendously difficult issues confronting our country and the world, preparing people to be able to deal with those challenges, which can’t be foreseen.

What is the one thing you think every Bowdoin student should do before they graduate?

Oh gosh, I graduated so long ago that I can’t remember. I guess my answer would be to make sure you do graduate. That you study hard enough and get the grades so that you actually do make it out the door.

ADAM WEINBERG ‘87

What’s the most valuable lesson you learned at Bowdoin?

Probably persistence, in all honesty. I was an ice hockey player here, I was a pretty serious student involved in lots of things, but what I learned at Bowdoin was what it meant to really work hard and to persevere, and to sometimes work through failure to find creative ways to problem-solve, and a passion for succeeding.

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing Bowdoin today?

I think the challenge for all of the liberal arts colleges is how to make sure we stay relevant in a rapidly changing world. Look, Bowdoin is in a fortunate place: large endowment, beautiful facilities, phenomenal students, incredibly talented and engaged faculty, but the world’s changing rapidly on us, and the question is how do we continue to make sure that the education we’re giving you is going to prepare you to be as successful in the world (however you define that) as my generation was.

What is the one thing you think every Bowdoin student should do before they graduate?

Make great friends. My Bowdoin friends remain some of my closest friends in the world.

KEN CHENNAULT ‘73

What’s the most valuable lesson you learned at Bowdoin?

To be intellectually curious and to make a difference in the community.

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing Bowdoin today?

I think the biggest challenge facing Bowdoin is [that] you have this great liberal arts college, and the world is transforming at an incredible pace, and how does Bowdoin figure out its role in a fast changing world?

What is the one thing you think every Bowdoin student should do before they graduate?

Try to meet five people that they have no relationship with, and in their last year, really try to develop a relationship, because one of the things that I find is that even at a place like Bowdoin and in any community you can be too insular and it’s always good to get out of your comfort zone.

The results of the NESCAC Alcohol and Drug Survey show Bowdoin in line with other peer schools in the majority of categories, though Bowdoin students are significantly happier with the College’s alcohol and drug policies. Bowdoin also had a noticeable increase in students’ willingness to intervene when friends are intoxicated.

The survey was first conducted in the spring of 2012, and the NESCAC plans to run it every three years. In 2012, Bowdoin coordinated the survey and analyzed the data; this year, it was coordinated by Tufts. 

For Associate Director of Health Promotion Whitney Hogan, the best—and most surprising—statistics this year were those surrounding bystander intervention. 

“The biggest surprise, and it was a pleasant surprise, were the statistics around bystander stuff,” she said. “Those were much higher than I thought they were going to be. I thought that they were very, very hopeful. I believe Bowdoin is a place where students feel compelled to step up and step in.”

The percentages of students who answered “yes” to questions about specific scenarios surrounding “a sense of responsibility to step in with an intoxicated friend,” were significantly higher than in 2012.  For example, in 2015, 97 percent of students said they would intervene with a friend who is about to drive a car as compared with 87 percent in 2012.  

Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster pointed to the bystander intervention statistics as a high point in the survey. 

“One of the things you’ll see screaming through the data is the changes between 2012 and 2015 where students are intervening when they’re concerned about someone else, and that is just so very important,” said Foster.

“The highlight of my fall has been the bystander statistics,” Hogan said. 

Hogan credits the trends in those numbers in part to changes in programming that came following the 2012 survey. 

“Since 2012, every upperclassman leader every single year has gone through active bystander training where the message is that Bowdoin is a place students look out for one another,” she said. “I think that’s clearly shown in the statistics.”

Foster also highlighted data showing that Bowdoin students tend to be happier with administrative policies than students at other schools. For example, 96 percent of survey respondents agreed that administration encourages responsible drinking, compared to 81 percent at peer schools. 

“People seem to feel that the policies and the general college approach to dealing with alcohol is right-minded,” he said. “I feel good about that. I think the key thing for me is...that we have found a good balancing point between focusing on student health and safety.” 

