When thinking of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, one might picture horrific images of ruthless soldiers bearing down on frightened students and battered bodies strewn across the public city square. But one can only imagine.

Although this year's Senior Week will feature many old traditions, the 2012 Class Council has replaced Racer-X with a performance by DJ Sex Ray Vision. Racer-X, which performed during the fall semester and last Thursday for Ivies, has customarily been a part of the Senior Week festivities. After perusing the E-Board's list of artists, the council seized the opportunity to offer something different and booked mash-up artist Sex Ray Vision. "Why do we need to see Racer-X twice in one month?" asked Matt Ramos '12, Class Council vice president.

The softball team clinched the last spot in the NESCAC championship by beating Bates twice last Sunday after losing the series opener the day before. "It was obviously a big series and a big accomplishment," said Head Coach Ryan Sullivan. "We knew we needed one game, and Bates is a good team."

State Representative Erin Herbig has received a protection from abuse order against her colleague and former boyfriend Rep. Alexander Cornell du Houx, who graduated from Bowdoin in 2008 and represents Brunswick. According to The Bangor Daily News, Herbig's court statement alleged that du Houx stalked her, secretly photographed her while she slept, and threatened to commit suicide after the couple broke up early this year.

I forget which generation I belong to. I can google it at a moment's notice on one of my million devices and find out, so why bother remembering?

An anonymous email was sent last week to the Student Activity Funding Committee (SAFC) alleging that the salaried directors of the Bowdoin Outing Club had mishandled club funds and disenfranchised student members. Whoever sent the letter has thus far guarded their anonymity, and the message's claims remain unsubstantiated. The email's authors did not respond when contacted by the Orient. The stated purpose of the email was to encourage the SAFC to conduct an investigation of the Outing Club, but the inconsistent logic of the message, its meandering composition, and the authors' refusal to provide evidence to corroborate their allegations have prevented the SAFC from conducting a formal investigation.

Places like Little Dog Coffee Shop are filled with a certain kind of person. A young person who enjoys the outdoors, supports local businesses, and is devoted to using his or her experience in a poor region to do something more. These people want to save the world, and their enthusiasm can convince you that it is possible.

Amherst edged the women's lacrosse team out of the NESCAC quarterfinals on Saturday. Although the Polar Bears trailed the Jeffs closely at intermission with a score of 5-4, Amherst managed to overpower them in the second half and win the game 9-7.

To the Editors: A recent anonymous email entitled "Outing Club Crisis" makes the accusation that the Bowdoin Outing Club's (BOC) program is "dictated" by its staff and is no longer accountable to student members. We write in enthusiastic support of the Outing Club's structure and current Director and Assistant Directors.

A questionable weather forecast for the weekend may change the location of the Saturday Ivies Concert. In an email to the student body, Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols stated that inclement weather would relocate the concert to Farley Field House. According to Ruiqi Li '13, E-Board co-chair, the decision to move the concert inside will not depend on the weekend's weather alone, as last night's rain will be a factor too.

Since coming to Bowdoin and spending my freshman year in West Hall, I've always wondered when and how buildings, rooms and even trees on campus receive their names, and more importantly, how I could leave my name behind.

Out of the 18 Bowdoin applicants this year, two seniors have won Fulbright grants, and four of their classmates have won funding for teaching assistantships. Daniel Jeong and Eli Garrard won Fulbright grants. Nick Powell, Derek Brooks, Zach Crawford, and Shazeda Ahmed received the other awards. Each year the Fulbright Program funds approximately 1,000 Americans who study or conduct research in any field. The other type of grant, which is not provided by the Fulbright Program, provides funding for students to work as English teaching assistants at schools and universities in foreign countries. Last year, approximately 870 teaching awards were made.

Professors' salaries have increased for the second year in a row. The increases come despite a sluggish economy, which led to across-the-board decreases in 2010. The Chronicle of Higher Education places Bowdoin 11th among liberal arts colleges in terms of the salaries paid to full professors. This is a departure from past years in which Bowdoin often "fell fourth or fifth," according to a Chronicle report.

To the Editors, On Wednesday April 11, Professor McCalla convinced me that the James Carter Organ Trio's performance would not disappoint. It didn't. It was likely the best jazz concert I have ever attended: a fitting finale to Professor McCalla's 27 years at Bowdoin.

Art historian Barbara M. Stafford will channel the philosophy of a liberal arts education on Thursday, when she presents her ongoing research on the interrelations of art and neuroscience.

A greater number of students have been getting tested for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) at the Health Center in recent weeks. The influx of students occurred in the wake of an email sent out by Whitney Hogan, coordinator of health education, on March 7. The email reported an uptick in STIs on campus, including chlamydia, syphilis, herpes, and gonorrhea. "We saw this spike right before spring break," explained Sandra Hayes, director of Health Services. "It was short notice, but we wanted students to be aware that if they chose to be sexually active over the break, that there's a risk to that. Some students feel very complacent in the Bowdoin bubble—they think their risk is smaller and that's not true."

Last Sunday Bowdoin Student Government elections determined the next year's 2014 and 2015 class councils. Positions on the BSG assembly, such as at-large representative and E-Board representative, were also determined. Of the 346 votes cast, roughly 74 percent were cast by first years or sophomores. A number of newly elected students, including John Izzo '15, Ryan Davis '15, Alex Tougas '14, and Sunnie Kuna '14, and Asher Stamell '13, ran unopposed.

ASAP, which acts as a unifying organization to combine the efforts of multiple campus groups, was formed in 2008 under the direction of Davis. "There were so many groups working in different ways on the spectrum, from healthy relationships to sexual violence, that we decided to create this umbrella group," said Davis. In its first year, ASAP was made up of groups such as Bowdoin Men Against Sexual Violence (BMASV), V-Day, and Safe Space. The alliance has since grown to include 16 organizations, ranging from the Bowdoin Outing Club to the Spirituality Circle.

A unique fusion of theater and dance, "Lullaby," will premiere next week in the culmination of a year-long exploration of far-ranging emotions, personal narratives and collaborative creation.

The women's soccer team has a new coach in Brianne Weaver, Director of Athletics Jeff Ward announced this Wednesday. Weaver has served as head coach at her alma mater, St. Mary's College in Maryland, for the last six years. Weaver will take over for Maren Rojas, who stepped down after five years to take a job as head coach at Boston College. According to Ward, the athletic department began receiving calls of interest only hours after Rojas announced her decision. "We had over 100 applicants for the job—the deepest pool of candidates that I can ever remember for a search," said Ward, who has hired 16 new coaches in his 14 years at Bowdoin.

The men's tennis team is climbing the rankings after its victory over Middlebury last Saturday. The 5-4 victory marked the Polar Bears' first triumph over the Panthers since the 2008 NESCAC championship match. No. 9 Bowdoin also shut out Brandeis 9-0 on Friday. Chris Lord '14 and Casey Grindon '13 fought back against Middlebury to win in a tiebreaker after having been down 7-5 at one point. Alex Jacobs '12 said that "their effort and hustle was the difference" in their match.

Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols briefed Bowdoin Student Government on expectations and preparations for Ivies at its Wednesday night meeting. Changes, including a new registration process for guests, are expected to make security arrangements tighter than ever before. During any given Ivies, it is generally the guests of students that pose the majority of security problems, said Nichols.

The women's water polo team won its first division championship last Saturday, qualifying it as the No. 14 seed for nationals. After beating Bates 14-7 in the semifinals earlier in the day, Bowdoin scored the final goal in overtime to win 7-6 over top-ranked Wellesley. "Previously our best finish was third place two years ago," said captain Sarah Hirschfeld '13.

Oaktree Capital Group, the world's largest distressed-debt investor, priced its initial public offering at $43 a share on Wednesday April 11. Bowdoin Trustee Sheldon Stone '74, a principal and portfolio manager, will take away the third largest share from the $387 million that the firm raised from the deal. The company first filed for an IPO in June 2011, and the IPO will allow its top executives to realize their stake in the firm.

To the Editors: I write in support of Angus King, Bowdoin professor, former Maine governor, and candidate for the United States Senate. Governor King needs and deserves our help to start his campaign in a position of strength that will see him to victory in November.

"I really feel that, if I can help three people win Oscars or get Oscar nominations, then I can keep doing it, because it's not that hard."

After 36 years at the College, Professor Jane Knox-Voina's retirement this semester is a blow to the Russian department, but it is far from fatal. Knox-Voina and Associate Professor of Russian Raymond Miller have vigorously campaigned over the years to sustain the department despite concerns over low enrollment numbers. "There was always the realization that we were one of the smallest departments and if we didn't have our numbers up, that the future might not be as optimistic as we would like to have it," said Knox-Voina in a phone interview with the Orient.

The softball team swept conference rival Trinity to extend its winning streak to seven games last weekend. Bowdoin's joy did not last long, however, as the team lost two games to Brandeis on Sunday. Despite the loss, the team rebounded quickly, sweeping the University of Maine-Farmington (UMF) on Tuesday to bring its overall record to 22-10.

The 2012 housing lottery began on Tuesday, filling 377 beds in quint and quad units. Though not without standard amounts of drama and disappointment, the lottery went relatively smoothly, thanks in part to live updates from residential life over Twitter throughout the evening and the lottery instructions that were projected on a continuous loop behind the sign-up tables. Daggett Lounge was packed when the event started at 6 p.m., but many students left after Lisa Rendall, associate director of housing operations, reminded the crowd that the quints lottery would take place first.

The women's lacrosse team crushed Wesleyan on Saturday, besting the Cardinals by 11 goals in an 18-7 victory. On Wednesday, however, Bowdoin lost to No. 8 Colby in a close 10-9 game. At Colby, the Mules took a 6-5 lead into halftime before the teams each scored four goals in the second half.

Student organizations seeking to renew their charters for next year will face a new registration process. Implemented by the Student Organizations Oversight Committee (SOOC), the new procedure includes a mandatory online survey that aims to improve club records and streamline the operation. Dani Chediak '13, chair of the SOOC, said that a few club leaders have contacted her with concerns about the new survey. Some leaders were disturbed by the nature of the questions and felt that they were being forced to defend their organization's existence, Chediak added.

The U.S. Department of Education mandated that all colleges install a "net price calculator" on their websites last fall, according to the New York Times. The calculator is designed to estimate the actual cost of a college, taking into consideration the factors that influence financial aid offers. The College Board and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have created generic calculators, but Bowdoin launched its own version to better represent its unique methodology in determining aid. Admissions is hopeful that the net price calculator will eliminate what Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Scott Meiklejohn refers to as "sticker shock,"—when the high price of tuition deters prospective students from applying.

Ever wonder how many calories are in the Philly cheese steak sandwich you ate last Friday? How about that delicious slice of pesto chicken pizza? Though the Huffington Post recently recognized Bowdoin for having the number one healthiest college dining hall in America, the Orient decided to investigate the underbelly of Bowdoin dining to find the top 10 most caloric dishes.

Two Bowdoin students were charged with forgery after they reportedly attempted to buy alcohol with fraudelent IDs on Saturday night. A clerk at Rite Aid suspected that the two Maine driver's licenses the students produced were fake, and contacted the Brunswick Police Department (BPD). The officer who arrived on the scene detained the two students in the parking lot and confiscated the IDs, which were of high quality and allegedly purchased online. The police have also charged a third student, whose ID was seized at Rite Aid in January. The two students apprehended Saturday were also charged with possession of alcohol by minors. In the past, the police have opted for the charge of possessing a fraudulent ID card, rather than the criminal offense of possessing a forged document.

Less than a week ago, I was going through a painful breakup with the label "queer." I had tried to make it work between us, but I could no longer keep a label in my life that didn't support me. Queer and I had a good run. We met a couple of years ago and after getting to know each other, I realized I had fallen in love. We seemed meant to be.

This year's Spring Dance Concert will include a vast range of performances, from the debut efforts of first-time dancers to a dynamic solo piece by Nyama McCarty-Brown, a visiting faculty fellow.

After Bowdoin students received an Ivies survey from the E-Board last fall, questions buzzed around campus, but there was one left echoing louder than the rest: Would Ivies continue to be free? On Monday, the buzzing came to a halt, when students received another email about Ivies, this time from Allen Delong, director of student life. The message stated that while Ivies will remain free for students, guests will be charged a $20 entrance fee. The fee will provide admission at the gate to both the concert and dinner on Saturday, April 28.

After being unable to compete fall semester due to inadequate funding, the equestrian team has regrouped and is now galloping into its second and final show of the season at Dartmouth this weekend. According to captain Chrissy Hayes '14, the team's resurgence is thanks in part to the arrival of a new coach, Paulajean O'Neill, who has over 30 years of professional training experience. The team also changed its home farm to New Boston Barn in Gray, Maine this January.

As of last weekend, 23 students have been transported for over-consumption of alcohol over the course of this year. While a transport is often a one-night ordeal for the student involved, the costs incurred—which often add up to hundreds of dollars—can become a financial burden that lingers long after the weekend is over. In each instance, the student is charged for the cost of the transport and for emergency care. On top of that, the College mandates that students go to three counseling sessions with licensed drug and alcohol counselor Geno Ring, a disciplinary measure that will set them back $300.

Democrats should be thanking the Republicans in Congress. Not because they have been nice, but because they have been pricks. Nothing makes the Democrats looks better than the pricks in the Republican Party. The Republican elites have unloaded every nasty thing they could possibly say about the president, which means that there is nothing more they can say. There can be no more ratcheting up the rhetoric.

At its weekly meeting on Wednesday, Bowdoin Student Government discussed whether it should support changes to first year chem-free housing at the College, in light of a BSG report on the modifications and a hearing with chem-free students opposed to the proposed changes. The report was filed on April 1 by the Committee on Student Affairs, which was tasked by the Executive Committee of BSG to compile a comprehensive review of the proposed changes to chem-free housing. Alongside the report was a hearing with students John Grover '14 and Kailey Bennett '14, who argued that dissolving Hyde Hall—an entirely chem-free dorm—into floating floors would cause many complications.

Dani Chediak '13, vice president for student organizations, emerged victorious as next year's president of Bowdoin Student Government, garnering approximately 77 percent of the vote, with 562 votes. Among other goals, Chediak aspires to bring LSAT, MCAT, and GRE prep classes to Bowdoin's campus and to create an online queue that will help students gauge when campus shuttles will arrive. President of the first year class John Izzo ran opposite Chediak, garnering 170 votes.

Students voiced opposition to a possible restructuring of chem-free housing in two open forums this week. The potential changes to chem-free housing—which would reshape how first years are assigned to rooms—could occur as soon as this fall. After surveying approximately 500 individuals including students, faculty and residential life staff members, a committee compiled a list of popular recommendations, which were published in a report in February. Perhaps the most controversial suggestion advanced by the committee was discontinuing Hyde Hall as the designated chem-free first 's status year brick, and adopting a "floating floor model on a two year trial basis" beginning in the 2013-2014 academic year.

After years of essentially random pairings of Bowdoin overnight hosts and prospective students, the Student Admissions Volunteer Organization (SAVO), in collaboration with the Office of Admissions, instituted a new overnight process last fall. Visitors and hosts are now matched on the basis of on similar interests. Anna Wright '12, who is serving in her second year as the SAVO overnight student coordinator, said in an interview, "Before this year, it was really kind of random; I had a list of all my hosts, and I would just match them up, men with men, women with women."

Filmmaker and alumna Ali Codina '00 fielded questions from an emotional audience last Thursday after screening her 2009 debut documentary, "Monica and David," in Smith Auditorium.

After beating Wesleyan and Trinity last Saturday in Connecticut, the women's tennis team is surging with confidence as it enters the most challenging part of its season. Bowdoin defeated Trinity 5-1 and Wesleyan 9-0, and every player contributed at least one win in the matchups.

The men's and women's ultimate Frisbee teams concluded their regular season on a high note last weekend. Both teams won the second annual Garden State Open Tournament, and neither lost a single game. The men are now ranked No. 5 of the D-III schools nationwide, and No. 66 overall. Not to be bested, the women's team is ranked No. 41 in the country and No. 6 for D-III. Both squads finish the regular season undefeated.

Several students received nationally competitive grants and scholarships this year, including a Watson Fellowship, two honorable mentions for the Udall Scholarship and, so far, two Fulbright Grants for English Teaching Assistantships. The Watson Fellowship is a prestigious and highly competitive one-year grant awarded to graduating seniors of "unusual promise" for a year of independent foreign travel and exploration. Upon accepting the $25,000 stipend, the fellows must agree not to return to the United States (or their home country) for 12 months and must embrace their independent projects on a large, potentially global scale.

The sailing team traversed New England this past weekend, sending crews to three different regattas. The women visited Brown University for the Dellenbaugh Trophy, where they took eighth of 18 top teams. Skippers Kaylee Schwitzer '15 and Lizzy Hamilton '15 were joined by crews Kim Dempsey '14, Ayaka Okawa '14 and Isabel Low '13. They are now ranked No. 11 in the country, the highest in program history.

Coming back after its second conference loss of the season on Saturday to Middlebury, the women's lacrosse team bested Williams on Sunday and shellacked the University of Southern Maine on Wednesday for two wins. In Wednesday's match against Southern Maine, Bowdoin allowed its fewest goals of the season and outshot the Huskies 33-14 for a 14-3 victory.

The Office of Admissions has sent acceptance letters to 802 of 5,829 regular decision applicants, resulting in a 13.8 percent regular decision acceptance rate. Overall, 1,079 prospective students have been admitted to the Class of 2016—a 16.1 percent overall acceptance rate. The College received 6,716 applications this year, marking a 2 percent increase from last year. There was an 18 percent rise in applications from students of color compared to last year, a 13 percent increase from international students, a 29 percent increase in the number of applications from students in the Southwest, and a 22 percent raise in the South.

The annual Spring Gala almost fell off this year's social calendar after the event was left without a overseer. In past years, an ad hoc committee comprised of students has collaborated with the Office of Student Activities to plan the event, but this year no such committee was formed, an oversight that was not caught until two members of Bowdoin Student Government discovered that financing for the event had not been secured.

Bowdoin College is worlds away from Haiti, and Dany Laferrière is worlds away from the young man he was when he fled his native Haiti and sought refuge in Montreal at the age of 23. Today, the 58 year-old has earned international esteem and numerous accolades as a novelist, journalist and screenwriter.