Though Hogan will not be distributing the full results of the survey, some results will inform continued programing of both Peer Health and the Alcohol Team (A-Team). 

According to Hogan, student leaders in those groups will use the statistics in one-on-one conversations with students, during the yearly alcohol summit, alcohol use screenings and on posters throughout campus. 

“Sometimes people may be surprised by these statistics and sometimes they may just be what people were expecting,” said Jillian Burk ’16, a student leader on Peer Health and member of the A-Team. “But it’s just something to have in the back of your mind—what the culture and the social life is like here at Bowdoin—and whether or not there are areas for improvement.” 

Student responses to the statistics will drive changes in Peer Health and the A-Team going forward. 

“Through students’ responses to the data, that often shifts what we want to do in the future,” said Hogan. “There’ll probably be some changes to programs in the spring but even more next fall.”

The update to Bowdoin’s Sexual Misconduct and Gender Based Violence Policy for this year includes changes to the role and responsibilities of the external investigator hired by the College to conduct independent inquiries into allegations of sexual misconduct, according to Benje Douglas, director of gender violence prevention and education.

The policy undergoes review each year, and changes aim to keep the policy in line with best practices in the area. According to Douglas, this change came following a look at the policies of peer institutions, the recommendations and guidelines from the Department of Education and feedback from students who have gone through the process.

Now, after the independent investigator completes his or her investigation, he or she is responsible for determining if the respondent—the individual accused of sexual misconduct—has violated the Sexual Misconduct and Gender Based Violence policy. The investigator will then pass along his or her report to the Sexual Misconduct Panel, which will determine sanctions against the respondent.

Under the previous version of the policy, the investigator would only conduct an investigation and then make a recommendation as to whether the Sexual Misconduct Panel should meet. The panel would then review the investigator’s report and determine both responsibility and sanctions.

According to Kai McGintee, the attorney at Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer & Nelson recently hired by Bowdoin as an independent investigator, Bowdoin’s updated policy is in line with best practices recommended by the Office for Civil Rights for inquiry into alleged sexual misconduct and is at the forefront of national trends.

“I think Bowdoin is definitely ahead of the curve,” McGintee said. “Bowdoin is in line with best practices in terms of using a single investigator model and then having a sexual misconduct hearing board determining sanctions; that definitely is a recognized best practice.”

Neither McGintee nor her firm has any ties to Bowdoin. Prior to this summer, a member of the law firm that represents Bowdoin in other legal matters would conduct these investigations into alleged sexual misconduct. 

McGintee is a higher education attorney specializing in Title IX compliance, and began working as an independent investigator for institutions like Bowdoin about two years ago. She was hired by the College in July.

According to McGintee, it’s still common to see institutions conducting sexually misconduct investigations internally.

“There isn’t this abundance of Title IX investigators to choose from,” McGintee said. “Schools have been doing them internally and are still doing them internally...and this shift to using independent investigators is relatively new.”

The new version of the policy also expands definitions and clarifies deadlines, according to an email from Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster.

Updated October 8, 2015 at 9:41 p.m. 

Twenty sex offenses occurred at Bowdoin in 2014, according to the Annual Clery Campus Crime Report for the 2014 calendar year released on October 1 by the Office of Safety and Security.

The 20 reported sex offenses is a jump up from the six reported in 2013 and the four reported in 2012. Peer schools reported similar jumps in numbers for sex offenses in 2014—Bates and Amherst each reported 12, Williams reported 20 and Wesleyan reported 41 sex offenses.

According to Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols, the increase in reported sex offenses is a positive sign, considering that such crimes are notoriously underreported.

“We’re very pleased that more students are reporting,” he said. “I think that has a lot to do with the fact that as students become more educated with the reporting process, they understand that they are in control of what happens.

“It’s very important that even if the victim does not want to pursue it...that we know that the incident occurred for statistical purposes. As we all know, sexual assaults are notoriously underreported, so even though our numbers this year increased substantially...it still really is the tip of the iceberg.”

Director of Gender Violence Prevention and Education Benje Douglas credited increased reporting to the work of student leaders on campus.