The film studies department will grow into an interdisciplinary program next year, the culmination of a nearly decade-long effort. As a program, more courses will be offered and professors from other disciplines will receieve joint appointments in film studies. When Tricia Welsch, chair of the film studies department, came to Bowdoin to replace the only member of the department in 1993, she sought to broaden the course offerings, and helped film studies become an approved minor in 2001.

About a month ago, the Chem- Free Housing Review Committee submitted its proposal for modifying first year chem-free housing. I would like to air some concerns about this proposal, even though I no longer live in chem-free housing

The men's baseball team kicked off its season in Florida over spring break, winning its first five games and finishing with an overall 10-6 record. Bowdoin outscored its opponents 72-61, while holding them to just 19 runs in their 10 wins. "It is harder to grind through physically and mentally pitch to pitch when you've played that many games in a short amount of time," Head Coach Mike Connolly said. "But it doesn't mean it can't be done."

Boy meets girl at a party. Boy and girl hook up. A common scenario at Bowdoin College. Then boy gives girl a Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI), or vice versa—a scenario that seems to be recently spreading on campus. Earlier this month, Coordinator of Health Education Whitney Hogan sent an email to all first years as well as Peer Health regarding the recent upswing in diagnoses of STIs on campus. The email was then circulated to many other groups and individuals.

Spring break was no vacation for a handful of winter sports teams whose seasons continued into March. Headlining the group was women's basketball, Bowdoin's only entrant into an NCAA tournament. The team made it to the Sweet 16 for the third straight year before being ousted by George Fox, the No. 3 team in the country and eventual runner-up to the title. With a final record of 21-8, the Polar Bears reached 19 victories for the 12th consecutive season.

Tim Foster, dean of student affairs, made an appearance at this week's Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) meeting to address preliminary data from the recent NESCAC-wide alcohol survey administered in early March. The academic affairs committee also proposed providing new funds to students who exceed their printing allocations. Of all nine of the NESCAC institutions that took part in the conference-wide survey—Amherst and Wesleyan did not partake—Bowdoin had the highest participation rate, with 78 percent of students filling out the questionnaire.

Childish Gambino will headline this year's Ivies Concert, along with the indie-pop duo Phantogram and the DJ mash-up artist Milkman, according to the Entertainment Board (E-Board). Ivies, which will take place Saturday April 28, is the biggest show the E-Board plans each year and is both eagerly anticipated and widely attended by students. The E-Board's primary considerations in selecting the acts were the results of a student survey conducted last semester.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of women at Bowdoin and the Department of Theater and Dance has not missed the opportunity to comment on the challenges women have faced breaking into various fields. "Top Girls," directed by Assistant Professor of Theater Abigail Killeen, tracks one driven woman's struggle to ascend the ladder of an employment agency in early-1980s Britain. The play, written by Caryl Churchill, premiered last night and will be performed again tonight and tomorrow.

Featuring interweaving secret police investigations and puppetry sequences, senior Zach Perez's production of Martin McDonagh's "The Pillowman" will run Wednesday and Thursday.

The experience and fortitude of the women's basketball team will be put to the test today in what could be Bowdoin's final game of the season. After getting ousted from the NESCAC playoffs in a 55-40 loss to Tufts in the semifinals, the Polar Bears (19-7) will face the University of Southern Maine in the first round of the NCAA D-III tournament at 6 p.m. tonight in Ithaca, N.Y.

United States Senator Olympia Snowe shocked the Maine political scene on Tuesday when she announced that she would not seek re-election in November. Her decision prompted a flurry of speculation as to who would run for her seat. The senator made her announcement in a written statement, citing "an atmosphere of polarization and 'my way or the highway' ideologies" as the motivating forces behind her decision.

Renowned conceptual artist and documentary filmmaker Lenka Clayton is presently trying to send a handmade letter to every household in the world.

A committee charged with examining chem-free housing published recommendations this week for how to improve the system. If adopted, the proposed changes would alter the residential and social landscape for first year students. Under the current system, Hyde Hall is a chem-free living space and all incoming first year students who elect to live chem-free are placed there. The College, however, has no strict definition for the term chem-free.

The idea of nature, of a pristine wilderness characterized by its separation from man, is a widely accepted notion. We are told—and believe—that to "experience" nature, we must step off of the paved road, away from the comforts of civilization. Some environments are more "natural" than others like, say, New York City, but true nature is inherently separate. Bill McKibben perfectly defines our concept of nature in his book, "The End of Nature," as "the separate and wild province, the world apart from man."

The Class of 2012 senior gift is one that promises to keep on giving to the College's financial aid program. Current seniors and members of the development office have begun the process of creating a class gift that will have an immediate impact on the Class of 2016. The gift will take the form of a new scholarship for financial aid. It is yet to be determined if a single student will benefit or if the funds will be divided among multiple students in the next academic year.

Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) touched upon a number of issues this week, ranging from the assembly's stance on the Northwestern University Associated Student Government's statement against police force during college protests to Bowdoin's credit/D/fail and add-drop systems.

Ten school records fell on the way to the men's swimming and diving team's fifth-place finish at the NESCAC championships last weekend at Williams, marking the team's best ever performance in the 12-year history of the meet. Captain Mac Routh '12 posted the best Polar Bear finish by winning the 50 butterfly, while taking second in the 50 backstroke and fourth in the 100 fly. He set new Bowdoin records in all three events.

The Downeaster expansion is being threatened by transportation bills now in Congress that could reduce funding. The bills awaiting votes in Congress would prohibit Maine and other states from using the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program to fund the train line, which is currently accounting for close to $6 million of the Downeaster's $15.1 million annual operating budget.

Junior Elisabeth Carter attended the Brunswick Democratic Caucus with no intention of becoming a local representative, but by the end of the Sunday meeting she was one of the 12 members of the Cumberland County Democratic Committee.

A total of $7,899 in damages to student residences occured in fall 2011. According to the report compiled by Lisa Rendall, associate director of housing operations, Baxter House accrued $3,193 or 40.4 percent of the damage costs.

Bowdoin's new steam turbine-generator, installed last summer, is officially up and running. The College finished commissioning and testing the turbine in early February, according to John Simoneau, facilities project manager. Since February 17, the earliest date for which data is available, the turbine has generated 71,032 kilowatt hours, or 18 percent of the campus' total electricity.

The sounds of Studzinski will hit the airwaves next week when National Public Radio's "From the Top" records a new installment of their program featuring Allen Wong Yu '14 on piano.

For the first time in a decade, the women's indoor track and field team finished third in the New England D-III championship with a total of 72 points. "I think the little efforts of everyone on the team culminated to the great performance this weekend," said captain Laura Peterson '12, who took fifth in the long jump and eighth in the triple jump.

A group of unruly and existentialist British schoolboys take the Pickard stage this weekend in Masque and Gown's production of "History Boys."

Students hoping to live in one of the eight College Houses face competitive odds yet again. Residential Life received its second-highest number of applications ever for College Houses, with 295 students vying for 200 spots. While the number of applicants is down from last year's 346, Assistant Director of Residential Life Chris Rossi indicated that this year's applications are more evenly distributed among the eight houses.

If learning extends to the world beyond the classroom, it is sad to see that certain stereotypes endure when Americans pursue their studies abroad. As a Moroccan student at Bowdoin, I was deeply dismayed in realizing the persistence of American misconceptions about the Middle East so patent in Sam Frizell's Talk of the Quad piece "The far side of the strait" (February 17).

The men's track and field team put on a show at the New England D-III Championship at Springfield College, placing fifth out of 24 teams last weekend. The Polar Bears won four of the 19 events, the highest total of any school. "In my four years, I don't think I have seen the team train and race with such dedication and seriousness," said Alex Williams '12, a member of the distance relay team that took first in a facility record time of 10:18.80.

Members of Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) fervently debated whether or not to sign a letter in defense of student protests on college campuses at their weekly meeting Wednesday. The letter on student protests up for discussion has been sent to various colleges throughout the country by the Northwestern University Associated Student Government in response to crackdowns on "Occupy" movements at UC Berkeley and UC Davis earlier this year.

Problems with printers? Cross-referencing crises? The Measuring Information Service Outcomes (MISO) Survey offers participants a chance to vent library and IT woes. Created at Bryn Mawr College in 2004, the MISO Survey collects student, faculty and staff opinions on both library and IT services from numerous campuses, allowing each college to compare its performance point by point to peer institutions. This is Bowdoin's first year using MISO; it is one of 30 participating colleges.

Forty-three students have applied for membership on next year's Judicial Board (J-Board), a number consistent with previous years. Among those who applied, 22 applicants were first years, 18 students were sophomores, and three were members of the junior class.

Common Hour's monopoly on Friday lectures will soon come to an end with the start of Bowdoin Student Government's "Uncommon Hour." The program is styled after TED talks, a series of lectures featuring thinkers who are behind breakthroughs in science and cultural studies.

While the official process of setting the federal budget for the fiscal year doesn't begin until October 1, Obama's energy department released its "wish list" earlier this week. Among other things, Energy Secretary Steven Chu and associates are proposing to remove $4 billion in subsidies to fossil fuel companies. At the same time, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy would benefit from a 29 percent hike in funding, up to $2.34 billion.

The men's basketball team fell to Wesleyan last Friday but bounced back the next day with a victory against Connecticut College, clinching the No. 6 seed in the upcoming NESCAC tournament.

If you happen to tune into WBOR 91.1 FM at the opportune moment, you just might be taken aback by talk of touchdowns and home runs in place of the station's usual indie fodder. For the first time in decades, sports broadcasting has returned to WBOR.

The Office of Admissions admitted 53 students through Early Decision (ED) II, putting the total of admitted students for the Class of 2016 through ED at 224, six fewer than to last year. Admissions will now begin to evaluate the regular decision pool, which consists of 5,818 applications.

After a three-year career as director of the art museum, Kevin Salatino unexpectedly announced his plans to leave the College and become the director of art collections at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, Calif. He will maintain his post at Bowdoin through the summer.

The women's ice hockey team (11-8-3, 9-5-0 NESCAC) broke even against Hamilton (9-12-1, 6-8-0 NESCAC) last weekend, winning the first game but dropping the second.

Bowdoin students may be expressing their opinions on the internet more than ever, but they are not doing it on Curia (bcuria.com), Bowdoin's life and culture blog. On the website, which is described on its "About" page as "a place to gather and discuss timely issues," there have been no new posts since November 30, 2011. Five posts have been created since the current editors—who wrote all five—Jimena Escudero '13 and Ursula Moreno-VanderLaan '13 took over this year.

To the Editors: In response to Daisy Alioto's "Facebook is important, deactivation movement is misguided" (February 10) and the ensuing online exchange between Alioto and Tyler Patton (the founder of the Facebook deactivation movement), the super-connection snowball might be unstoppable, and it may well crush all who refuse to plug in.

After five years of heading the women's soccer program, Maren Rojas has stepped down from her position as head coach. She recently accepted an assistant coach position on the Boston College women's soccer team, and left for Massachusetts on Wednesday. Nonetheless, Rojas attributes her decision to leave to more than just the offer from Boston College.

Today marks the publication of the Bowdoin Globalist's inaugural issue. The content was initially published online this Wednesday, though hard copies of the magazine are now available on campus. This issue of the Globalist, an international affairs magazine with chapters based at other colleges and universities, focuses on "youth in revolt." The magazine's executive staff includes Lauren Speigel '12, Aaron Wolf '12, Gus Vergara '13, Stanton Cambridge '13, and Max Staiger '13.

The Northwestern University Associated Student Government approached Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) on February 7, urging it to sign a resolution that aims to condemn the use of unnecessary police force during protests on college campuses. The resolution was drafted in light of the allegedly violent protests occured at U.C. Berkeley and U.C. Davis campuses last November.

When James Bowdoin III donated his private art collection to the College in 1811, he started a tradition that lives on today.

As part of its annual Girls and Women in Sports Day, female student-athletes from Bowdoin will welcome local girls in grades K-12 to campus this weekend as part of an initiative to expose them to an array of sports.

Fifteen Colby students have left the school, either in suspension or permanent withdrawal, as a result of the sexual misconduct that occurred there this fall. According to student newspaper The Colby Echo, the students are being cited for violating the College's policy on "sexual misconduct, lying to school officials and hindering an internal investigation."

This past summer, Nylea Bivins '12 planned a week of programming dedicated to discussing identity, bias, privilege, and inequality. The fruits of her work were seen during the first week of this semester, in a series of events thoughtfully entitled "Beyond the Bowdoin Hello: Ask, Listen, Engage."

As part of an ongoing campaign against homophobia in sports, Paul Tagliabue, former commissioner of the National Football League, will visit campus on Monday. Tagliabue, who has a strong history of supporting gay rights, will deliver the keynote address at the third annual "Anything but Straight in Athletics" event. Created in 2010, the annual event is aimed at supporting the Bowdoin LGBT athletic community and eliminating homophobia in sports. One of the founders, Ben Chadwick '11, was an openly gay member of the men's lacrosse team.

Dear My Dear Author Mr. Isseroff, I write in response to your column in last week's issue remarking on the "thoughtlessness" of the "Beyond the Bowdoin Hello" series, likening it to that which has corrupted the ideals of today's Republican Party ("Republicans and the 'Bowdoin Hello' face distortions of original meanings," February 3).

One hundred and forty-five people applied for positions as proctors and RAs on the Residential Life staff for the next academic year—the highest applicant pool ever. Nonetheless, this number is only 3.4 percent larger than the 141 people who applied last year for the same 71 positions. This year's pool contains 46 current staff members who have reapplied and 99 new applicants. Twenty-six members of the staff are graduating in May.

Over winter break I met my friend Emily for lunch in Boston. To passersby we probably looked like old friends—effortlessly conversing about our families, friends and campus life.

The College is set to hire two new faculty members, reducing the number of ongoing tenure-track faculty searches to nine. The anthropology and government departments have selected Gregory Beckett and Andrew Rudalevige, respectively, to begin teaching next fall.

After stunning Amherst 7-4 four weeks ago to start an undefeated streak throughout the month of January, the men's ice hockey team fell to the Lord Jeffs in a 3-1 loss last Friday.

A bout of bad luck hit the Nordic ski team last weekend at the University of Vermont Carnival: two of the team's top contributors were unable to compete due to injuries. "We've been a bit snakebit this year, with an unusual number of injuries and illnesses hitting our team," wrote Coach Nathan Alsobrook in an email to the Orient.

Twenty-one percent of classes were at or above capacity by the end of Bowdoin's two-week add/drop period last Friday. This year 1,043 add/drop cards were received compared to 980 last spring, a 6.4 percent increase. Registrar Jan Brackett said that numbers have not been this high since the spring of 2007, when the Office of the Registrar also coincidentally received 1,043 cards.

A Chadian man sends his son to war; a failing magician forms an unlikely friendship in Scotland; a disabled woman travels to the Pyrenees. These diverse characters and more will come to Bowdoin next week as part of the Tournées Festival.

Perennial groans regarding the inadequacies of the College's Internet connectivity may finally fall silent. The College has nearly completed the installation of the world's fastest wireless technology, a process which began in early December. Mitch Davis, Bowdoin's chief information officer, negotiated a deal with Cisco that brought the company's brand new, top-of-the-line wireless system to campus, placing Bowdoin among the first three organizations to receive a shipment of the company's new Aironet 3600 Series wireless access points.

I attended a Bowdoin men's hockey game last December with an old friend whose son is a Bowdoin student. Great hockey, great arena. But the deafening musical assault—which relentlessly attacks and overwhelms the ear of every attendee during every single possible break in the action (even for 20 seconds, while the players quickly "set up" for a face-off)—is extraordinary. But not just extraordinary, disorienting. We almost always had to yell at each other if we wanted to speak—and we were sitting right next to each other.

With the application deadline for College House residency just around the corner, interested students will be subject to a new interview process designed to improve the increasingly competitive College House application process. The new method is meant to be more personal and to grant current College House members a larger role in choosing new residents.

For better or worse, modern-day environmentalism has become an increasingly global movement. There is plenty of logic behind this transition: greenhouse gas emissions from a coal-powered plant in China or South Africa do not just impact local populations, but on people around the world. Population growth in Nigeria or India will increase demand for food commodities and valuable resources worldwide.

The College announced Tuesday that Michael Bartini will replace Stephen Joyce as the director of student aid. Bartini will begin working at the College this week, but will not officially replace Joyce until July.

The Orbit, which replaced the Student Digest last spring as the College's announcement network, is in flux once again.

Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) presented projects for the coming weeks and settled lingering matters from last semester this Wednesday in its first session of 2012.

Seventy-six would-be members of the Vassar College Class of 2016 had to put a cork in their festivities last Friday after finding out that the college had, in fact, not intended to offer them admission.

The Office of Admissions has received a total of 6,694 applications for the Class of 2016 so far, a 2 percent increase from last year's applicant pool and an all-time record for the College.

I never saw the Muskie School of Public Service atrium before Professor of Art Mark Wethli's new sculpture, "Civitas," was installed, but I try not to imagine the space without it. With its bare white walls, stretches of glass and gray trim, it is no wonder the space, part of the University of Southern Maine in Portland, "struck a lot of people as being a little cold."

Though the door of Brunswick's Frosty's Donuts has displayed a "Closed" sign since last June, new owners Nels Omdal and his wife Shelby St. Andre are working hard to flip the sign to "Open" in just a few weeks.

For professors like former Assistant Professor of Government Shelley Deane, teaching at Bowdoin might be just the beginning of their careers.

The men's and women's track teams are off to a season of individual and team-wide successes, crushing personal records and sweeping regional competitions. The men hit the ground running before winter break with a first-place finish at the Southern Maine Invitational on December 10.

For those students fed up with the challenge of finding courses that will satisfy their distribution requirements, relief does not appear on the horizon.

At the MIT Invitational, a two-day event that left the swimming and diving teams more fatigued than usual, both the men and women finished fifth. The men collected 324.5 points, well behind national powerhouse MIT, who won the meet with 1,397.5 points.

In the aftermath of a series of conversations between NESCAC student affairs deans, Bowdoin will join eight other colleges in the conference in conducting comprehensive surveys on student alcohol consumption. The plan for the spring survey was crystallized last week at the NESCAC deans' annual meeting in Boston.

Although the Bowdoin Fencing Club may fly under the radar on campus, practicing late at night in Sargent Gym and carpooling to tournaments, the group has proven this fall that it can be competitive in regional competition. This year, the club has the assistance of a coach for the first time: Eric Ritter, an instructor from the Down East School of Fencing.