“I think it’s a variety of things...but if I had to boil it down, I’d say student leaders probably getting more information...out to other students about what it means to report,” he said.

Nichols said that many of the cases in the Clery report were reported anonymously. When reports of a sex offense are brought to security, all Nichols needs to know is that an incident occurred and where it occurred for it to be counted in the Clery statistics.

Certain people on campus are required to report any sex offense that they are made aware of to security, anonymously or otherwise. Mandated reporters include Deans, Residential Life staff and Douglas.

However, Counseling Services, Safe Space members, Director of Religious and Spiritual Life Bob Ives, Director of the Women’s Resource Center Melissa Quinby, Director of the Resource Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity Kate Stern and Health Services are fully confidential resources. Therefore, any sex offenses discussed exclusively with them would not be represented in the report.

Any sex offenses that occurred off campus are also not included in the Clery report.

Changes were made to the system for the report of sex offenses for the 2014 report. In previous years, sex offenses had been noted only as “Forcible Sex Offenses.” However, following the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 signed in March of 2013, colleges were required to phase in a new method of reporting statistics: now, sex offenses must be broken down into “Rape” and “Fondling.”

Bowdoin also reported that five burglaries, 143 liquor law violations and 43 drug law violations took place on or directly adjacent to campus in 2014. According to Nichols, those numbers are consistent with previous years and are not surprising.

Bowdoin is partnering with HBX, the online education program at Harvard Business School, to offer students the opportunity to participate in its Credential of Readiness (CORe) program. This adds to the handful of business and finance programs that have been offered to Bowdoin students. However, according to Foster, what sets this partnership apart is that it allows students to apply for need-based financial aid. 

If a Bowdoin student applies to HBX and applies for financial aid, HBX will contact Bowdoin’s Student Aid Office. Aid for HBX will be equivalent to what a student receives from Bowdoin.Full price for the CORe program is $1,800. According to Foster, financial aid could lower the cost to as little as $300. 

The program is comprised of three courses—Business Economics, Economics for Managers and Financial Accounting—that do not count for credit at Bowdoin. 

Foster stressed that the skills learned through the programs like CORe can be applied outside of just business or finance fields. 

“This set of skills—whether it’s accounting, business analytics—this is all a set of skills that students can develop that they can broadly apply,” he said. “You don’t have to go into a business vocation.”

Bowdoin has partnered with business schools and programs in the past, and students have attended the Tuck Business Bridge Program at Dartmouth and Middlebury’s MiddCore during summers.

In January 2013 and 2014, representatives from the Fullbridge business and finance program came to the College to hold sessions on campus for Bowdoin students. In the spring of 2015, the economics department offered a financial accounting class in conjunction with the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. According to Interim Dean for Academic Affairs Jennifer Scanlon, the course is undergoing a full review this fall, and the soonest that it will be offered again would be fall 2016. 

The College’s endowment generated an investment return of 14.4 percent in fiscal year 2015 (FY15), making it the third consecutive year that the endowment has generated double digit returns. On June 30—the end of FY15—the endowment was valued at $1.393 billion. 

The mean return for all college and university endowments in FY15 was 1.8 percent according to Cambridge Associates, a firm that tracks endowment returns nationwide. The College’s three-, five-, and ten-year annualized returns are 16.5 percent, 14.7 percent and 10.5 percent respectively. The College’s returns are significantly higher than the mean annualized three-, five-, and ten-year returns for all college and university endowments, which are 9.9 percent, 9.6 percent and 6.6 percent respectively.

The endowment generated an investment return of 19.2 percent in FY14 and 16 percent in FY13. Last year, Bowdoin was recognized as the “Endowment of the Year” by Institutional Investor. The College’s endowment is managed by Senior Vice President for Investments Paula Volent. Since she began managing the endowments in 2000, its value has tripled.

The endowment’s growth is significant because it is the primary resource that allows Bowdoin to offer its students financial aid. Of the total endowment balance, approximately 46 percent is restricted to financial aid spending.