One afternoon in Sills Hall in the early 1980s, a female administrator walked into the office of communications professor Barbara Kaster, one the first women to be appointed to a full professorship at the College. The administrator asked if Kaster had noticed that the Kotex machine in the women's restroom was empty, and said that she had called Facilities Management to refill the machine two weeks earlier.

On Wednesday, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) president Derek Brooks '12 discussed the faculty's rejection of the proposal to extend Thanksgiving break at the Monday night faculty meeting.

Protest signs bearing phrases like "People Before Profits" and "What About Economic Justice?" lined the hallway leading to Smith Auditorium on Tuesday. Over 100 individuals gathered in the auditorium that afternoon to partake in the inaugural Occupy Bowdoin Teach-In, organized by Robbie Benson '14 and Ricardo Zarate '13.

After weeks of painstaking sketching, crafting and creating, the senior visual arts majors will display their work in a one-night show tonight in Portland. No Bowdoin students in recent memory have exhibited their art in Portland without faculty work alongside it.

Heading into arguably its two biggest games of the year this weekend against Colby, the men's hockey team is in a solid position after playing to a 2-1-1 record in its first four official games of the season. Bowdoin began the season facing tough competition from Williams and Middlebury.

Controversy has enveloped Colby College in wake of allegations of sexual assault involving multiple members of its football team. The Colby administration has disclosed neither when the alleged assault took place, nor the details of it, but suspended three football players on November 11, just one day prior to the game between Colby and Bowdoin. The school did not explicitly state that the players were responsible for the alleged assault.

This year's December Dance Concert is particularly notable as it marks the stage debut of Bowdoin's repertory ballet program. Charlotte Griffin, assistant professor of theater and dance, was brought to Bowdoin in 2010 to expand the dance department's offerings.

Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) voted 20 to one in favor of a proposal to extend Thanksgiving break to a week. The faculty will vote next Monday on the proposal.

Though campus audiences are used to students taking the stage as actors, it is a little rarer to find them in the director's chair. This semester, however, students enrolled in Professor of Theater Davis Robinson's directing class learned the tricks of the trade and will showcase their self-produced scenes Monday and Tuesday.

The men's basketball team has opened up its season with a 3-2 record, with both losses determined in the final seconds. In their opening game, the Polar Bears traveled to UMass-Dartmouth where they won the 2011 Hampton Inn Classic. After a routine 72-38 win over the University of Maine-Farmington, the Polar Bears overcame their hosts in the tournament final 66-61.

Orville Ranger, the owner of the 45 Maine St. property that was destroyed in last April's fire, pleaded guilty in court two weeks ago to a civil violation of the Uniform Fire Code and Life Safety Code. He will pay a $500 fine for failure to provide more than one means of egress from the second floor of the building.

Joseph Sewall '43, former Republican president of the Maine Senate and prominent businessman, died at the age of 89 on November 23.

To the Editors: I read the Bowdoin Orient article "NAS research now occurring on campus" (November 18). Michael Toscano, the primary researcher for this project asks the question, "What does Bowdoin teach?" I too would like to know what Bowdoin teaches. Oh, not the names of courses and programs.

"The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" has all of the trappings of a great musical: audience participation, improvisation, and wry jabs at the English language. In their second-ever production, Curtain Callers take on the Tony-winning musical tonight and tomorrow.

The Office of Admissions received 589 applications for the first round of Early Decision, the largest number in the College history. Despite last Tuesday's deadline, this number is not a final count for the total ED I applications that the office will receive. "Some arrive in the mail and some applications come in incomplete, so this is just a preliminary number," explained Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Scott Meiklejohn. "It will probably be another week to ten days before we have our final number."

The volleyball team's historic season ended in a fiercely fought 3-2 loss to UMass-Boston in the second round of the NCAA D-III Tournament last Saturday. The team finished its record-breaking season with a record of 27-3—the most wins in program history—and its first perfect 10-0 record in the NESCAC. To top off this impressive run, 2011 saw the Polar Bears winning their first ever NESCAC Championship, their first D-III entry, and their first D-III Tournament match.

One hundred and thirty years ago, hazing at Bowdoin might have encompassed fraternal coal-throwing and accidental blindness. The New York Times ran a story entitled "Old-Time Hazing at Bowdoin," on November 28, 1881. The article reads: "The Maine newspapers tell us that a Portland lawyer has brought suit claiming $10,000 from each of seven Sophomores in Bowdoin College for injuries to his Freshman son's eyes by a piece of coal thrown through his window in a hazing scrape. This brings to the mind of a corresponddent (sic) of the Journal the tradition of a notable incident of the same kind in the same college many years ago."

Thirteen Bowdoin students have been transported to Parkview Adventist Medical Center due to over-consumption of alcohol since September. According to Tim Foster, dean of student affairs, this number shows that "we are tracking almost identically to last year," when 12 students had been transported by the third week of November. Yet this year, the numbers rose quickly. In September alone, six first year students were transported to Parkview for alcohol-related reasons. The head proctors of each first year dorm sent an email to the entire class of 2015, in an effort to curb the heavy drinking.

Last week, the Pew Research Center released a new report about the "rising age-gap in economic well-being." Although the Occupy Wall Street movement has called attention to the vast wealth gap between the so-called 99 percent and the 1 percent, Pew decided to take a closer look at trends in the distribution of wealth by age groups.

Former Senator George J. Mitchell '54 addressed a sold out Pickard Theater at the launch of the library's George J. Mitchell Oral History Project. The Oral History Project, a three year endeavor, launched on Monday night and can now be viewed online. According to the website, the project has collected approximately 200 transcripts of interviews from Mitchell's friends and family, as well as senators and staff members, public policy officials, foreign policy specialists, and more. Together, the testimonies shed light on Mitchell's life, political career, and numerous accomplishments.

A month after Occupy Bowdoin's posters first appeared, the group will host a "teach-in" on Tuesday, November 29 at 4 p.m. in Smith Auditorium. The event will feature brief addresses by various professors, and a local representative from Occupy Brunswick. A representative from the American Civil Liberties Union may also speak, but has yet to be confirmed. The floor will then be opened to general discussion.

A long trip for the coed sailing team proved to be worthwhile last weekend, as Bowdoin took second at the Atlantic Coast Tournament in Jacksonville, Fla. Though the Saturday conditions were mild, the regatta was cut short because of insufficient wind on Sunday. Pete Edmunds '14 and Mae Speight '13 sailed to third place in the A division, while captain Jeff Goodrich '12 sailed with Clare Henry '12 in the B division, which they won with 14 points.

How do you make people care about the choices they make if they cannot see the consequences? How do you rally a student body not known for collective activism around a single cause? The challenges in sparking student commitment to carbon neutrality are colossal; but behavioral changes are part of the College's plan to neutralize its greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. Every individual on campus must reduce their annual carbon footprint by 500 pounds of CO2, and while this component of the overall reduction may be minimal, it is a critical one, according to Coordinator for a Sustainable Bowdoin Keisha Payson.

Twenty-five Bowdoin athletes and non-athletes have sustained concussions this year, down from 39 in Fall 2010. Despite the decreasing trend, the College has seen an overall increase in reports of the injury in the past years. As concussions have received heightened scrutiny nationally, the College has in turn increased its efforts to both raise awareness of the injury and educate students of its impact.

According to Facilities Management, damage to on-campus housing has decreased by five percent over the past semester in comparison to Fall 2010, though the figure is likely to shift as the year continues. While the complete statistics will not be compiled until the end of the semester, thus far Baxter House has accrued the most abuse, at slightly under $2,000 in damages, and Ladd House is second, with $1,200.

With over 10 representatives absent, a scant Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) assembled on Wednesday to discuss the contentious issue of extending Thanksgiving break by two school days. The increasing geographical diversity of the College—over 59 percent of the Class of 2015 is from outside New England—has prompted concerns regarding students' inability to travel home during the holiday. In the past few years, more and more students have been unable to return home and have been forced to remain on campus during Thanksgiving due to the brevity of the three day break.

Following the removal of three residents by the Office of Residential Life (ResLife), Quinby House has undergone several changes in leadership. According to the policy outlined in the College House Constitution, the vice president will assume the presidency if that position becomes vacant. Former vice president Maura Allen '14 is the new president of Quinby House. The house elected Sam Shapiro '14 to the vice presidency.

The WBOR fall concert took a last-minute turn on Friday after the cancellation of its first professional act, Kreayshawn. Earlier Friday evening, the singer tweeted, "As you know I have bronchitis and won't be able to perform for the beautiful young Bowdoin College peoples tonight #sorry."

At the faculty meeting on Monday, the Curriculum and Educational Policy Committee (CEP) announced its decision to add minors in Chinese and Japanese languages. This decision will apply to graduates of the Class of 2012.

For six student filmmakers, fulfilling the criteria for the 48-Hour Film Festival required inspiration, improvisation and maybe even a little lens solution.

A college degree has never been more expensive. According to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, college tuition has increased more than 439 percent since 1982 and 5 percent since last year.

According to the hazing policy posted on the Bowdoin website, the College defines hazing as any initiation activity that "1) physically or psychologically humiliates, degrades, abuses, or endangers—regardless of a person's willingness to participate; 2) results in the disruption of the educational process or the impairment of academic performance; or 3) violates College policy or state law."

According to the Bowdoin administration and the Office of Safety and Security, Hawthorne-Longfellow Library (H-L Library) will continue its policy to not restrict Internet access, though the public computers in H-L Library have been used to view pornographic materials.

As a partial result of the men's hockey hazing incident, interest in hazing has spiked within administrative circles on campus, reflecting an equivalent concern among students.

Bowdoin's Young Alumni Leadership Program (YALP) is changing both its name and its approach this year in a move designed to ensure that all of its members are as dedicated as possible to strengthening their relationship with Bowdoin after they graduate.

After 21 seasons of leading the men's lacrosse team, Head Coach Tom McCabe officially announced his departure from the Department of Athletics on Monday. McCabe will stay through the spring season, and plans to join the Peace Corps with his wife next year.

Though more than 140 students from eight different colleges attended the New England Small College Queer Summit last weekend, it was an intimate affair: The theme of this year's conference was "The 'Sex' in Sexuality."

The Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) meeting on Wednesday featured a discussion of chem-free housing at Bowdoin, and the allotment of $2,000 for multicultural programming.

Bowdoin experienced a premature taste of winter when a record-breaking snowstorm hit the East Coast Halloween weekend. Beginning Saturday night and continuing through Sunday morning, the storm spread throughout Maine, covering the Midcoast area in five inches of snow.

After an unexpected setback in plans and some last-minute scrambling, WBOR finalized its plans for the fall concert last Friday: Indie rock outfit Surfer Blood and alternative rapper Kreayshawn will perform tonight in Smith Union.

After a fall season that included 338 participants, the intramural (IM) sports leagues came to a close last weekend with the flag football championships. For the first time ever, this year's IM lineup included a badminton group. Started by Rob Byzantine '14, it boasted 35 participants. Tennis is also a new addition to the IM repertoire, as it started up only last fall.

The lists of allies and advocates are all across campus—anyone who's used a bathroom at Bowdoin has seen an OutPeer, OutAlly or SafeSpace "bathroom list."

Academics have set out to prove that horror movies are worth more than a cheap rental for a middle school slumber party. In an uncertain moment in history, the genre may provide valuable insight into our culture, our values, and above all, our fears.

Barry Mills praised the relationship between the Brunswick Police Department (BPD) and the Bowdoin community in his address to parents last Saturday, noting a positive shift in the last year and a half.

Occupy Wall Street is the best thing that has happened to the Democratic Party in a long time. Finally, a movement has come along to reveal a hard edge of a party that has been taking soft stances on too many issues for too many years.

On behalf of the Office of Multicultural Student Programs, Nylea Bivins '12 submitted a proposal to Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) on Wednesday seeking $12,500 to fund a multicultural event planned for the week after winter break.

To the Editors: My wife Tina and I were thrilled to attend the Sarah and James Bowdoin Day celebration last Friday on Parents Weekend, as two of our host students were honored.

The theatre department delayed its debut of "Doll House" after Lucas O'Neil '12 stepped down from his role as the show's male lead for personal reasons. Andre Demers, a Portland resident and 2010 graduate of Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., will be taking his place.

Between September and May of this academic year, a projected total of 215 students will study abroad in 46 different countries. Eighteen juniors will remain abroad for the entire year. The OCS has reported that this year an estimated 47.1 percent of the Class of 2013 will study abroad, a marginal increase from 46.8 percent of the Class of 2012.

The BCMA, having sustained the foot traffic from scores of Hopperphiles this fall, is trading coastlines for skylines in a tribute to another Maine artist. BCMA's newest exhibit, "After Atget: Todd Webb Photographs New York and Paris" opens today, featuring the photographs of Todd Webb (1905-2000) and his predecessor French photographer Eugène Atget (1857-1927).

The Brunswick Variety Deli increased its security measures following its September 29 burglary. During the early morning hours of that day, a burglar pried open the rear door of the deli, stealing change, cigarettes, and a safe containing $4,500.

A year ago, nobody would have guessed that the men's rugby team would be seeded first in the New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU). But after a 3-0 victory over Colby last week, the team is approaching its final weekend in good position.

At a recent convention of religious conservatives, Pastor Robert Jeffress used his introduction of Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry as an opportunity to attack rival candidate Mitt Romney's Mormon faith.

Bowdoin Health Services has switched the brand of its complimentary condoms from ONE to Trojan for the 2011-2012 academic year.

"There is no bad here... except for the things that aren't good." Reassurances like this are typical of filmmaker Jon Gunn, who led an engaging writing and directing workshop with humor and wit last Friday.

Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) members assembled Wednesday for their weekly meeting and voted on a variety of issues ranging from the reinstatement of student organization charters to the purchase of 200 movie tickets from Regal Cinema for student use.

Since he was 11, Matt Roberts '93 knew that he wanted to work for David Letterman.

At Super Snack last Saturday night, students might have noticed a mysterious lack of salt and pepper shakers in Thorne Dining Hall.

The Office of Safety and Security released the 2010 Annual Report on Campus Crime, Fires, Alcohol and Illegal Drugs in an email to the Bowdoin community on Monday. Changes in the numbers between 2009 and 2010 did not illustrate any conclusive themes. The annual report is federally mandated by the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1998.

The job market in academia is notoriously cut-throat. Colleges vie for the best professors to teach students and draw research grants, while newly-minted Ph.D.s must fight tooth-and-nail for visiting professorships, let alone tenure-track positions. So when it comes to the benefits packages offered by schools, professors are not usually in a position of leverage.

Although it's over six months away, Ivies is already generating buzz on campus. The Entertainment Board's (E-Board), recent survey—which received over 1,000 student responses—posed questions to determine what kind of concert Bowdoin students want for their Ivies Weekend.

There has been a good bit of coverage in the Orient about the decision to redirect the funding for Sunday evening chapel services. I thought it best to directly address this issue as this is an important matter for our community.

Strong performances by both the men and women's ultimate Frisbee teams at the Red Tide Clambake last weekend point to an exciting, competitive season for Bowdoin ultimate.

Members of Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) convened Wednesday for their first meeting of the year, where they discussed Judicial Board (J-Board) policy and renewed funding for several annual BSG initiatives. J-Board Chair RJ Shea '12 and Laura Lee, the assistant dean of student affairs, discussed the most recent annual J-Board report.

The Student Activities Funding Committee (SAFC) will propose a number of changes to club funding guidelines to Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) on November 1.

To the Editors: If Mr. Cespedes is incapable of discussing a sensitive topic without using hateful and hurtful speech, perhaps he should stay in college until he learns how to do it ("Forbidding hate speech contradicts need for open discourse," October 14).

The College's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions dropped 16 percent between fiscal year (FY) 2008 and FY 2011, according to reports released today. The reports—an annual update on GHG emissions and the first of what will be biennial updates to the 2009 Climate Neutrality Implementation Plan—were accompanied by a statement from President Barry Mills encouraging the campus to help the College achieve its goal of carbon neutrality by 2020.

As students complete their course registration forms, any number of forces shape their decisions about which classes to enroll in.

­Baila! A splash of infectious rhythm will be spicing up the Bowdoin music community when the Cimarrón Project, an Afro-Cuban all-star group specializing in rumba, danzón, and cha-cha, hits the scene today and tomorrow.

The Judicial Board (J-Board) recently released its 2010-2011 annual report in an email to students, faculty and staff.

I was almost in my 20s before I noticed a racial slur being used in a racist context. I had heard homophobic slurs, often maliciously fired toward any of those unfortunate enough to be late in hitting puberty. I had certainly heard sexist slurs, aimed at young girls.

We never felt the frosty winter air of that November night as we sat in the unusually crowded Shannon Room. There was a palpable sense of excitement, which diffused all over campus as students sang the national anthem at midnight.

I've been getting sick these past few weeks. Not from a virus, fungus or flu. Instead, my illness is verbal and it has only one symptom: "like."

The Office of Safety and Security is continuing to work with the Brunswick Police Department (BPD) to investigate the spate of recent bike thefts.

To the Editors: The Office of Multicultural Student Programs, within the Office of Student Affairs, has revoked funding for speakers at the Protestant chapel service. Why? At one service, a Freeport pastor read Chapter 1 of Paul's Letter to the Romans and suggested that homosexual conduct is inconsistent with Christian ethics, as reported in "BCF chapel service sparks controversy" (September 23).

With a 4-0 record, the men's water polo team has high hopes for a season that started two weeks ago at home with its first conference tournament of the year. The club team, led by captains Spencer Vespole '13 and Noah Perwin '12, beat its competition handily.

The women's rugby team will host Amherst tomorrow in its final game of the regular season. The team looks to continue its dominant play and close out the season undefeated before going into the playoffs next weekend.

A Bowdoin student reported seeing three teenage males stealing a bike outside of Druckenmiller Hall on Monday night at approximately 10:30 p.m. The student reported the incident to the Office of Safety and Security, continuing the ongoing investigation into a series of recent bicycle thefts.

The University of California, Berkeley was thrust into the spotlight this week after the Berkeley College Republicans held a controversial bake sale. The event was protesting a student initiative supporting a state Senate bill to allow race, gender and ethnicity to influence admissions decisions at California's public universities. The group's Facebook page listed the prices for its baked goods, which were intended to reflect the impropriety of affirmative action in the college admissions process: $2 for whites, $1.50 for Asians, $1 for Latinos, 75 cents for African-Americans, and 25 cents for Native Americans. All women received a 25-cent discount off those prices.