“The most important result of the growth of the endowment is financial aid, period,” said President Clayton Rose. “The trustees and the college and [President Barry Mills] and others have placed a deep premium on having the best financial aid capabilities that we can have.”According to Rose, about 85 percent of the total budget each year goes to either financial aid or faculty and staff compensation.

“Having a strong endowment means we’re able to hire, retain and provide competitive compensation for all the folks that work here,” he said. “When we start to think about challenges, or difficult times, [because] we have 85 percent focused on financial aid or people, that’s the place we’d have to start thinking about making changes, and that would be deeply unpleasant for everyone.”

Bowdoin’s endowment’s return is one of the best in the country—Bloomberg Business cites it as the best among schools so far this year—a result Rose credits to the work of Volent and her investment team.

“We’re the beneficiaries of quite remarkable investment management, skill and dedication,” Rose said.

Rose is a trustee at one of the largest philanthropic endowments in the country, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), and therefore has a background in this type of work. 

“I’ve been around this business for a long time, and I’m deeply involved with a very good investment management team at HHMI, and wthat Paula [Volent] has done is unbelievable,” Rose said.

Logan Taylor ’17 resigned from the College during the summer, Director of Gender Violence Prevention and Education Benje Douglas confirmed earlier this week. Taylor was arrested for the alleged rape of a female student in late May.

At the time of Taylor’s arrest, the College began an independent investigation of the alleged assault. However, as Taylor is no longer a student at the College, Bowdoin's investigation will not continue.

Douglas said that the College will continue to provide resources to the alleged victim.

Although the College is no longer investigating, the District Attorney’s office will continue its investigation.

At a dispositional conference on August 13 at the Cumberland County Courthouse, the complaint against Taylor was dismissed without prejudice. Because the dismissal was without prejudice, the District Attorney’s office remains able to refile charges. A representative from the District Attorney’s office stated that the office is still working on the case, and was therefore unable to comment on either the reasons for the dismissal or the pending investigation.

Taylor’s defense attorney could not be reached for comment.

This story will continue to be updated if more information becomes avaliable. 

This story will continue to be updated as more information becomes avaliable. 

Logan Taylor ’17 resigned from the College during the summer, Director of Gender Violence Prevention and Education Benje Douglas confirmed earlier this week. Taylor was arrested for the alleged rape of a female student in late May.

At the time of Taylor’s arrest, the College began an independent investigation of the alleged assault. However, as Taylor is no longer a student at the College, Bowdoin's investigation will not continue.

Douglas said that the College will continue to provide resources to and support the alleged victim of the alleged rape.

Although the College is no longer involved in the case, the District Attorney’s office continues to investigate the allegations.

At a dispositional conference on August 13 at the Cumberland County Courthouse, the complaint against Taylor was dismissed without prejudice. Because the dismissal was without prejudice, the District Attorney’s office remains able to refile charges. A representative from the District Attorney’s office stated that the office is still working on the case, and was therefore unable to comment on either the reasons for the dismissal or the pending investigation.

Taylor’s defense attorney could not be reached for comment.

Logan Taylor ’17 was arrested on a charge of gross sexual assault, a Class A felony, on Sunday morning. Taylor allegedly raped a female student in a campus residence hall the previous night. Taylor has been issued a criminal trespass order and is barred from all College property, according to a campus-wide Safety and Security Alert sent by Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols.

Taylor was initially held in lieu of $1,000 bail, but it was increased to $5,000 at a hearing Tuesday. As of 6:30 p.m., Taylor was still being held in Cumberland County Jail. His court-appointed attorney Andrei Maciag was assigned to the case today and was not prepared to comment.

The Brunswick Police Department (BPD) and the College are each currently conducting independent investigations.

In accordance with Bowdoin’s Student Sexual Misconduct and Gender Based Violence Policy, the College’s investigation will be led by an independent investigator. In this case, the investigator is a consultant with a law firm in Portland, according to Senior Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs Scott Hood.

The investigator’s report will be presented to the advisor to the Student Sexual Misconduct Board Benje Douglas, Deputy Title IX Coordinator for Students Meadow Davis, Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster, the complainant and the respondent.  