When we returned to Bowdoin this fall, we noticed changes around campus and most of them were positive.

Monsters will be invading Portland's Space Gallery tomorrow night. The punk-influenced, garage-pop trio Mango Floss features three Bowdoin alumni—Sarah Wood '10, Farhan Rahman '10, and Peter McLaughlin '10—and their debut album, "Monsters" features songs like "Godzilla" and "Sociopath." The group will be playing these songs and others from "Monsters" when they hit Space Gallery's stage.

A new campus publication is hitting the presses this semester. The Globalist, an international affairs magazine with chapters at various colleges and universities, will publish its first Bowdoin edition this semester under the leadership of juniors Max Staiger, Gus Vergara and Stanton Cambridge.

Burglars allegedly pried open the rear door of the Brunswick Variety Deli early Thursday morning, stealing cigarettes, change, and a drop safe with a combination.

To the Editors: As a proud graduate of the College, I am thrilled to hear that chapel is taking place in a school founded by evangelical Congregationalists.

Thanks to a string of successful performances, the women's sailing team is now 10th in the country in Sailing World's College Rankings, its first time on the list since 2003. The women's team finished eighth in the 16-team Regis Bowl at Boston University with a total of 94 points. The boats mixed rookies and veterans, as Emily McNeil '14 sailed with Charlotte Williamson '15 and Lizzy Hamilton '15 sailed with Isabel Low '13.

Bowdoin has announced that its endowment earned a return on investment of 22.3 percent, rising in value to $904.2 million in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, up from $753.5 million in fiscal year 2010. The increase in value is the College's sixth-highest single-year gain since 1970.

Bowdoin is set to get a technological makeover. The installation of a new student information system will allow students to register for courses online for the first time ever. Members of the Board of Trustees and President Barry Mills approved the purchase of the new information system, called Banner, at a May trustee meeting.

Unlike many other liberal arts colleges, Bowdoin's Career Planning Center (CPC) website does not display the post-graduate plans for the Class of 2011.

The Bowdoin Office of Safety and Security and the Brunswick Police Department (BPD) are continuing their investigations into a chain of recent burglaries on campus and the surrounding area. Following football practice on the afternoons of September 9 and 10, several students reported items missing from the football team's locker room in Pickard Field House, including cash, credit cards, cell phones, athletic apparel, a team playbook and stereo equipment.

In the aftermath of a Waterville Police Department (WPD) raid on an off-campus party last weekend, more than 50 Colby students are now facing alcohol-related charges.

Being excited is awesome. There is something truly wonderful contained in the feeling of excitement. Coming to college, after the monotonous final days of high school, I was thrilled: new classes, new teachers, new people, new parties, and new opportunities.

Last night beloved graduate and jazz prodigy, Ahmad Hassan Muhammad '10 graced Jack Magee's Pub. Ahmad Hassan Muhammad '10 approached the keyboard and by the time he and the Jaw Gems played their first song, the Pub was filled with a warm and friendly vibe.

The women's golf team continued its winning streak last weekend at the Maine State Collegiate Golf Championship in Cumberland. Over the course of two days, Bowdoin trumped Bates by a combined score of 745 to 786. Three Bowdoin players—Kendall Kyritz '15, Ursula Munger '15 and captain Chelsea Gross '13—carded below 93 in the Sunday round that ultimately decided the tournament. Kyritz scored 182 for her two-day total, making her the lowest-shooting Polar Bear for the second tournament in a row.

Last Sunday's weekly chapel service hosted by the Bowdoin Christian Fellowship (BCF) was interrupted when two students, of about 50 in attendance, walked out of the chapel in reaction to what they considered to be homophobic remarks.

The other day, I was reading through the Office of Safety and Security's crime log when I came across a report that an underage student had used a fake ID, bought alcohol, and provided it to other minors in Osher Hall.

Drivers and bicyclists are on a collision course. Starting September 28, Maine law will prohibit texting while driving a motor vehicle, something Nichols said is important to note since "we are all guilty of it...from time to time."

The volleyball team took home three wins in the opening matches of NESCAC play last weekend. Victories against Bates, Roger Williams and Colby bring the Polar Bears' winning streak to six and improve the team's overall season record to 7-1. It all began last Friday when Bowdoin defeated Colby 3-1 at home, with scores of 25-16, 16-25, 25-14 and 25-17.

After a 25-0 victory over Williams in its opening tournament two weeks ago, Bowdoin defeated its NESCAC rival again last Saturday by the same score. The Polar Bears have yet to allow a point this season and have scored 127 points in four games. Said Head Coach MaryBeth Mathews, "It really was a different game and I think that from my perspective any time a team gets beaten they're going to come back with a lot of determination and they did."

As the news of last spring's hockey hazing has spread across campus, members of the Bowdoin community have debated the merits of the College's response.

This year's Shameless Plugs lineup features Bowdoin-affiliated bands that promise to return some of the Ivies spirit to campus, if only just for one night. The headlining acts, Eleven and Great Caesar, will grace the stage in Smith Union Saturday night with exciting new sets.

At the recital of Visiting Artist-in-Residence George Lopez this past Saturday, the pianist brought the crowd to its feet not just after the concert's final measure, but after every single piece—a true honor given that standing ovations are not casually awarded at classical music concerts.

On September 11, 2011, I stood in front of the American flag and wept for the people who perished on that black day. I also wept in shame. Ten years have passed since the attacks, and yet I can still never forget what I felt the day those planes hit the towers: nothing.

The men's tennis team had a mixed showing last weekend at the third annual Stony Brook Invitational. Bowdoin net two singles flight championships, though it failed to put any doubles teams into the finals. Captain Oscar Peña '12 battled hard through the A bracket to win all four of his singles matches, while Sam King '14 cruised to victory through Flight B without losing a set. Peña's matches all lasted three sets, a testament to his endurance over the weekend.

The debt ceiling deal passed this summer may have saved the United States from defaulting, but it has not changed much. While the deal cuts at least $2.1 trillion over the course of a decade, it also raises the debt ceiling by up to $2.4 trillion, resulting in what some advocates tout as a budget deficit of only about $300 billion. So it would seem.

The soccer teams traveled and fell together last Saturday after similar upsets in their first conference games of the season at Wesleyan. Both the men and women battled past regulation time, but were ultimately defeated by the Cardinals' soccer squads 3-2 and 2-1, respectively. On the men's side, Wesleyan led early, scoring two goals in the first half. Bowdoin first year Sam White responded by heading in a shot, assisted by Nick Powell '12.

In its season debut, the men's golf team finished fourth at the Bowdoin Invitational at the Brunswick Golf Club last weekend. Ten teams, including NESCAC rivals Williams, Bates and Tufts, participated in the event, and Husson University claimed the tournament after posting a combined score of 616. The school beat second-place St. Anslem's College by 14 strokes, with Williams (641), Bowdoin (650) and Endicott (652) rounding out the top five finishers. Bowdoin's top finisher was captain Johnny Bohorquez '13, who tied for fourth place individually with Tufts' Seb Vik and Williams' Dylan Dethier. All three golfers posted combined scores of 155.

Safety and Security and the Brunswick Police Department (BPD) are on the lookout after a flurry of burglaries struck campus this past weekend.

To the Editors: Upon reading the opinion piece "President Mills should also be Professor Mills" (September 9, 2011), the unfounded and incoherent nature of the author's argument troubled me.

The women's golf team earned their first victory this Sunday against Bates at the eponymous Bowdoin Blast, hosted by the Brunswick Golf Club. The Polar Bears won with a combined score of 375 to 400. Bowdoin's Kendall Kyritz '15 was the medalist in her first collegiate golf event (carding at 92), followed by Taylor Guiffre '14 and Bates' Bridget Dunn.

The new edition of the U.S. News and World Report rankings of America's best colleges and universities brings little new to the liberal arts world.

The women's cross country team hopes to rebound this fall after losing four of its top seven runners from last season. Last year, Bowdoin was second in the state meet and placed seventh out of 51 teams at the regional meet. In the preseason national women's coaches poll, Bowdoin was the 40th-ranked D-III college.

While most fall athletes spent the last weeks of summer gearing up for the upcoming season, the sports information office was hard at work on a different kind of offseason workout: redesigning the athletics webpage. Sports Information Director Jim Caton worked with a team of students on the project, in conjunction with Presto Sports, a company which hosts numerous collegiate athletic websites.

For many in the current Bowdoin community, the name Greason may only evoke the image of the glossy tile of the College's swimming pool. Yet the man behind the name—A. Leroy Greason, former Bowdoin professor, dean and president—died in Brunswick on August 28, leaving a legacy that continues to influence the lives of many individuals and the College itself.

It is extraordinary to think that it has been 10 years. A decade. In roughly a year, I will have spent more time in the post-9/11 world than in the pre-9/11 world.

This summer the Bowdoin College Museum of Art (BCMA) offered an educational opportunity for two Bowdoin students to become engaged in museum work from the other side of the velvet ropes. Juniors Molly Clements and Max Brandstadt served as student educational assistants and assisted Curator Joachim Homann in preparing the exhibition, "Along the Yangzi River: Regional Culture of the Bronze Age from Hunan."

Instead of packing up their dorm rooms in the final days of last semester, players on the women's lacrosse team were busy making program history in New York. After an 11-9 victory over The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) on May 21, Bowdoin advanced to the NCAA D-III championship game against Gettysburg the following day.

The Bowdoin College Museum of Art's exhibition, "Edward Hopper's Maine," is one of its most successful to date. Andrew W. Mellon Curator Fellow Diana Tuite co-curated the exhibition with Director Kevin Salatino. Tuite remarked that in the exhibit's first month alone, "approximately 15,000 people have visited the show, whereas annual attendance is usually around 25,000."

Students returned to campus to find that a number of changes had been made to several buildings.

As I flew south over the Appalachian mountains toward Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport this past July, I looked upon a familiar sight. I have visited this nation more times than I can count; I have been to 22 of the 50 states and I have lived in two. I have travelled across half the country by Amtrak and I have taken road trips through the arid southwest.

The women's soccer team kicked off its season yesterday with a dominant 3-0 shutout win in a non-league game against the University of Southern Maine Huskies. Bowdoin experienced several near misses from close-range shots in the early going and nearly put the game out of Southern Maine's reach within the first 10 minutes of play.

While many of the changes this year are visibly noticeable, one of the most important improvements to life at Bowdoin is invisible to the naked eye. Per federal order, Bowdoin has revised its sexual assauly and harrassement policy, though Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster said the changes are slight.

In an effort to raise awareness of instances of discrimination on campus, the Office of Student Affairs has introduced a "Campus and Community Index" and made specific changes to the first year Orientation program.

To the editors: My name is Todd Lamoreau. Some of you may have known me as the physical therapist on campus here at Bowdoin for the past seven years. I was also the athletic trainer for the women's volleyball team for the past three years.

To the Editors: I found Thomas Klingenstein's piece "Klingenstein defends Claremont Review essay" (April 29) interesting.

The dialogue about difference and bias at Bowdoin will continue on Sunday, and students and administrators are hard at work to ensure the conversation is not silenced by the end of the school year. "I Am Bowdoin" leaders have organized a nighttime walk around campus and into town entitled "Belonging in Brunswick," and they are hoping for a strong turnout.

As the campus recuperates from another Ivies, students and administrators alike are reflecting on the highs and lows of the weekend. From Thursday's Racer X concert to Pinestock on Saturday, many agree that this year's springtime celebration went off without a major hitch. The weekend's events were a culmination of planning and coordination by the Entertainment Board (E-Board), Dining Service, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) and the Office of Safety and Security.

Though Ivies has passed and the Whittier Field stage has been dismantled, the music isn't about to stop. Quadzilla, a music festival sponsored by Bowdoin Music Collective (BMC), will throw the spotlight on student performers tonight on the Brunswick Quad from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.

The comprehensive fee to attend Bowdoin will be going up. Just how much, however, remains to be seen. When the Board of Trustees meets next weekend, voting on and accepting a comprehensive fee for fiscal year (FY) 2012 will be one of the major tasks on its itinerary.

Scholarly excellence can be rewarded in a variety of ways. If you are a chemistry major, your possible prizes range from a certificate to a Merck Index. On the other hand, if you are majoring in government and legal studies, you can apply for the Philo Sherman Bennett Prize Fund and, if successful, could walk away with close to $200. "There is no 'one size fits all' for departmental prizes," said Senior Vice President for Administration and Treasurer Katy Longley. "First, the terms of the prize may vary; one fund may designate the size of the prize, and another may leave the size of the prize to the discretion of the department. Second, some prizes, such as certain book awards, carry no monetary value."

For a generation growing up in the shadow of September 11, the death of Osama Bin Laden is a watershed moment—the figure so often portrayed as the epitome of evil is no more. Though many American students felt closure and celebrated the death of Bin Laden, many others felt deep ambivalence about the event and its potential consequences.

The men's tennis team finished its regular season in style, with two wins over rivals Trinity and Colby last weekend. On Friday, the 14th-ranked Polar Bears defeated the 15th-ranked Bantams 7-2 at Harvard.

To the Editors: I would like to take this opportunity to ask all my friends and supporters to call off the wildly successful boycott of the Brunswick community I proposed in my hugely popular November 5 letter, "Brunswick community intolerant of students." Though we will never be certain our point has been made, at this point the human toll has simply become too much for me to ask you to continue. We've had a good run.

As part of her self-designed major, bridging the theater and film departments, Jillian Eddy '12 presented her honors project "Jackie and Johnny's Friday Night Fright Show" yesterday night. Combining film collages with live theatrics and music, Eddy brought together multiple art mediums for a truly unique performance.

After a year of work, Information Technology (IT) and the Student Web Advisory Team (SWAT) have officially launched the redesigned student digest, the Bowdoin Orbit. Although still in its trial period, the Bowdoin Orbit will eventually phase out the Student Digest. It will be married with a gateway that boasts discussion boards and a newsfeed compilation from student blogs and websites.

It makes all those mornings of getting up early worthwhile. Last weekend, the crew team cleaned up last weekend in Worchester, Mass. at the at the New England Rowing Championship, which hosts approximately 1,200 athletes representing 36 schools.

Toby Zitsman '13 decided to spend Tuesday night on a couch in Moulton Union's lobby in hopes of being the first in line for Wednesday's Phase II course registration, which began at 7:30 a.m. As it happened, his desperate efforts were unnecessary. "I slept over on one of the couches, but I didn't really need to," said Zitsman, who turned out to be the only person to camp out in a break with the tradition of recent years, when numerous students elected to sleep in Moulton Union on the night before Phase II registration.

The softball team ended its season on a strong note with a 1-0 victory over Bates on Sunday. The game was the last of the season for both teams, who were both eliminated prior to the NESCAC postseason tournament.

Community service and civic participation are deeply ingrained in the Bowdoin ethos. In a testament to these principles, Samantha Collins '11, Sarah Pritzker '11 and Associate Professor of Education Charles Dorn were recently honored by the Maine Campus Compact (MCC) for their ongoing commitment to these pillars of the College.

The men's track team traveled to Wesleyan last weekend to compete in the NESCAC Track and Field Championships, where the Polar Bears claimed sixth place.

Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) convened on Wednesday for its final meeting of the 2010-2011 academic year. BSG dealt with a proposed name change to the "Vice President for Facilities" position. The proposal would change the name to "Vice President for Facilities and Sustainability," reaffirming the College's stance on reducing its environmental footprint.

The campus came alive with the sound of music last Saturday night with an unexpected recital of the Chapel bells. In what appears to be an Ivies prank, an unidentified person entered the Chapel and set off the bells at approximately 1:30 a.m., causing them to ring for roughly 30 minutes until 2 a.m.

The women's tennis team wrapped up a successful regular season with a commanding 9-0 victory over Wellesley College this past Saturday on the road.

Concussion expert Chris Nowinski of the Sports Legacy Institute (SLI) will speak on the treatment, prevention and subject of head injuries on Friday, May 13 in Pickard Theater. Nowinski, author of "Head Games: Football's Concussion Crisis," is co-director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at the Boston University School of Medicine and was an All-Ivy football player during his time at Harvard.

The sailing team finished its spring season at the Morris Trophy, hosted by BU, with a squad composed entirely of underclassmen. Coach Frank Pizzo called the event "a preview of next year's team."

Anna Nutter '11 will experience history first-hand this week in a unique kind of road trip. Nutter was recently selected to participate in an exclusive experiential learning program called the 2011 Student Freedom Ride. Along with 39 other college students, Nutter will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the May 1961 Freedom Rides with a 10-day bus trip starting today in Washington D.C.

The College recently elevated four faculty members to endowed chair positions in recognition of their work in various fields of study.

The question, "when are you free?" never seems to have a quick and easy answer. Seniors Ben Johnson, Nathan Merritt and Houston Kraft may have found a solution to this problem, however, with their new iPhone app, Free Time. "It basically looks at your calendar from a new perspective," said Kraft. "It imports the calendar from your phone, and shows the blocks of free time when you are available, and you can quickly share those with people."

Men's tennis coach Colin Joyner '03 is the only male to be openly gay as a collegiate athletics coach—ever.

After opening with last night's Racer X concert, Ivies Weekend 2011 is officially underway. From the Entertainment Board (E-Board) to the Dining Service, students and administrators have been hard at work preparing for the College's annual weekend of campus-wide celebrations, concerts and general revelry.

Yesterday, Eda Cufer's lecture "Art Between Globalism & Communism: Reimagining the State" examined how artistic movements in Eastern Europe reacted to the fall of the communist regime between 1989 and 1992.

After reaching 20 wins earlier this week with a sweep over UNE, the softball team dropped two games to Husson on Wednesday night.

To the Editors: How does Professor of Social Sciences Jean Yarbrough conclude that the college lacks "intellectual and political" diversity ("Bowdoin should examine its lack of diversity," April 22, 2011)?

Beginning last week, members of the Young Alumni Leadership Program (YALP) began tabling in Smith Union on behalf of the Senior Pledge Initiative (SPI), a program which aims to spread awareness among the senior class regarding how they can give back to the College in the years following graduation.

As finals loom and the relaxation enjoyed during Spring Break becomes a distant memory, the skepticism surrounding AddSeven.com—which was launched soon after students returned from vacation in March—has also faded away. The website is the brainchild of seniors Yoni Ackerman and Noah Isaacson, and in the month since the site launched, 717 Bowdoin students registered. Now, Ackerman and Isaacson have expanded to include networks for Bates, Colby and Middlebury.

The women's tennis team finished its most difficult road trip of the season last weekend with a 2-1 record, improving its overall season record to 11-5 and the NESCAC conference record to 4-4.

As far as fellowships are concerned, Bowdoin has struck gold. This year, Bowdoin students have been honored with a number of prestigious awards, including two Udall Scholarships, a Beinecke Scholarship, a Goldwater Scholarship, six National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships and various Fulbright Scholarships.

The women's track team ran away with first place out of a field of six last Saturday at the annual Aloha Relays, which took place at Magee-Samuelson Track and marked the team's only home meet of the season.

With the final polls for Bowdoin Student Government's (BSG) spring elections closing this past Sunday, the final BSG positions for the 2011-2012 academic year have been determined.

The men's track team traveled to Lewiston amid a downpour over the weekend to compete in the Maine State Meet. The Polar Bears amassed 175 points and were runner-up to Bates, who scored 251 points.

Last Wednesday, Joseph Taylor dove to the depths of American history in a talk on his work surveying the continent's marine landscape. Marine environmental history aims "to historicize the nature of oceans and put that in conversation with human history," said Taylor, associate professor of history and geography at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia.

The women's rugby team will host a clinic and then scrimmage next Thursday afternoon against the Portland U-19 team comprised of local high school players.

Despite a brief shift in furnishing this weekend, all has returned to normal in the "dark room" of the dining hall at Moulton Union. Students were surprised to find the dining room tables in a different arrangement than normal when they arrived for a meal. Instead of being arranged in identical rows, the tables had been rotated about 45 degrees and sat in rows of varying length.

Tempestuous weather and a temperamental breeze throughout New England challenged the sailing team on the last major competition weekend of the year, but the Polar Bears stepped up with a solid performance nevertheless.

While Bowdoin students celebrate Ivies on the football field, alums in San Francisco will be having a party of their own. Nalgenes, Bowdoin logs, and the "spirit of Ivies" will appear on the West Coast this Saturday for the first ever San Francisco Ivies, an event organized by alumni from the Class of 2008. "We're extremely fortunate to have a really huge Bowdoin community out here," said Kate Ambush '08, who helped plan the event. "We were kind of hanging out and we thought, 'Hey, Ivies is coming soon...wouldn't it be great if we could hold the same kind of event here in San Francisco?'"

A fire at 45 Maine Street on Sunday caused significant damage to the three-story commercial and residential building. The damage was deemed to be too significant to repair and led authorities to raze the building to the ground. The official cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The men's lacrosse team will play at Williams this Saturday for a spot in this season's NESCAC championship tournament and a chance to take home a NESCAC title.

Since the birth of the "I Am Bowdoin" effort six weeks ago, student leader Nylea Bivins '12 says the campus is in "a place that I've never seen it in before." Following the Sunday night community meeting on March 6 and the "I Am Bowdoin" rally on March 10—both in response to the March 1 Coles Tower bias incident—students and the administration have aggressively worked to raise awareness about issues of bias.

This fall will mark my 23rd year of teaching political philosophy and American political thought at Bowdoin. I dearly love this college and want to do everything that I can to see Bowdoin be the best that it can be. But love requires honesty, and Thomas Klingenstein's essay provides us with the opportunity to examine one area where we are notably deficient: intellectual and political diversity.

The women's lacrosse team rolled over Bates on Wednesday evening, notching another impressive win to bring their total tally to 10-2 (5-2 NESCAC). With the victory, the women are now ranked 12th in the nation.

Last week, Thomas Klingenstein published an article in the Claremont Review of Books discussing President Barry Mills and Bowdoin College. In his article, which was covered in the April 15 edition of the Orient, Klingenstein charges that Bowdoin is "antiseptically" liberal and that President Mills endorses this bias. Though the article is meant to criticize the widespread "liberal tilt" which he sees as plaguing all of higher education, Mr. Klingenstein makes his case through a personal attack on President Mills and Bowdoin College. We found his comments about Bowdoin to be both condescending and factually incorrect.

Dr. Owen Mason brought the prehistoric artic to life in his presentation about prehistoric whaling on the Bering Strait on Tuesday.

After polls closed for the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) elections last Sunday, the results were almost immediately sent to students via email. Derek Brooks '12 will serve as BSG president for the 2011-2012 academic year. Brian Kim '13 was elected treasurer, Dani Chediak '13 won the race for vice president of student organizations, and Chase Taylor '12 was successful in his bid to become vice president of facilities.

The men's tennis team put up a valiant fight against Middlebury in its match last Saturday. Though ranked behind Middlebury, Bowdoin came within a point of an upset.

The scathing critique of President Barry Mills and the College's perceived lack of intellectual diversity, which appeared in the latest issue of the conservative Claremont Review of Books, triggered several responses from members of the College's faculty this week.

Internationally-acclaimed Chicano poet, artist and scholar Tino Villanueva came to campus on Monday to give a reading of his work and speak about poetry's connection to the Chicano experience.

According to a BBC analyst, "All sides are starting to realize the U.S. government cannot keep overspending. For every dollar it spends, 40 cents are now borrowed. If the government was a normal household and was forced to pay normal interest rates, the US would already have declared bankrupt." These words reflect the vast amount of money that the federal government is borrowing to finance continued deficit spending. With the debt at 97.4 percent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP), neither party has offered a serious plan to reduce the debt.

Liberal arts students in colleges like Middlebury, Williams, Amherst and Bowdoin are accustomed to answering the question, "What are you doing with your life after graduation?" As students are often forced to choose a career path more focused than their college studies, many decide to continue their education in graduate school.

At Bowdoin, where students share roughly similar learning abilities, it can be easy to overlook the challenges facing children with special needs. But for photojournalist Dan Habib, the issue of mainstreaming special needs students into the public education system is not only pertinent—it is personal. His documentary “Including Samuel,” to be screened at Bowdoin today, chronicles his family’s experiences after his son, Samuel, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

While many Bowdoin seniors are searching for jobs or preparing for graduate school, Josh Magno '11 is packing his suitcase. Magno was awarded a prestigious Watson Fellowship and will spend the next year traveling the world, spending time in at least five different countries completing his project "5, 6, 7, 8, Instep, Outreach: An Exploration of Dance as Community Service."

In its third meet of the season, the women's track team posted strong individual results at the New Hampshire Invitational last Saturday.

To the Editors: I am responding to Megan Massa's April 15 letter "'I am Bowdoin' event photo lacked diversity" because I feel that it needs to be understood that this commenter is part of the problem. The idea that pictures should be staged and created in order to satisfy everyone in a demographic is absurd. This is a picture of a group of participants, male and female.

On Wednesday, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) met to discuss the first year book proposal, as well as a variety of other measures.

The women's rugby team will travel to the Cumberland Fairgounds this weekend to compete in the Maine Collegiate Rugby Tournament.

To the Editors: Here is a question I have about the entirety of Thomas Klingenstein's essay ("Essay in Claremont Review rips Barry Mills' convocation," April 15), from the he-said-she-said about what happened on the links to the speculative statistics about how many Republicans are on Bowdoin's faculty: Who cares?

Beginning today and continuing through Sunday, Bowdoin's own Northern Bites (NB) will host the 2011 RoboCup U.S. Open for the Standard Platform League in Watson Arena. This is the third consecutive year that the College has hosted the tournament.

The coed sailing squad slugged it out on the high seas at New England Championships last weekend, while the women's team took one last weekend to prepare for its own championship regatta, which takes place on Saturday at Bowdoin.

To the Editors: The Brunswick Teen Center Program @ People Plus wants to thank Kat Flaherty '11 and the Bowdoin women's basketball, rugby, soccer and volleyball teams for scooping, as well as the a cappella group that performed, at this year's Fool's Eve Fiasco event at The Gelato Fiasco on March 31. We would also like to thank the many Bowdoin faculty, staff and students who came by to enjoy some great gelato and support our program! The Teen Center teens enjoyed a field trip to The Gelato Fiasco once again, each getting a dish of gelato courtesy of the McKeen Center for the Common Good!

"Consent is Sexy" week, an initiative coordinated by the Alliance for Sexual Assault Prevention (ASAP), wraps up today after highlighting issues surrounding sexual assault this past week.

Though his book won the Society of Africanist Archaeologists Book Prize, Professor of Anthropology Scott MacEachern did not return from the ceremony in Dakar with a gold statuette commemorating the achievement. "I think I got a beer out of it," he said, smiling. But though the prize itself may have been slight, the book's impact is sure to be less modest.

The Student Web Advisory Team (SWAT) has spent the past year working on two coordinated projects; redesigning the campus digest and the student gateway. The Bowdoin community will soon see at least one portion of the team's extensive labor come to fruition; pending the finalized technical details, SWAT will start testing the new digest at the beginning of next week.

The University of Southern Maine softball team has provided opponents with wins all season, and that continued last night as Bowdoin beat the Huskies 7-1 and 5-2 in a doubleheader yesterday. USM is now 2-24.

Tour guides often say that a good wireless Internet connection is available everywhere on campus, even in the Bowdoin Pines. Yet over the past few weeks, students have been forced to endure faulty connections, long loading times and inaccessible websites, no matter the location.

Dr. N. Bruce Duthu, professor & chair of Native American studies at Dartmouth College, was invited to campus to speak today about tribal sovereignty.

The Polar Bears had strong results in both coed and women's events last weekend, an encouraging performance as the team looks to continue to improve in the coming weeks.

After three and a half years of women's rugby at Bowdoin, senior Becky Stevens is looking to claim a spot on the under-23 New England Rugby team.

In light of the earthquake that devastated Sendai, Japan and many other areas of the country on March 11, the Asian Students Association (ASA) decided to reorganize its annual week of cultural events as a fundraiser for the Japanese Red Cross.

To the Editors: We are grateful to Associate Professor of English Peter Coviello and others in the Bowdoin community who were our hosts on campus last week during "Writing for Money," a series of conversations with students about the various ways they can build careers in the media.

To the Editors: I am afraid I must express discontent with an image displayed in one of your recent articles. Accompanying the April 1 article, "'I am Bowdoin' promotes diversity awareness," was a rather misleading image. As a representative group on campus, "I am Bowdoin" strives to bridge the boundaries between race, sexuality, socio-economic class, religion, gender and other sources of difference among Bowdoin students so to create a more cohesive, unified campus environment.

To the Editors: In Charles Cubeta's April 8 article "Pepper flipping tradition has raised the stakes since 2004," I feel I must for posterity's sake reveal the true origins of this campus phenomenon.

The arrival of the weekend and warm spring weather will not be the only thing celebrated on campus today, as the second annual "Proud of My Whole Self" Day will honor connections between identity and expression.

The men's tennis team posted a late comeback in its two final singles matches to topple 20th-ranked MIT last Friday. The Bears, ranked 14th in the nation, improved to 7-2.

Last night, a full audience in Wish Theater was presented again, again and again by the stark themes of loopdriver.

The women's tennis team came out on top with an 8-1 victory in its match against Colby yesterday afternoon. With this win, the Polar Bears improved their record to 8-3 (2-3 NESCAC).

With the last of the massive snow drifts finally disappearing from campus, numerous students will take advantage of the spring weather to get outdoors and participate in tomorrow's 10th annual Eco Service Day.

Last night, the Alcohol Team (A-Team), Athletics Department and Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) announced that Fitness Center hours will be extended through the rest of the semester. In a campus-wide email, the groups indicated that the Buck Fitness Center will remain open until midnight on Thursday and Friday nights, and until 10 p.m. on Saturday nights, as of last night.

They say comedy is an antidote to the times; if so, the performance of comedian Hari Kondabolu '04 was a fitting end to the fundraising efforts of Asian Week.

Last weekend, the men's track team bussed to Springfield College to compete in a tri-meet with the hosts and with Middlebury. The meet started off with a dynamite performance by James Boeding '14 in the 3000-meter steeplechase.

After 10 years putting together her investigative documentary, Judit Helfand showcased the product of her labors, "Cooked," to students yesterday.

The women's outdoor track team sprung into action last weekend at the Springfield Invitational with a third-place finish behind Springfield and Middlebury.

Following the candidate debates on Monday, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) met briefly on Wednesday evening to continue discussion of guest meal plans and gender-neutral housing.

Facing a budget deficit of $3.9 million, Superintendent of the Brunswick School District Paul Perzanoski announced a proposal last week to close Jordan Acres School. In addition to closing the school, which is located at 75 Jordan Avenue in Brunswick and enrolls kindergarten through second-grade students, Perzanoski's plan calls for laying off 32 employees. According to Perzanoski, closing the school would save the district more than $1 million.

As part of the College's long-standing efforts to reach beyond its borders, events sponsored by the Wabanaki collaborative will headline on campus today and tomorrow.

The women's rugby team will continue its spring training season in a match against Merrimac College Friday evening.

After receiving approval from the Town of Brunswick yesterday, the plan to demolish the J.H. Bowker Double House in order to build a parking lot will proceed, according to Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer Catherine Longley.

Yesterday, students got a taste of German cinema directly from an expert in the field.

Associate Professor of History and Environmental Science Matthew Klingle was recently awarded the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation's prestigious New Directions Fellowship, which was presented to only 15 scholars nationwide.

The crew team began its official spring season this past weekend at the 'Big Three' Regatta in Amherst, Mass.

Wes Jackson, founder and current president of The Land Institute, spoke to a packed house in Kresge Auditorium on Monday in a talk entitled "Consulting the Genius of Place: An Ecological Approach to a New Agriculture."

Norah Maki '09 returns to Bowdoin today to give a lecture on her collections of prints, "May I Trespass on Your Valuable Space," which are being displayed in the Fishbowl Gallery on the first floor of the Visual Arts Center.

Peculiar events are commonplace in Bowdoin dining halls, but sightings of a student army crawling across the ground, singing a Miley Cyrus song, or serving as waitstaff does not warrant a second look due to the campus-wide craze of pepper-flipping. "Getting pepper flipped" is a common experience for Bowdoin students, but one sure to raise eyebrows from outsiders. Pepper flipping is a game that has turned into a unique social phenomenon at Bowdoin. The current version runs as follows: a student makes a challenge or bet to another student, such as "If I land this pepper flip, you have to serve me dessert." If, and only if, the chosen student consents to this task, the first student will pick up the closest pepper shaker and attempt to flip it in the air. If the tossed pepper shaker completes at least a single rotation and lands upright, then the bet must be fulfilled. There are two golden rules essential to the game. The first is that there must be only one flip per meal.

After over a year of negotiations between the Town of Brunswick and the College regarding the soon-to-be-vacated Longfellow Elementary School, the town moved one step closer toward approving a proposed swap of the College's McLellan Building for the Longfellow property at Monday night's special Town Council meeting.

We have all been shocked at the terrible destruction wrought by the triple-crisis of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident in Sendai, Japan last month. Almost a month after the disasters struck, over 12,000 people are dead and another 15,000 still missing. The story no longer dominates the front pages, but the emotional and physical suffering of hundreds of thousands of survivors continues.

Over the weekend, men's tennis established itself as the team to beat, easily dispatching Tufts on Sunday and Wesleyan on Monday. The Polar Bears now have a record of 6-2 (2-0 NESCAC).

While some alumni return to campus for reunions and others make the trip for homecoming weekend, there is one unique reason for former students to come back to campus—weddings. Although the chapel stands in a central location on campus and serves as the backdrop for a variety of student activities, hosting weddings is one of its many functions that goes relatively unnoticed. The chapel is available for weddings all year, though summer weddings are generally more popular, and restrictions are applied around this time to ensure that members of the Bowdoin community have first priority when selecting dates. "May through October we give preference to people that have a Bowdoin connection," said Director of Events

Last night, as part of National Poetry Month, poet Gabrielle Calvocoressi performed a reading of her work after being invited by associate editor of the Bowdoin Magazine and From the Fishouse co-founder Matthew O'Donnell.

On Saturday night, the Entertainment Board (E-Board) received word that Local Natives, an indie band from Los Angeles, would no longer be able to perform at Ivies. Working quickly, the E-Board inquired for and received a contract from Dr. Dog, a Philadelphia-based psychedelic rock band, to serve as a replacement. The band will join the remaining lineup, Mac Miller and Janelle Monáe, at the April 30 concert.

The lingering winter weather in the northeast has cooled down Bowdoin's hot streak, as the baseball team struggled against NESCAC rival Amherst College.

Twenty-eleven marks one year after the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, one year before the supposed apocalypse—and the 40th anniversary of dance at Bowdoin. The dance40@bowdoin celebration kicks off with a performance by Keigwin + Company tomorrow night.

Scores of Bowdoin students were left disappointed this week when College House decisions were mailed out on Monday. In a year that saw a record number of applicants, the Office of Residential Life had the hard task of choosing from over 300 applications for only 206 spots.

I bought a pair of Bean Boots last winter. When I dug them out of the closet a few months ago, they looked old and torn. Because I know that L.L.Bean will exchange my boots for a new pair, no questions asked, I'm tempted to drive to Freeport and redeem a new pair of boots. What constitutes an abuse of L.L.Bean's return policy?

The Bowdoin College softball team successfully sweeped the University of Maine-Farminton in a doubleheader on Thursday afternoon.

April Fools has come and gone, but AddSeven—and the whirlwind of questions surrounding the website—remains. Despite a rumor that the new social networking site AddSeven.com was an April Fools joke, the site has been gaining popularity on campus since it was launched on the weekend of March 26; on Monday alone, the site's homepage attracted over 5,000 hits.

The men's lacrosse team will look to avenge last year's NESCAC semifinal loss to Middlebury when the Panthers come to Brunswick this Saturday.

To the Editors: I am surprised to see in your April 1 issue the Art Smart "Female suicide bombings and Hinduism focus of Harman's lecture." In the article, William P. Harman, professor in the department of philosophy and religion at the University of Tennessee, tries to couple the Sri Lankan Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Homeland (LTTE) suicide bombers with Hindu folk worship of the deceased women. The latter is usually the result of local factors and is not practiced for any political reasons. And more often than not, Hindu folk worship of women stems from an affirmation rather than a rejection of life.

The women's tennis team easily dispatched the Wesleyan Cardinals 8-1 last Saturday in its home opener. The 12th-ranked Polar Bears remain unbeaten in D-III play as their record improves to 7-1 overall and 2-0 in the NESCAC.

Professor of Philosophy Scott Sehon said he is looking forward to Bowdoin's first-ever Veritas Forum because he thinks "it's a good thing for there to be more dialogue between religious perspectives and secular perspectives." But one might ask Professor Sehon for a more precise definition of the word "good"—exactly the question he is going to have to answer during next Thursday's forum.