If the investigator’s report recommends that there is sufficient basis to convene a Sexual Misconduct Panel, the Chair of the Student Sexual Misconduct Board (the Dean of Student Affairs or his designee) would convene one from members of the Student Sexual Misconduct Board. The Panel would consist of three members: the Dean of Student Affairs (or his designee), one faculty member, and one student who is a member of both the Judicial Board and the Student Sexual Misconduct Board.

Both the complainant and the respondent would have an opportunity to appear before the Panel. The Panel would first determine by majority vote if the respondent is responsible by a preponderance of the evidence (“more likely than not”). If found responsible, the Panel would determine the respondent's sanction by majority vote.

The convening and decision of the Sexual Misconduct Panel are not dependent on criminal proceedings. According to Hood, the College does not plan to get in touch with the student body about the incident outside of updates to the Safety and Security Alert if and when Taylor is released. 

The Office of the Dean of Student Affairs declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.

The alleged assault was first brought to the attention of BPD after a female student called Bowdoin Safety and Security for a ride from the area of the Swinging Bridge on Mill St. in Brunswick early Sunday morning. The security officer called the Brunswick Police Department at 2:34 a.m. after the student reported concern about Taylor’s welfare, according to BPD Sergeant Paul Hansen.

After speaking with the female student, the officers learned of the allegation of sexual assault which allegedly took place earlier that night in a Bowdoin residence hall.

The female student was taken to the hospital and officers with the BPD began a search for Taylor. He was located in Topsham around 5 a.m. by the Topsham Police Department, who turned him over to the BPD. After talking to BPD, Taylor was officially arrested Sunday morning at 10 a.m. and sent to Cumberland County Jail.      

Detectives at the BPD will pass on the results of their ongoing investigation to the District Attorney’s Office. Taylor is scheduled to appear in court on July 21.

This is an ongoing story that will be updated as more information becomes available.

A national look at this year’s flu season would mark it as particularly severe, and the outbreak on the Bowdoin campus has been no exception. However, while the national narrative has pointed to the lack of efficacy in the flu vaccine as a factor in the severity of this year’s flu season, Director of Health Services Birgit Pols said that the Bowdoin Health Center has not seen flu in those who have received the vaccine.

Pols said that she has only spoken to one student sick with the flu who also received the vaccine, and that all others were students who had not been vaccinated.

Pols does not have exact numbers for either cases of the flu or vaccinations at Bowdoin at the moment, as both flu season and the vaccination process are ongoing.

“Flu incidence, I imagine, is going to parallel flu incidence in the community,” she said. “This season, what we’re seeing in Maine is more peaks and valleys, and I suspect that’s what we’re going to be seeing on campus.”

The flu virus is spread through the air, and tends to crop up when cold weather keeps people inside and in close quarters.

Pols said that she encourages students with flu symptoms to remain in their rooms, as the flu could increase their chances of catching other illnesses that may be going around campus.

Although the Health Center has only seen one student who has the flu and also had the vaccine, Pols said that students with the vaccine may still be getting some degree of flu.

“It may be that the people who got the vaccine are getting ill but not as sick, or have crossover protection from previous vaccines,” she said.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), this year’s flu vaccine only reduced one’s chances of having to go to the doctor from flu by 23 percent. By comparison, successful vaccines generally reduce this chance by 50 to 60 percent.

The flu vaccine usually protects against two to three of the strains of the flu virus that the World Health Organization estimates will be most widespread in each particular year. 

“The problem is, sure you chose the ones that were the most prevalent,” said Associate Professor of Biology and Biochemistry Anne McBride. “But life’s random, and you can never know if it’s the best prediction that they have... it’s like weather prediction.” 

The White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault released a report on Tuesday that suggested a number of policies for preventing and addressing sexual assault. According to Meadow Davis, associate dean of student affairs and deputy Title IX coordinator, the College already has strong policies in place in the areas the report identified.