The sailing team faced blustery conditions last weekend as it raced to prepare for the New England Championships, which begin in only one week.

On Wednesday evening, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) had its first meeting since Spring Break. The meeting opened with a discussion of instituting guest meals at the dining halls. At-Large Representative Tess Kramer '13 initiated the dialogue, stating that the idea was proposed to her by friends. "After friends brought it up, I talked to a lot of students to get opinions," she said. "Everyone agreed it would be a great idea."

Last Saturday, the Bowdoin Women in Business Club (BWIB) welcomed 15 female speakers to campus for its annual Bowdoin Women in Business Spring Convention. The convention gave female students the opportunity to learn more about career preparation, networking and leadership in areas ranging from media to technology.

I'd like to begin this week's column on a bit of a somber note. Last Sunday, former Yale women's hockey player Mandi Schwartz lost her battle with acute myeloid leukemia.

Under the recently instituted New York Times (NYT) website paywall, news comes at a price. Yet for members of the Bowdoin community, access will be subsidized. As of March 28, the NYT capped free online access at 20 articles per month and began charging $15 a month for unlimited computer and smart phone access. However, through the NYT Campus Newspaper Readership Program and Bowdoin Student Government (BSG), anyone with a Bowdoin email address is eligible for unlimited access at a discounted price of $11.28 a month.

Mariya Ilyas '13 is preaching what she practices. Ilyas was recently awarded funding from the Davis Project for Peace to create a high school journalism program at Al-Imtiaz Academy (AIA) in Abottabad, Pakistan, based on her experience working on newspapers in high school and at Bowdoin. The Davis Project for Peace provides each selected student $10,000 to implement their project ideas to achieve peace throughout the world.

To the casual observer, it might be easy to consider the various trends of struggling bookstores, folding magazines, and massive layoffs at the largest newspapers as indicative of an increasingly bleak landscape for people interested in making a career of writing. The reality is not as dire as the statistics may suggest.

After last night's Battle of the Bands, Smith Union is still ringing. Eight bands signed up to compete for the chance to be the opening act of the Ivies concert on April 30, with Call It The Truth coming out on top. Call It The Truth includes members Justin Foster '11, Nate Joseph '13, Mikel McCavana '12 and Fhiwa Ndou '13.

In the span of just 15 minutes, people from three separate vehicles yelled harassing language at two students near Howell House between 8:15 and 8:30 p.m. on April 2. According to Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols, people in the second car shouted a racial slur while those in the third called out a sexual slur; the language of the individuals in the first car was indiscernible.

Throughout the past week, the Africa Alliance has been hosting its first-ever "Africa in April" celebration. Organized by the 10 members of the student-run organization and sponsored by Africana studies and the music department, the week has already featured a number of programs to generate greater awareness and understanding of African culture.

The slew of Coles Tower thefts continue. Two more students reported having cash stolen from their rooms on the 13th floor of the tower on March 31. Although the exterior doors to their rooms had been locked, the bedroom doors were left unlocked, said Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols.

Next Wednesday, 10 local non profits and the committees of the Common Good Grant will gather together under one roof for a night of education, checks and Bowdoin Logs. Two student-run committees oversee the application process for the Common Good Grant. The grant committee comprises 12 students who review applications from local non profits and choose proposals to approve, while the extension committee is responsible for locating donors to enlarge the program.

One Security investigation has reached its conclusion. Over Winter Break, eight students received harassing phone calls from someone claiming to be a Bowdoin student, said Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols. Nichols said the calls were "not threatening, but inappropriate."

The American Cancer Society will come to the College as part of the 6th annual Relay for Life fundraiser. A sea of purple-clad students, staff and faculty from the College are expected to gather for 12 hours to raise money for cancer research. The overnight event, which begins at 6 p.m. and will continue through the night and early morning, anticipates more than 463 participants. As of press time, the organizers had raised more than $26,000.

The investigation to find the person or persons responsible for the March 1 bias incident in Coles Tower remains ongoing. Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols speculated that it was unlikely the party that wrote "I love Meatful Monday. F*g n***er" on a white board on the 15th floor of the building would come forward and confess at this point.

As a result of the discussion following the Coles Tower bias incident, the College may be adding new lighting around campus.

Recent graduates have proven that life after Bowdoin can lead to many paths, from designing cutting-edge fly-fishing technology to sports writing, to talking about sex. Scott Caras '08, a Government and Legal Studies and Anthropology double major, always had an avid interest in fly-fishing. While at Bowdoin, Caras and fellow students Ted Upton '07 and Max Key '08 would seek out fishing spots along the Androscoggin River and around Casco Bay and Popham Beach. While all three took corporate jobs after Bowdoin, they maintained a strong interest in fly-fishing. After gaining experience in business, the fishing buddies joined with Providence alumnus Peter Crommett in December 2009 to found Cheeky Fly Fishing, a manufacturing company targeted at what the website describes as "progressive fly fishermen."

In conjunction with the current exhibit at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, "Object of Devotion," the music department will sponsor "Requiem," a concert in Early Renaissance music by St. Mary Schola.

Fresh from a week of sailing in Florida, the Polar Bears returned to chilly New England to post strong results in Boston and Newport last weekend.

After almost three months of consideration, the Office of Admissions sent out regular decision letters for the Class of 2015 last Friday, March 25. This year's acceptance rate—15.6 percent—is notably lower than last year's, which was 19.7 percent. Admissions had initially targeted March 25 as the final date to mail decision letters, though letters were mailed out a day early last year.

While most avid baseball fans were glued to the TV yesterday for Major League Baseball's opening day, many followers could also be found checking their teams online. For some fans, opening day signals not only the beginning of the baseball season but, sometimes more important, the fantasy baseball season. The idea for fantasy baseball, according to ESPN, was first established in 1980 and was originally referred to as "Rotisserie Baseball" after the French restaurant where the creators met. It is now an empire that allows approximately six to seven million people to call the shots in their own leagues, drafting teams and making trades to compete for prizes ranging from bragging rights to cash.

"[It is] validating to be who you are—even if you had to fight to be who you are," said Assistant Professor of Africana Studies Judith Casselberry on attending the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival and producing the "Amazon 35 Project." On Friday, March 4, 2011, eight scholars gathered in Lancaster Lounge to celebrate black women's resistance. "Testify, Witness and Act: Black Women's Resistance" was co-sponsored by gender and women's studies and Africana studies, with support from the Edith Lansing Koon Sills Lecture Fund, the Women's Resource Center and the history department.

Since arriving in Brunswick over two decades ago, Bill Torrey has traveled the world over raising money for Bowdoin. As the College's chief development officer, it's not unusual for him to be in London one week and Los Angeles the next. Yet his days of tracking down alumni are numbered, as Torrey, senior vice president for planning and development, will step down from the post this coming June.

The women’s tennis team finished its Spring Break trip to California last Wednesday with two more victories, improving its record against D-III schools to 6-0.

Members of the Class of 2013 recently made decisions that were far from sophomoric. With the March 10 deadline for major declarations having come and gone, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Jim Higginbotham said there were a "couple of interesting trends" in the non-binding choices made by this year's sophomore class.

To the Editors: I am appalled by the racial hate speech incident reported in the March 4 issue of the Orient, "Bias Incident Strikes 15th Floor of Tower." It makes me wonder if the perpetrator has learned—or will learn—anything of value during his/her time at Bowdoin.

After 18 years of service to the College, Registrar Christine Cote announced that she will retire from her post this June. Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Jim Higginbotham said that Cote hopes to pursue photography and other artistic interests in retirement, building upon an already blossoming career in the fine arts.

After the most successful season in program history, including a 34-14 record and a program-first NCAA tournament win, the women's softball team looks to keep improving this season.

To the Editors: Thank you for including coverage, in Lily Harriman's "Afro-Colombian artist and activist lectures, student ensemble joins in traditional dance," in the February 25 issue of the Orient, of the lecture and dance recital of Julio César Montaño for Black History Month. As the organizer of the event, I was pleased to find my introduction of Mr. Montaño quoted in the article. Less gratifying was the fact that my name and title were cited in the article as "Director of Chamber Ensembles Roland Vazquez," when in fact I am "Assistant Professor of Music Michael Birenbaum Quintero," a mistake that I can only assume comes from the search for a Hispanic surname on the music department webpage.

Although many Bowdoin teams were riding hot streaks going into Spring Break, the Polar Bears struggled to continue their successes in postseason play.

As students eagerly await the all-star Ivies line-up featuring headliners Janelle Monae and Mac Miller, a very different, up-and-coming group, the avant-garde Capillary Action, will grace the stage of Studzinski theater, offering a taste of the contemporary music scene that promises not to disappoint.

On March 6, approximately 200 students, faculty, and staff attended an open discussion in Daggett Lounge about acts of racial and sexual intolerance both at Bowdoin and in the broader Maine community. Triggered by the March 1 bias incident in Coles Tower, the meeting was organized to shed light on these events and provide a productive forum to generate ideas.

Dining Service recently announced two employee changes as Tricia Gipson, formerly the manager of cash operations and student employment, will assume the position of Dining Service business manager on April 4. Adeena Fisher, a graduate of Ithaca College and the Culinary Institute of America, will replace Gipson as manager of dining retail operations.

Eight student groups spread out across the North American continent during the first week of Spring Break as part of this year's community service Alternative Spring Break (ASB) trips, sponsored by the McKeen Center for the Common Good. 81 students participated this year and their feedback on the 2011 ASB program has been overwhelmingly positive.

Amid the bustle of a West Coast metropolis, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) curator J. Patrice Marandel uses his expertise to present "Old Masters" in new ways. Introduced last night as one of "the most important curators in America," Marandel provided the Bowdoin community insight into his work purchasing and exhibiting European art and sculpture.

While the controversy on campus surrounding "Meatless Monday" may have calmed over Spring Break, it continued to spark discussion around the country as various national news media outlets debated the February 21 event. The meal was originally organized by the Bowdoin College Democrats.

Though 30 fewer students are studying abroad next year and 510 students in the Class of 2014 are rising as sophomores, Residential Life is confident housing will not be an issue in the 2011-2012 academic year. "We have enough beds," said Interim Director of Residential Life Lisa Rendall. Rendall added that the current configuration of housing—including "forced" housing in Brunswick and Stowe Hall—would remain the same, and that more forced housing would not be added.

At some point between Tuesday night and the early hours of Wednesday morning, a message on the white board of a dorm room on the 15th floor of Coles Tower was vandalized. The initial message of "I Love Meatless Mondays" was maliciously edited to instead read, "I Love Meatful Mondays! Meatless Mondays Suck!!! F*g N***er."

The men's squash team collected a trio of exciting one-point victories to take home the 2011 "C" Division Summers Cup at the College Squash Association Team National Championships last weekend at Harvard University.

Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) held the second installment of its newly instituted "Discussion Series" last night. The conversation focused on chem-free housing at Bowdoin. The discussion, facilitated by the BSG Student Affairs Committee, aimed to spur student debate about the purpose and efficacy of chem-free dormitories.

The Polar Bears rounded out their cross-country season this past weekend at the Eastern Intercollegiate Skiing Association (EISA) Championships with their best carnival performance this year.

The Judicial Board's (J-Board) search to fill five open positions concluded recently, as the J-Board released its final selections for the 2011-2012 J-Board to the College on Wednesday. The five successful applicants were notified of their acceptance on February 23.

To the Editors: When Orient cartoons criticize or satirize campus and community organizations, they tend to be relevant and articulate, which are both important qualities for a newspaper. It is clear that a cartoon published immediately following an event (such as the Brunswick Police Department's early shutdown of Pinefest) or in response to a seasonally relevant policy (such as ResLife's restrictions on holiday lights) is a criticism of that specific event or policy and not a criticism of the organization as a whole.

BSG discussed the controversial "Meatless Monday" event that occurred on February 21 at its weekly Wednesday meeting. The event, which was meant to raise awareness about the health and environmental issues of consuming meat, has stirred up much campus debate among students in recent weeks.

The women's indoor track team had an impressive performance at the Open New England Indoor Track and Field Championship at Boston University last weekend.

To the Editors: In his e-mail to all employees and all students of Bowdoin, Dean of Students Tim Foster, discussing the racially and homophobic biased incident that occurred in Coles Tower this week, said that this type of behavior "hurts people." In his email, Foster was of course referring to the personal feelings of the people directly offended, but I think it needs to be emphasized again and again that things like this don't hurt just those at whom the hate is directed.

At the Open New England Indoor Championships last weekend, the men's track team ran against 50 colleges and universities, and placed 22nd.

Following the announcement of performers for the 2011 Ivies concert last Friday, student praise and criticism for the Entertainment Board (E-Board) selections began flowing immediately. Janelle Monáe, Mac Miller and Local Natives are the three acts who will perform at the April 30 concert.

In recognition of the transition from February to March—Black History Month to Women's History Month—the Gender and Women's Studies Department will host the one-day symposium "Testify, Witness and Act: Black Women's Resistance" at several campus locations today.

Almost two weeks after "Meatless Monday" on February 21, one might expect the campus debate to have finally run its course. However, Bowdoin's own meat-free event has also gained attention from several national media outlets.

"We didn't know we were any good." Those were the words of curling team captain Carl Spielvogel '13—the head of a 6-1 team that is heading to collegiate nationals in Chicago.

The spring season has arrived early for the men's ultimate team. Amid snow and wintry temperatures, the team will compete in its first tournament of the season this Saturday at the University of New Hampshire (UNH).

The 145 students who applied for a position on next year's Residental Life (ResLife) staff received final decisions yesterday afternoon in their mailboxes. With only 71 spots available—33 first year proctors, eight house proctors and 30 residential advisers—this year's application process was the most competitive in the history of the College.

With frustrations mounting over the lack of electrical outlets in Smith Union, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) followed through on a plan to make power more easily accessible by installing more outlets earlier this week.

After weeks of hinting and guessing, the Ivies spring concert lineup is here. Ivies 2011 will feature Janelle Monáe, Mac Miller and Local Natives. "Janelle Monáe was high on our list," said Entertainment Board Co-Chair David Gruber. "She got rave reviews on the comments portion of [the Ivies] survey."

Men's hockey preps for playoff game at Amherst

The deadline for off-campus study applications for the 2011-2012 academic year has come and gone. On Monday, approximately 46 percent of the Class of 2013 submitted an application to study away to the Off-Campus Study Office (OCS). OCS received a total of 229 applications, 19 of which were applications to study away for the entire year. 116 students elected to study away in the fall semester, while 94 opted to study away in the spring of 2012.

There will be a new bear at Bowdoin this weekend with The White Panda coming to perform at Morrell Lounge on Saturday night.

Today's Common Hour speaker was not kept secret from campus: Founder of PostSecret Frank Warren.

The women's swimming and diving team wrapped up its season at the NESCAC Championships at Williams last weekend, returning to Bowdoin with seven new school records and a 10th place finish.

Bowdoin's first ever "Meatless Monday" produced a wide range of reactions among students this week, some laudatory and others severely critical. In the eyes of some, the meal was a success that demonstrated the health and environmental benefits of reducing meat consumption; for others, however, the event was a heavy-handed attempt to curtail dietary choice.

After earning a spot in the NESCAC Tournament, the men's basketball team saw its season end in an 82-62 quarterfinal loss to Williams on Saturday.

"I work as a waiter at a restaurant on Maine Street, and in my years of experience I have found that Bowdoin students don't tip. Ethicist, please address proper tipping practice." -Samuel Sabasteanski '13

This evening's Hillel event will lend students a view into the rich cultural diversity of the modern Israeli state. Cinematographer Yoav Kosh will visit campus for a screening and discussion of the Israeli film "Shiva," directed by an acclaimed Israeli actress Ronit Elkabetz and her brother Shlomi Elkabetz.

I would like to make some general statements on the problem of political parties and the problem that those parties, or associations more generally, solve. Not to beat the issue with a meat hammer, but I believe some observations from the "Meatless Monday" episode deserve some reflection. I was talking with one of my closest friends about "Meatless Monday," and something she said gave me an unsettling feeling. She did not really care too much about the issue until she found out it was backed by the Bowdoin College Democrats, and that made her furious: "Just another attempt for them to shove another one of their causes down our throats." The issue was made much more controversial than it had to be just because a political group had its stamp on it. And party platforms make us angry! Why is this?

Artist and activist Julio César Montaño, a native of Tumaco, Colombia, spoke of his efforts to preserve Afro-Colombian culture at Quinby House yesterday evening in a lecture that highlighted his political activism in the Afro-Colombian community of Tumaco in the late 1980s.

The women's indoor track team placed fifth in the New England D-III New England Championships in Massachusetts last Saturday with several impressive individual performances.

With the spring service trips set to commence this weekend, Bowdoin students are preparing to lend a helping hand in local communities. The programs, sponsored by the Joseph McKeen Center for the Common Good, range from visiting a refugee camp in Portland to helping out at an organic farm and give students the opportunity to participate in community immersion and service programs off campus over a two-day weekend trip.

For many people, traveling across the United States is a lifelong goal that too often goes unachieved. Greta Van Campen '05, however, will set out on her cross-country journey with a unique purpose; she plans to paint a portrait of America.

To the Editors: I have a good deal of beef with your rather myopic outrage over the pilot attempt at "Meatless Monday" last week. If I may, I wish to add a little outrage of my own before the campus forgets about the event entirely. Perhaps our very own "best Dining Service in the country" is an important part of the problem, but not for the reasons you have suggested.

The women's squash team finished 20th nationally at the College Squash Association National Team Championships last weekend at Princeton University. The team went 1-2 in the C Division to finish its season with a record of 7-16.

To the Editors: In response to last week's article "'Meatless Monday' raises campus controversy," I would like to compliment Diana Lee for discussing the exciting campaign that is introducing thousands of students to vegetarianism. Demand for meatless options on college campuses is growing, and students across the country are adopting "Meatless Mondays" as a result. A recent study by ARAMARK, a leading food-service provider, concluded that one in four college students are seeking out vegan options.

After another solid performance at the Middlebury Carnival, the nordic ski team is looking to ski into the history books this weekend at the Bates Carnival.

Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster joined Bowdoin Student Government's (BSG) weekly meeting on Wednesday to field questions on a wide range of issues currently facing Bowdoin students. The discussion included topics such as the effectiveness and evolution of the College House System, as well as the misuse of alcohol and the surge in alcohol-related transports.