“The bottom line, I would say, is that we’re always looking for ways to make what we do better and stronger, and we will look through the specifics of this and what the best practices are and what they’re recommending,” Davis said. “In the overall spectrum, we have most of the programs and practices already in place, but this is a great opportunity to look and see what other schools are doing.”

The White House report called for campus climate surveys about sexual assault, heightened bystander training and prevention strategies, and improved responses when sexual assaults do occur. Davis highlighted Bowdoin’s health and wellness survey (which contains a sexual assault component), its numerous student groups and training programs for sexual assault prevention and advocacy, and the review process that takes place following any sexual assault case. 

“At the end of all of our processes, we always give people the opportunity to check back in and let us know what parts of the process worked for them,” she said. 

The report also recommended increased transparency of complaints and investigations for Title IX, the law barring sex discrimination in education. The report states that the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) will release all resolution letters resulting from Title IX lawsuits and the Department of Justice will post all federal court filings relating to Title IX complaints. Before 2011, the focus of the Title IX was on equality in athletics. However, following the “Dear Colleague” letter from the Department of Education in 2011—which clearly linked Title IX to sexual assault—many schools, according to Davis, had to scramble to meet the requirements, many of which are still unclear to some institutions.

“Before 2011, many schools didn’t even have sexual assault policies,” said Davis. “Though Title IX had been in effect since 1970s, the focus wasn’t on the sexual assault stuff. The framing of it in 2011 was that there’s also this piece…around sexual assault.”

On Thursday, the Department of Education released a list of the 55 colleges with open and ongoing Title IX investigations. Amherst was the only NESCAC school with an ongoing investigation, although on Monday the Department of Education concluded that Tufts University was not complying with federal regulations on addressing sexual assault following a previous investigation. 

Tufts is currently in contention with the OCR over the results of a four-year Title IX investigation triggered by a student complaint filed in 2010. During the years of the investigation, Tufts made various changes to its sexual assault policies. In early April, the University entered into a voluntary agreement with the OCR stating that it would come to compliance with Title IX policies. 

However, on April 26, Tufts withdrew its signature from the agreement. 

Tufts rescinded the agreement after the OCR determined that the revamped policies—not just those that were in place at the time the Title IX complaint was filed—were not up to code. The Tufts administration denied that the University is currently in violation of Title IX, and said it believes that it made sufficient changes in the period since the complaint. 

If Tufts does not improve its policies so that they meet the OCS’s expectations, it risks losing federal aid.

The OCR-Tufts agreement reflected a standard arrangement for solving violations, according to Davis.

However, Tufts is the first institution that has withdrawn from an agreement. Though the next steps following that retraction remain unclear, the OCR will work with Tufts in an attempt to remedy the issue.

Information Technology (IT) and Cisco completed an update of over 500 wireless access points and two controllers Thursday night in response to recent wireless issues, IT announced in an email to students Friday afternoon.

According to Chief Information Officer for IT services Mitch Davis, Bowdoin has been aware of various power related issues and inconsistences over the past few weeks and has been in conversation with Cisco regarding the problems.

"We were providing Cisco with logs of our equipment because they didn't know about it,” said Davis. “They’ve recently begun to see the inconsistencies and the problems and came to us with a new patch that was supposed to fix it." 

Cisco estimated that the update, completed Thursday night, would take about ten minutes; however, according to Davis, it took closer to an hour.

“They didn't consider that there would be 2000 people using the network when we tried to do the update, so that slowed it down,” he said.

Davis said that he hopes students are proactive and report dead spots on campus to IT.

“It looks like the power problem is solved,” he said, “but I’m not convinced the whole problem is solved.”

Students can report wireless issues online through the Information Technology Advisory Council website, according to the campus email.   

On the night of January 4 and 5, while the majority of students were home for break, sprinkler heads burst in Memorial Hall, flooding the east-facing stairway with water and causing about $20,000 worth of damage. 

According to Jeff Tuttle, associate director of facilities operation and maintenance, the extreme cold caused the sprinklers to freeze and then pop. The first round burst around midnight on January 4, and a second group burst in the early hours of January 5. 

Tuttle said that the cold winter weather is usually accompanied by a host of issues. However, while Facilities Management always expects a number of small problems, Tuttle said that the flooding in Memorial Hall was certainly abnormal. 

Last week, the Orient circulated an anonymous survey to students investigating health and eating at Bowdoin. 

Of the 538 respondents, 61 percent were female and 39 percent were male. Eighty-four percent of students said that they felt Bowdoin created a healthy eating environment, while 55 percent of female students reported that they think they need to lose weight, and 45 percent of female students were worried about a friend’s eating habits. Six percent of students reported that they had been diagnosed with an eating disorder. 

According to Director of Health Services Sandra Hayes, issues of disordered eating are more complicated than a black-and-white diagnosis. 

Students reported three bias incidents to the College over the past week, triggering a wave of responses that included a meeting of the Bias Incident Committee, investigations by the Brunswick Police Department  (BPD) and Bowdoin security, and a forum for discussion with student leaders and faculty on the issues. 

The incidents reported include two cases of malevolent racial symbols and language found on a whiteboard at Brunswick Apartments and a homophobic comment—which escalated to physical violence—made to a student outside Joshua’s Restaurant and Tavern. 

According to Director of Security Randy Nichols, security is working with BDP on their investigation of the incident outside of Joshua’s and is investigating the bias incidents at the Brunswick Apartments internally. 

The Brunswick Police Department (BPD) arrested two Bowdoin students for drunk driving last Sunday, according to Bowdoin Security. The two students, aged 20 and 21, were charged with operating under the influence (OUI). 

In both cases, Bowdoin Security was directly involved. 

The first incident occurred at 12:40 a.m. on Sunday. According to Director of Security Randy Nichols, Bowdoin security officers and officers of the BPD were at the intersection of Coffin Street and Longfellow Avenue on an unrelated call. 

On Sunday at around 12:30 a.m, a student at a registered event in the basement of Baxter House broke a sprinkler pipe on the ceiling, which set off the fire alarm and flooded the room with about five inches of water. 

“I saw someone jump up, and as soon as they made contact with the pipe, it snapped,” said Matt Friedland ’15. “There was a big hissing sound, and people were screaming because [the pipes] sprayed on them. Everyone freaked out and went upstairs.”

Assistant Director of Residential Life Chris Rossi and multiple Baxter House residents have confirmed that the responsible party has come forward; however, no name has been released.  

This coming October, the Brunswick Police Department will move to the new, 20,000 square foot station building currently under construction at the corner of Pleasant and Stanwood Streets. It is currently housed in a 4,000 square foot space in the basement of the Town of Brunswick Municipal Building on Federal Street.

According to Brunswick Police Chief Richard Rizzo, the department has been talking about a change for a long time.

“The police department has been in the basement of town hall since the police department was a police department,” he said. “If it’s not the worst police station in the state, it’s one of the worst.”

Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) spent a large segment of its weekly meeting on Wednesday in conversation with Director of Health Services Sandra Hayes, addressing student concerns with the Health Centers. 

Many members of BSG said that they had heard complaints from students who had not gotten appointments as soon as they would have liked. 

Hayes says that the Health Center can usually make appointments for students within 24 hours. However, some students are unwilling to take appointments that would force them to skip class.

Professor of English Brock Clarke, Professor of Art History Pamela Fletcher, Professor of Anthropology and Arctic Museum Director Susan Kaplan, and Professor of Natural Sciences John Lichter were all recently promoted from associate professor to full professor.

According to the Bowdoin Faculty Handbook, the primary criterion for promotion is that the professor demonstrates “continuing excellence in teaching and in scholarly or artistic work” during the time since the professor received tenure.

In order to demonstrate "continuing excellence," each faculty member must submit their course materials, a personal statement, and the body of work that they have completed since becoming an associate professor. Recommendations are solicited from former students and external experts in the faculty member’s field.