With a record number of applicants to the College Houses, students are practically banging down the doors at the Office of Residential Life. With "well above 300 applicants" for only 206 spots, interest in the College Houses is at an all-time high.

Dave Fogler '90 leaves a special effect on aspiring art students

This is only my second column for the Orient, but already I'm selling out. Surprising that it took this long—maybe my friends were right about me.

The Office of Safety and Security recently recovered a television stolen from MacMillan House on May 29 of last year, according to Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols.

Steve Grover, Maine drummer and composer, is an adjunct Bowdoin faculty member who has been writing and performing his own compositions since the 1970s. Tonight, he will perform with three other talented and experienced jazz musicians as part of the Steve Grover New York Quartet.

Bowdoin's faculty and staff salary freeze, originally implemented in 2009, will be ending early. President Barry Mills announced Tuesday that full and associate professors, as well as staff, will be receiving a 2 percent pay raise. Assistant professors will see their salaries increase by 2.5 percent. The increase will be reflected in March paychecks, but the move is being made to begin retroactively from July 2010. The freeze was expected to last through the current fiscal year (FY).

Coming from far and wide, the 45 members of the Board of Trustees convened on campus over the weekend for its annual winter meeting. Among other items, the board granted tenure to three faculty members, chose five honorary degree recipients and listened to a presentation about development possibilities for the land that the College is likely to acquire once Naval Air Station Brunswick (NASB) closes in May.

Students recognize Lauren Sweetman as the person who smiles graciously when she signs them up for an appointment in the Career Planning Center, but few ever guess Sweetman is the same person who for 20 years sang in barbershop choruses and repaired boats. Sweetman's professional career has introduced her to many lines of work, culminating in her post at the Career Planning Center.

Boston as we know it would have never developed if it weren't for the cows. Michael Rawson, an assistant professor of history at City University of New York's Brooklyn College, spoke at Bowdoin on Wednesday night about his recent book, "Eden on the Charles: The Making of Boston." The lecture took place in Main Lounge in Moulton Union.

Men's hockey loses its edge with two conference losses

In an event that is already generating conversation around campus, Moulton and Thorne Dining Halls will not be serving meat during dinner on Monday, February 21. "Meatless Monday," sponsored by the Bowdoin College Democrats (BCD) and other campus groups, is intended to raise awareness about the health and environmental impacts of eating meat.

For certain artists, "something old, something new," is not just a mantra. Luc¡a Pulido, who will perform at Bowdoin with her trio tomorrow, is one such artist. Pulido, a vocalist and player of the cuatro and small percussion instruments, works with what Assistant Professor of Music Michael Birenbaum Quintero terms "folkloric" music. Pulido will bring to Bowdoin her expertise on "the process of making [modern] musical arrangements of traditional material," according to Quintero.

With construction well underway, the Inn at Maine Street Station is rapidly nearing completion. Located on the corner of Maine and Noble Streets, the Inn is one of the numerous projects being constructed as part of the new Maine Street Station under the direction of JHR Development, a Brunswick developer.

As the spring season gears up, the women's and men's crew teams embarked on a 24-hour ergathon to raise funds for their Spring Break training.

Try this for me. The next time you sit in the library or in Smith Union doing your work and you have to go to the bathroom, or to the Café, or to dinner, do not take your books and computer with you or ask someone else to watch them for you. Just leave them where they were and go about your business. When you come back, you will appreciate your fellow students just a little bit more than you do now.

The women's hockey team will take the ice at Watson Arena for its two final regular season games this weekend against Williams and Middlebury, following another split in Connecticut last weekend.

Strange as it sounds, Bowdoin student band Call It The Truth traces its roots to Oberlin College in Ohio. At the Cleveland airport, on their way to an admitted students weekend in the spring of 2009, Nate Joseph '13 and Fhiwa Ndou '13 met for the first time. The two quickly discovered that they shared similar musical tastes and decided that, if they ended up at the same school in the fall, they would get together and play. A few months later, they were both at Bowdoin.

Prior to Valentine's Day, the Polar Bears were pumping hearts at the Boston University Valentine's Invitational.

It's not every day that a well-known movie producer decides to hold a film screening at Bowdoin, but tonight Greg Johnson '77 will do just that. "The Music Never Stopped," a new film which he co-produced, is showing tonight at the College.

On Wednesday, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) examined the success of the new printing policy and allocated funding for student services. Deputy Chief Information Officer Rebecca Sandlin and Director of Finance and Campus Services Del Wilson opened the meeting by addressing Bowdoin's printing policy. Enacted at the beginning of the 2010-2011 academic year, the policy allocated $60 to each student for printing, charging a per-page fee if a student exceeded that amount.

It has been a very consistent winter for the nordic ski team, which will look to continue its solid performances this weekend at the Middlebury Carnival in Middlebury, Vermont.

New York Times columnist and author David Brooks will deliver a lecture entitled "Social Animal and Higher Education" in Pickard Theater on this coming Wednesday, February 23.

Men's squash falls to Bates, rebounds to overtake Colby

The Board of Trustees and the Alumni Council announced on Monday the recipients of this year's alumni awards, which recognize Bowdoin graduates who have made special contributions to the College and in their line of work. All three awards will be presented during Reunion Weekend in June.

Associate Professor of Economics at Colby Philip H. Brown resigned from his position after he was informed that the college intended to fire him, after allegations of taking pictures of female students in a bathroom during a college-sponsored trip.

At some point last Friday, a room on the 13th floor of Coles Tower was broken into. "There was a small amount of cash taken from a bedroom," said Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols. He confirmed that there was no sign of forced entry, and when asked about possible suspects, he said, "We've been investigating this series of thefts all this week...we're making some progress."

Last week, several students noticed that a few salt shakers in Thorne Dining Hall had been filled with sugar. According to Director of Dining and Bookstore Services Mary McAteer Kennedy, a student brought the mix-up to the attention of the Dining Service and the mistake was quickly rectified.

The Bowdoin College Museum of Art opens its new exhibit "Object of Devotion: Medieval English Alabaster Sculpture from the Victoria and Albert Museum" on Thursday, February 17. The exhibit features 60 alabaster panels and freestanding figures from England dating from 1350 to 1530. The new winter exhibition marks the first time the sculptures will be viewed in North American.

As the Bowdoin-Haitian Alliance gears up for a week of events to commemorate the earthquake of February 2010, I find myself trying to condense my list of campus obligations. What is, after all, realistic? What's most important? I recently realized that the entirety of my interaction with Haiti has been indirect. In 2007, I was a Spanish-obsessed high school student working in what had been a Haitian cane-cutter community in the Dominican Republic. Anyone familiar with Dominican racial currents will understand the controversy of my interest about the flux of Haitians from the other side of the island, but my program directors were eager to tell the tragedy of Haiti.

The women's indoor track and field team displayed its prowess last weekend, winning the third Maine State Championship in the last four seasons for the Polar Bears.

From curating student exhibits to Maine Arts Commission public artwork, Visual Arts Technician Kyle Downs has devoted his life to his craft. In addition to his post at Bowdoin, Downs is an active artist in his own right. His most recent project, “Beyond The Forest,” opened last Friday at the Coleman Burke Gallery at Port City Music Hall in Portland.

In the upcoming 2011-2012 academic year, the visual arts department will take further steps to move toward increasing its roster of full-time tenure-track professors. While the department currently includes two part-time photography positions—held by Visiting Assistant Professor Meggan Gould and Associate Professor Michael Kolster—those positions will be consolidated into one full-time professorship next year.

The men's ice hockey team will look to regain momentum at home this weekend in two conference battles against Trinity and Wesleyan.

The Bowdoin College Museum of Art will celebrate its two winter exhibitions, "Object of Devotion: Medieval English Alabaster Sculpture" from the Victoria and Albert Museum and "The Bible Illuminated: R. Crumb's Book of Genesis," with an open reception on Thursday.

To the Editors: While I applaud the fact that Mr. Isseroff's most recent column steps back ("Studying abroad hinders a student's personal growth") and takes a critical look at off-campus study, many of his points merit a second look. Isseroff argues that Bowdoin is the ideal place to "forge an intellect and a modicum of independence." Taking one (or two) of those precious semesters to go elsewhere, as he proposes, could bring this trajectory to a screeching halt.

The truth always manages to find a way to the surface. For Bowdoin students, the truth is coming in the form of slam poetry tonight when poet and activist Andrea Gibson makes her way to Brunswick.

In their final meet before the NESCAC Championships, the men and women's swimming teams defeated rival Colby to finish their dual meet seasons.

To the Editors: In the February 4 column entitled "Studying abroad hinders a student's personal growth," Judah Isseroff claims that college students are not ready to take advantage of a semester abroad and that such an experience somehow jeopardizes a student's developing independence. He further argues that taking a semester abroad clashes with the purpose of studying at Bowdoin. I am one of many Bowdoin students who have chosen to study abroad, and it was easily the best part of my college career.

To the Editors: "Half-Assed," the title of Judah Isseroff's bi-weekly opinion column, appropriately characterizes Isseroff's recent endeavor to criticize the validity of his fellow students' study abroad experiences. The article advances a spurious notion that Bowdoin students require four full years on campus to develop an "indelible compass that will facilitate our traveling later in life."

For the first time in Bowdoin history, an entirely new class council will lead the junior class through the spring semester. In a special election for Bowdoin Student Government (BSG), Jenessa Jules and Melanie Pinette were elected President and Treasurer, respectively, of the Class of 2012.

To the Editors: In his column entitled "Studying abroad hinders a student's personal growth," Judah Isseroff makes some good points with which I agree. That said, as someone who took the opportunity to go abroad as a Bowdoin student, I want to offer another perspective. I came to Bowdoin knowing what I wanted to major in and what I wanted to do after graduation, and those plans did not change. They were, however, finalized during my full academic year at the London School of Economics.

The season is over for the majority of the Middlebury women's swim team after school officials discovered recent violations of Middlebury hazing policies.

After a record-setting performance in which the Polar Bears placed second overall at the Broomhall Cup, the goal for last weekend at the University of Vermont (UVM) Carnival was to keep up the strong skiing. They did.

Super Bowl Sundays rarely disappoint. While the game may not have your team playing in it, you know that you can always sit back and enjoy the break from work, eat delicious and unhealthy food, maybe have a few sodas, and enjoy the company of your friends.

On Tuesday between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., the seventh floor of Coles Tower was broken into and belongings of tower residents were stolen or left disfigured. The incident marked the second break-in to have occurred on campus in a little over a month.

In the wake of the Tucson shootings, the national debate over gun control has reignited and the question of whether firearms ought to be allowed on college campuses, a question that first gained national attention in 2007 following the tragedy at Virginia Tech, holds renewed interest and significance.

Stress is unavoidable. Whether induced by academic work, social problems, uncertainty of future plans or just living in a new environment, stress is a mainstay on college campuses. "The overriding thing that we deal with, with students, is more anxiety-related conditions," said Director of the Counseling Service and Wellness Program Bernie Hershberger. "Stress and anxiety easily consume about 60 percent of issues and concerns that we help students with." Hershberger's comments follow a January 26 New York Times article that reported the emotional health of college freshmen has declined to the lowest recorded level in 25 years.

When it comes to athletic competition, momentum can play a huge role in success, and one great weekend can snowball into the next weekend and beyond. For the nordic ski team, this phenomenon seems to be true.

Famous Jewish rappers include Drake, the Beastie Boys and Matisyahu. Another name may someday be added to that list: Kosha Dillz.

The residents of Brunswick will gather at the sight of the historic Town Hall building on May 15—not for a meeting, but rather an opportunity to shop. The former Grand City building on Maine Street, which closed two years ago, is currently being renovated into Town Hall Place. The location will house Kip Stone's sixth retail store, Cool As A Moose, which sells Maine-themed clothing.

While February may be the shortest month of the year, it is jam-packed with commemorative initiatives on both a global and local scale. Internationally, women's history is celebrated, nationally black history is commemorated, and locally, we look to the Brunswick past.

After 11 lead changes and five tie scores in the second half alone, the men's basketball team secured an 84-82 non-conference victory over Thomas College on Tuesday night.

Sether Hanson '13 would have preferred his usual alarm clock wakeup last Sunday morning. Instead, he got a fire alarm, a shouting roommate and a face full of fire extinguisher exhaust. Just before 6 a.m. on the morning of January 30, two students came into Hanson's room in Ladd House and discharged an ABC fire extinguisher on both him and his roommate, as well as across his room, according to Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols. Hanson and his roommate had been sleeping at the time.

The men's and women's squash teams enjoyed their best outing of the season last weekend, going undefeated at a home tournament at the Lubin Family Squash Center.

Every year, February brings snowy days, long winter nights and the inevitable onslaught of work as students emerge from the lethargy of Winter Break. This year, however, students have the option of seriously pursuing fitness and wellness as part of the second-annual February Fit program.

To the Editors: The academic fascism that emanates from colleges and universities throughout the U.S. today without a doubt had its unhappy origin in the radicalization of campuses during the late 1960s when I was a student at Bowdoin. I well remember the near takeover of the campus by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and other like groups claiming to be pursuing economic and social justice when in fact they were merely attempting to impose a totalitarian leftist ideology on the campus, thereby politicizing one of the finest colleges in America.

The U.S. Navy issued its Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) last Saturday, clearing another hurdle for the College's acquisition of three parcels of land after Naval Air Station Brunswick (NASB) closes this year. The 1,500-page naval report took three years to complete, according to a January 28 article in the Times Record.

After a strong showing at its Home Invitational last weekend, the men's track team is gearing up for a big meet this Saturday at Maine state meet.

The ongoing negotiations between the College and the Town of Brunswick over the sale of the Longfellow Elementary School property took a turn on Tuesday, as the Brunswick Police Station subcommittee voted 8-1 against the possibility of relocating the Brunswick Police Station into the College's McLellan Building on Union Street.

The women's indoor track team, which spent the last two weeks of Winter Break training at Bowdoin, easily defeated Colby, outscoring them 90 to 56 on Saturday. The team won the last three team event meets that they participated in.

Due to Wednesday's extreme weather conditions, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) did not hold its regular weekly meeting. The meeting was cancelled after expected guests indicated that they would not able to come to campus, and tables and chairs could not be delivered to the meeting location in Daggett Lounge.

Pickard Theater will come alive tomorrow night as The Low Anthem and Jukebox the Ghost take the stage for the Entertainment Board's (E-Board) annual Winter Concert. Bowdoin's own Louis Weeks '11 will open for the two headliners, both of which are currently on tour.

Despite the tough economic climate, NESCAC colleges continue to move toward various sustainability goals by depending on environmental grants. According to Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer Katy Longley, the College critically assesses energy conservation project costs before implementation occurs. "We're thinking about grant funding before we start our projects," said Longley.

A new exhibit entitled "Modernism at Bowdoin: American Paintings" was recently installed at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art. The exhibit features art from the first four decades of the 20th century, and draws on paintings obtained from both the Museum's collection as well as works from the Yale University Art Gallery.

This weekend will be one of opportunity and revenge for the men's hockey team. The Polar Bears will battle for the top position in the conference against Williams on Friday and then look for a measure of revenge against a Middlebury squad that denied it the NESCAC championship last season.

For over 10 years, the New York Times Sunday Magazine has published a column in which Randy Cohen answers readers' questions about "the moral and ethical dilemmas of our time." Over the course of my three years at Bowdoin, I've encountered quite a few such Bowdoin-specific ethical quandaries. I'm not an expert, but I am a concerned community member hoping to codify Bowdoin social norms and basic principles of right conduct. Send me your questions and I'll reply with the justice and wit you expect of the Orient.

Miscellania hits high note on tour over break

To say that you love America is not the same thing as saying that you love only those Americans who agree with you. Nor is it the same thing as saying you love the America inhabited by those of European descent.

Tonight, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) will be performing its second program of a three-part series at the College.

Bowdoin needs to take a long, hard look at its distribution requirements. In doing so, the College should ask, "What are we trying to achieve through these requirements?" and "What are the academic advantages of asking students to choose courses in these areas and not others?" In short, the College should conduct the type of self-evaluation that every successful organization conducts from time to time to assure that it is on the right course.

Most college students spend winter break making money or making merry, but as part of the Alternative Winter Break (AWB) program, eight Bowdoin students spent their last week of vacation in Portland making a difference.

On Monday, four hours before Mike "Greeny" Green was scheduled to take the stage in Pickard Theater for a presentation on alcohol education entitled "The Four Stages of Venus," students received an e-mail stating that the event had been abruptly canceled.

After two weeks of intense pre-training that spawned a series of injuries, the women's track team excelled at last week's Greater Boston Track Club Invitational held at Harvard University.

Regarding last week's editorial "Business as usual," last year the library decided to open at 8:30 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays during reading period and exams, instead of the regular 10 a.m. So what happened last month? We simply forgot to open earlier. We apologize for this oversight. We will do better this spring and certainly will open at 8:30 a.m. on weekends during Reading Period and exams as we previously planned.

The men's track team competed well with several outstanding performances last Sunday at the Greater Boston Track Club Invitational held at Harvard University.

The men's and women's swimming and diving teams look toward the NESCAC Championships as their seasons progress. The teams will get preparation for the championship meet tomorrow at Colby, when the teams face off against Wesleyan and Trinity.

The women's squash team recovered from a 9-0 thrashing at the hands of Bates on Wednesday night with a 6-3 victory over Colby on Thursday night.

When classes began last Tuesday at the University of Southern Maine (USM), students were welcomed by an artistic addition to campus. In the entrance corridor just outside the Osher Map Library, a mural painted by Bowdoin Professor of Art Mark Wethli awaited their arrival.

The Office of Safety and Security discovered evidence of a break-in at MacMillan House around 7 a.m. on January 6 when an electrician doing work on the house reported evidence of damage. Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols reported that he believes the break-in occurred around 4 a.m. on December 28, as door access records from MacMillan House indicate the door was forced at about that time. Six rooms on the second floor were broken into after the perpetrator reportedly kicked in the doors.

Head field hockey coach Nicky Pearson rounded out a victorious season by adding another honor to her extensive list of accolades.

In an age eve before VHS, people flocked in droves to hear Donald MacMillan speak about his experiences in the Arctic. "The Far North," a reconstructed film with restored footage from MacMillan's voyage to Greenland, will now bring MacMillan's story to a whole new audience. The film's audio track is a recovered transcript of a lecture MacMillan delivered at Boothbay Opera House in 1959, according to the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum.