The Green Bowdoin Alliance (GBA) is continuing its efforts to convince the College to divest the endowment from fossil fuels, despite President Mills’ and Senior Vice President for Investment Paula Volent’s assertion that divestment would cost Bowdoin millions of dollars. Both sides of the divestment issue are arguing their case based on different, largely incomparable statistics.

Matthew Goodrich ’15 and Bridget McCoy ’15, who are leading GBA’s push to divest, say they are unwilling to accept the numbers presented by the administration without full disclosure of how they were calculated.  Mills and Volent told the Orient last week that 1.4 percent of the endowment is invested in fossil fuels, primarily through exposure to an enhanced S&P 500 index fund. Based on data from the past decade of endowment performance, they estimated that if the College were to divest, annualized returns would decline by more than 5 percent.

“Over a ten-year period we would lose over $100 million,” Volent told the Orient last week.

On February 15, Bowdoin will celebrate the season with the revival of Winter Weekend, an old tradition of the College. Dani Chediak ’13, president of the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG), and Michael Hannaman ’13, co-chair of the Entertainment Board (E-Board) have been working together to organize an event to bring the campus together during the drab winter season. “This is actually a tradition from back when frats were at Bowdoin,” Hannaman said. “And what we’re trying to do is revive, but also redefine, what it is. We’re trying to make it about sports at Bowdoin, and College Houses and being outside during the winter.”

Over winter break, a group of Bowdoin students returned to campus early to participate in the Fullbridge Program, an intensive learning experience designed to give students practical business skills and expose them to a workplace environment. Fullbridge usually holds residential programs students on its main campus in Cambridge, Mass. and Bowdoin was the site of the company’s first external program at a college exclusively for that college’s students. The Fullbridge program covered topics ranging from financial statements to Microsoft Excel. “A lot of it was financial analysis,” said Daniel Mejia-Cruz ’16.

November is Date Month at Bowdoin, and dozens of students have participated in events ranging from “Screw Your Roommate” to “Date Night in Daggett” over the last few weeks. Two years ago, Simon Bordwin ’13 added a specifically LGBTQ event to what was then Date Week; this year, he is again seeking to make Date Month more inclusive with the launch of Rainbow Seven. Rainbow Seven is an online networking service that will allow LGBTQ students to meet other members of Bowdoin’s queer community. The process happens in several phases. Over Thanksgiving vacation, students sent their names to rainbowseven@gmail.com.

Amherst College, still reeling from former student Angie Epifano’s account of her sexual assault and subsequent mistreatment by Amherst administration, was dealt another blow last week, with the release of former Amherst student Trey Malone’s June 2012 suicide note, which revealed yet another account of a student who felt his assault was mishandled by the Amherst administration.

Malone wrote about his struggles dealing with the alleged sexual assault, and said that “what began as an earnest effort to help on the part of Amherst, became an emotionless hand washing. In those places I should’ve received help, I saw none.”

Malone’s story, published last Thursday in the Huffington Post, echoed that of Epifano, who published an op-ed in The Amherst Student on October 17. 

This January, the Fullbridge Program—described on its website as “an intensive, transformative learning environment that prepares highly motivated undergraduates…for a successful transition to the working world”—will hold two sessions for Bowdoin students on campus over winter break. Fullbridge is a program that is designed to simulate the real world business environment and equip students with crucial skills for careers in the professional world. Fullbridge began as a residential program in Cambridge, Mass., and its sessions at Bowdoin will be its first program on an external college campus. President Barry Mills met with Fullbridge Director of Admissions Oliver Snider this past summer, and they began to discuss the possibility of holding the program at the College.

Thumb through Bowdoin’s course catalogue, and you’ll find hundreds of courses ranging from multivariable calculus to interpretive dance. For students who find this list insufficient, however, there is another option. Bowdoin students can take courses at Colby, Bates or the Maine College of Art in Portland, though few students take advantage of the opportunity.

Bowdoin’s sailing team competed in three events this past weekend—the Women’s Regis Bowl at Boston University, the Hood Trophy at Tufts, and the Chris Loder Trophy at the University of New Hampshire.