Though the new printing system has been the subject of controversy this year, Information Technology's (IT) mid-year results prove that it has lived up to its promise. The printing system decreased the amount of paper consumed while accommodating 94 percent of student demand.

As the national buzz about the dangers of concussions has escalated in recent months, Bowdoin Athletics has faced an increase in the number of concussions among athletes this fall.

Elliott Schwartz will be celebrating his birthday in style next week with the Portland Symphony Orchestra (PSO).

Walking into a quad in Moore, the door is ajar, the lights are off and three first year students holding laptops sit on the couch facing the TV. "You're looking at the way we've spent the past two weeks—except 'Dexter' was on the screen," said first year squash player Stephan Danyluk, who, along with his three teammates (and temporary roommates), has been on campus since January 2. "We watched the first three and a half seasons of 'Dexter' in two and a half weeks."

It's official: the College is getting bigger—259 acres bigger, to be exact. On December 13, the College received final approval from the Department of Education (DOE) to acquire three parcels of land after Naval Air Station Brunswick (NASB) closes this year.

NESCAC athletics administrators confirmed long-standing rumors that the 2010-2011 season would be the end of the NESCAC-ECAC East interlock in men's ice hockey. The decision was released on January 6.

As I enjoyed my final Winter Break during my time at Bowdoin College, I experienced a real first in my relationship with my parents. When I found out I would be writing a column before classes resumed, I knew I would have to find something to try back at home, and thus I set out to hunt down some interesting brews. Upon leaving my house, my mom asked where I was going, to which I replied that I had to pick up a bunch of beer. This response was met with the corresponding, questioning glance —but I had the perfect alibi: "Don't worry mom," I shot back, "it's for school."

Former Bowdoin student Adam Wheeler plead guilty to "larceny, identity theft, falsifying an endorsement and pretending to hold a degree," according to a December 16 press release from Middlesex District (Mass.) Attorney Gerry Leone. Wheeler's deceitful actions in applying to Harvard University and subsequent academic dishonesty while a student at the school have gained national notoriety.

Most Bowdoin students try to balance their academic and social lives; some students take on more. Hartley Brody '12 is one of the latter. As the creator of the websites freshoncampus.com and thecollegecartel.com, Brody balances schoolwork with entrepreneurship.

After Bowdoin College wrenched the fraternities out of student hands in the 1990s, the administration hatched an innovative plan to convert the old fraternity houses into "Social Houses." The administration lauded their new housing system as "the center of housing policy and residential life," supposedly creating an inclusive campus environment and encouraging students to use alcohol safely, out in the open.

The Office of Admissions received a total of 6,503 applications for admittance to the Class of 2015, an 8 percent increase from last year's applicant pool and an all-time record for the College. Of the 568 Early Decision I (ED I) applications—up 11 percent from last year—189 students were accepted.

My high school experience is probably relatable to many: I had a few teachers that were role models, many more that were completely average and a few that I hated. As students, our reasons for disliking teachers vary greatly. Perhaps it is because a teacher is notorious for harsh grading, appears to favor girls, or cannot lecture comprehensively without rambling on about her cat.

The tragic events in Arizona two weeks ago resulting in the death of six people have brought forward a constitutional issue that strikes the soul of many Americans. Westboro Baptist Church announced plans to picket the funerals of the victims in the Tucson shooting, and brought the question of whether America's most sacred doctrine of free speech was intended to support radical discourse intent on injuring those whom most of the American public hold in highest valor to the forefront of the American conscious.

Starting this year, JSTOR will begin offering more multimedia services and expand its current journal content to include smaller publications. With a mission rooted in preserving and archiving journals electronically, JSTOR is seeking to expand its services and offer students more access to academic journals. The new JSTOR features are part of its Current Scholarship Program and will include audio files, video and e-mail alerts. Instead of only archiving back issues of select journals, JSTOR will add 19 new publishers and more than 174 up-to-date journals.

Edwin M. Lee '74 was sworn in as the 43rd mayor of San Francisco on January 11, filling the position vacated by the new Lieutenant Governor of California, Gavin Newsom. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors elected Lee, previously the city administrator, as the new mayor. Lee's ascension in San Francisco has gained national significance as he will become the city's first Asian-American mayor.

The men's indoor track team will travel to Boston on Saturday morning for the Greater Boston Track Club Invitational at Harvard, where it will compete against post-collegiate athletes as well as their usual peer opponents.

The Entertainment Board (E-Board) will present its annual winter concert in Pickard Theater next Saturday, January 29. Louis Weeks '11 will open for currently touring bands The Low Anthem and Jukebox the Ghost.

With campus vacated by much of the student body over the long winter break, College administrators continued negotiations with the Town of Brunswick regarding the Longfellow Elementary School property.

The women’s ice hockey team has spent much of Winter Break on campus, training for the season ahead and competing in matches against fellow NESCAC teams.

After a month of preparation and rebuilding, the men's and women's squash teams will travel to Yale tonight to play Amherst, Stanford and St. Lawrence, and the women will play Franklin and Marshall and Mount Holyoke as well.

The men's and women's Nordic ski teams will travel to Colby this weekend to compete for the second time this year. The Colby Carnival follows a somewhat lackluster debut performance at the St. Lawrence Carnival in Lake Placid, New York this past Saturday.

The College made a move to acquire the Longfellow Elementary School property, detailing its proposal in a Nov. 30 letter to Town Manager Gary Brown. The town initially approached the College about a year ago regarding the potential land acquisition.

Yesterday, the deans gathered for the biannual readmission meeting that decides which students currently on leave will be able to re-enroll for the spring semester. Students must apply for readmission following a medical leave or suspension for either academic or social violations.

Sometimes, you go 16 games without losing and are flown to Texas to play in the NCAA D-III soccer semifinals. Sometimes, when you get there, you lose. In a heartbreaking 2-1 overtime defeat to Lynchburg College, the men's soccer team ended its most successful season ever.

Stress is a natural part of finals, so why not just accept it? Yes, stress is natural, and it is not surprising that Bowdoin students stress as they face mountains of papers, projects and exams. Periods of short-term stress, which release norepinephrine, can even increase performance. However, there are ways to manage constant long-term stress and avoid illness and excess anxiety.

For fall semester study abroad students, living arrangements in the spring may be even more cramped than their plane rides home. The housing availability is unusually limited next semester, affecting juniors returning from studying abroad in the fall. "We have enough beds for everyone who wants to live on campus, but this spring semester's available configurations (e.g. singles, doubles, triples, quads) don't equal the number of requests for these specific types of housing," wrote Associate Director of Housing Operations Lisa Rendall in an e-mail to the Orient.

'Tis the season for holiday traditions, and Sunday night is no exception. Chamber choir members, chorus members and volunteers will take the stage to sing in the annual Festival of Lessons and Carols.

Fundamental to the functioning of a free market economy is that individual members work assiduously to preserve its solvency. But regardless of the genesis of the 2008 collapse, we now know that both financial institutions and the free market's invisible hand nearly pushed the global economy toward an extraordinary free-fall into insolvency. Only government intervention prevented an economic Dark Age.

Women's hockey beats Conn., falls to Hamilton

Performing numerous modern compositions of the 20th century, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP), under the direction of Gil Rose, will make its first ever appearance on the Bowdoin campus today in Studzinski Recital Hall, where the orchestra will perform the first program of a three-part series.

The men's basketball team rebounded from a loss at Bates last weekend with a decisive win 85-72 victory over Colby-Sawyer yesterday evening. The win came on the heels of the Polar Bears' victory over Maine Maritime on Tuesday afternoon.

"Privacy is dead; Get over it." So spake Sun Microsystems former CEO Scott McNealy nine years ago, singing the praises of a national ID and implanted smart chips in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Today, the phrase is more often associated with social media than national security, but the two are closely intertwined.

On Monday and Tuesday, the chief student affairs officers of the 11 schools that make up the NESCAC convened in Boston at the Westin Copley Place for an annual meeting. A tradition that started over 20 years ago, this meeting allows the NESCAC deans of student affairs to reflect upon and discuss events of the past year at their respective schools.

In his column in last week's Orient ("'Bowdoin Bubble' isolates the College from intolerance," December 3), Judah Isseroff argued that Bowdoin's isolation from the broader American society contributes to an atmosphere of tolerance on campus. Besides insulting Bowdoin students, many of whom would doubtless take issue with his claim that "[they] do not know many of the practical challenges of life," he raises the question: tolerance of whom?

The women's swimming and diving team finished sixth of the seven teams at the MIT invitational last week while the men's side came in fifth of six. Head coach Brad Burnham was hoping for more from his teams' performances.

Some professors make music as a hobby—take Racer X, Bowdoin's most well-known faculty band, as an example. Then there are those professors that make music as a career, like Visiting Artist-in-Residence George Lopez.

Although I am accustomed to the pretentious drivel routinely published on the opinion pages of the Orient, I found Judah Isseroff's column particularly insulting. Referencing support for the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy, Mr. Isseroff demonizes "broader American" sentiment as the byproduct of "ignorance and cowardice." By contrast, Bowdoin students who oppose the policy are "far more complex and intelligent." This claim is patently wrong and seething with arrogance.

Senior Molly Kwiatkowski won first prize for her research poster at the 40th annual Society for Neuroscience conference in San Diego this November. Of 120 posters displayed, 14 were nominated for the award, which is funded by the German Graduate Schools of Neuroscience and consists of a fully funded weeklong trip to Germany to explore various neuroscience graduate programs.

Students searching for holiday gifts need look no further than Smith Union. The 14th annual Sunsplash Craft Fair today will be the biggest yet from from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

I would like to congratulate the McKeen Center for the Common Good staff and Danielle McAvoy '13 for organizing the first ever "Technology Day" for non-profits. As a recent graduate, I am pleased to know that the College continues to strengthen its relationship with, and fulfill its responsibilities to, the mid-coast community.

Seniors Kelley "Ping" Hackett and Eileen Palmer have been hard at work with their independent studies in photography. The final result of their semester-long endeavors are on view around campus until the start of Winter Break.

Tickets for the Bowdoin vs. Colby men's and women's ice hockey games ran out on Wednesday afternoon, according to the Department of Athletics. Due to the popularity of both matches, tickets will be required for entrance.

This week, the Bowdoin Film Society (BFS) and Bowdoin Cable Network (BCN) leadership announced their upcoming merger to club members. While the two organizations will remain separate entities, they will begin pooling their resources, headquartered in the current BCN News Studio. The studio, located on the first floor of Coles Tower, will be renamed the BCN-BFS Studio.

It may only be December, but excitement for the annual Ivies Concert is already catching on. The anticipation has only grown over the past week as the Entertainment Board (E-Board) sent out a survey regarding the concert to the student body. As of Thursday night, 814 students had responded to the survey.

Ever walk through Studzinski Recital Hall in order to escape the cold and happen to overhear musical masterpieces coming from the practice rooms? Perhaps you have even taken a quick peak inside one of the sound-proofed rooms and discovered that your buddy from down the hall is a piano prodigy. Who knew?

The demolition of Bowker House has been delayed to February 2011 because the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) must advertise the bid on it first, said Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration & Treasurer Katy Longley. The MDOT will advertise the Bowker House bid to contractors and construction firms that may want take up the project. Only after the contractors are selected can the demolition and repaving process begin.

At its last meeting of the semester, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) voted in favor of a proposal to extend Thanksgiving Break. The revised proposal includes multiple versions of the new break, intended to accommodate the demands of administration, faculty and students. Additionally, BSG unanimously voted to pass a proposal allocating $400 to fund a Health Service event that will bring massage therapists to campus during the upcoming reading period. A student proposal to recruit military veterans to the College through the Yellow Ribbon Program passed as well.

As Thanksgiving Break came to a close last Sunday, the new Bearings was put to its first test with the release of spring courses. The online academic management system has a history of quickly reaching its user capacity during periods of high traffic, causing the system to crash. This year's redesign allowed Bearings to better accommodate the rush of students. Chief Information Officer Mitch Davis mentioned that, while the updated Bearings was not perfect, it performed better than it has in the past.

McKenna Teague '12 did not even know it was over. After firing the final penalty stroke past the Messiah keeper in the NCAA D-III Championship title game, she turned around, gave a quick fist-pump, and slowly began to jog back to her team.

Last Wednesday, Information Technology (IT) put the finishing touches on a new online storage system that will enable students, faculty and staff to save and backup large amounts of data on the College's server. According to Chief Information Officer Mitch Davis, IT's decision to increase its storage capacity was born out of necessity. "If we didn't make the change, we would either have to tell everybody to empty their trash and remove all the information they have collected over the last year or have the whole system crash," said Davis.

Since the start of the season, the men's soccer team has been set on a trip to San Antonio, Texas, the site of the Final Four of the NCAA championship.

Politics and fashion have an inextricable connection; both are fueled by a desire to evoke a response, a reaction. Fashion choices and political views become a part of who we are, empowering us to, as Gandhi said, "be the change [we] wish to see in the world."

. On the state level, our small campus is split between two representatives in the Maine State House. On the local level, our campus is even more sliced and diced. It is simply wrong that all Bowdoin students cannot vote in the same local elections. With the recent completion of the 2010 census—and statewide redistricting just around the corner—we have a rare opportunity to fix this problem.

This year, Rainbow Seven is ensuring that Date Week caters to the full spectrum of sexual orientations. Rainbow Seven, sponsored by Bowdoin Queer Straight Alliance (BQSA) in conjunction with the Alliance of Sexual Assault Prevention, is a new endeavor to help members of the Bowdoin queer community meet each other.

The women's basketball team has started the season with an impressive 3-1 record, most recently defeating the University of Southern Maine (USM) Huskies 63-51.

Away from home this weekend, the men’s hockey team will look to maintain its level of play against Skidmore and Castleton State.

The Mosaic Trio, a female band that will perform at Bowdoin next Monday, defies the traditional definition of successful girl groups like the Spice Girls or the Dixie Chicks.

With only a week left before the anticipated release of Early Decision I (ED I) offers, the Office of Student Aid has begun evaluating financial aid requests for the incoming Class of 2015. For almost two decades, Bowdoin has adhered to a need-blind admissions practice. In January 2008, the College restructured its financial aid practices by replacing all loans with grants. Currently, the College is in the early stages of complying with the Higher Education Opportunity Act. The act includes a measure that aims to realistically inform prospective students of what their college costs might amount to.

The Early Decision (ED) committee will convene today to begin the admission process for the first members of the Class of 2015. "We are pleased about the 11 percent increase in ED I applications," wrote Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, Scott Meiklejohn in an e-mail to the Orient.

Less than two weeks ago, the field hockey team won its third NCAA championship in four years. It is the only Bowdoin team to have ever won the championship, let alone three, but the one-of-a-kind team operates on a run-of-the-mill budget.

Next Monday, students usually found in practice rooms will be under the spotlight, singing to an audience rather than a soundproof wall.

Wednesday's meeting of Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) was focused on a student proposal advocating that the admissions office actively recruit veterans currently enrolled in community colleges. Nick Daniels '12, Amanda Gartside '12 and George Aumoithe '11 all spoke in favor of recruiting students through the Yellow Ribbon GI Education Enhancement Program (Yellow Ribbon Program). The program was established in 2008 to support returning veterans in their pursuit of higher education at private colleges and universities.

The swimming and diving teams will return to Cambridge today, where they will compete in the two-day MIT Invitational against Tufts, Colby, NYU, MIT and Wheaton.

Classical music will reverberate throughout Gibson Hall next Wednesday when six students perform piano pieces they've spent an intensive semester on.

The start of Bowdoin's squash season yielded mixed results at Dartmouth two weeks ago with the men's team splitting a pair of matches and the women dropping two.

Because of the popularity of the Bowdoin vs. Colby ice hockey last season, tickets will be required for entrance into both the men and women's games.

Halloween isn't over for the Bowdoin College Concert Band (BCCB), which will perform "GHOSTS!" for its fall concert on Sunday. The performance will feature a host of haunting spirit-themed pieces.

An unprecedented number of Early Decision I (ED I) applications is flooding the Office of Admissions. As of Wednesday afternoon, the College had received 561 ED I applications—over 10 percent more than last year's total—and there are more still to come.

Last Saturday's WBOR concert featuring The Morning Benders reportedly resulted in an altercation between The Milkman's Union and WBOR management. The conflict ensued after WBOR pulled the plug on the Milkman's Union after the band allegedly refused to stop playing.

Considering all of the adversity that the Polar Bears went through this season, there was no better way for them to wrap up the season than by beating archrivals Colby in Waterville last Saturday.

At Bowdoin, it is not just the students who are happy. On Monday, Harvard University's Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) released its ranking of colleges and universities with the highest levels of pre-tenure faculty job satisfaction. In the baccalaureate category, Bowdoin qualified as "exemplar" in three out of eight categories: Nature of Work (Overall), Nature of Work (Research) and Nature of Work (Teaching).

The women's cross country team finished its season with a ranking of seventh in the New England regional poll, improving from last year's rank of ninth.

The current freeze on faculty salaries is on track to thaw next year as planned. According to Dean of Academic Affairs Cristle Collins Judd, there has been no discussion of extending the freeze into the 2011-2012 academic year. "Our anticipation was that it was a two-year salary freeze and that after that we would move out and that is where we are," said Judd. The freeze on faculty salaries was first publicly announced in a January 22, 2009 message from President Barry Mills. The letter outlined the terms of the freeze among other measures to cope with the endowment's 17 percent loss.

The men's cross country season came to a bittersweet end last Saturday, celebrating exciting individual highlights while also facing disappointment as a team.

"Has someone discriminated against you because of who you are?" "Have you cried on campus?" "Do you believe yourself to be middle class?" "Have you questioned your class status since you came to Bowdoin?" In an exercise called "Walk the Line," which took place as a part of a retreat for multicultural and first-generation first years held last weekend, students pushed themselves to answer questions like these in order to take a deeper look into their identity at Bowdoin.

The Bowdoin condoms always break. Is there something wrong with the ONE condoms? We hear this question a lot. I asked Director of Health Services Sandra Hayes to comment on the effectiveness of the ONE condoms. She confirmed the ONE website's assertion that the condoms are as effective as other leading manufacturers.

The sailing team hosted its final event of the fall season, the Atlantic Dinghy Tournament, last weekend, capping a season of mixed results with an encouraging finish at the intersectional.

College Anonymous Confession Board (ACB), the gossip website, was the main topic of conversation last night at the first of what is to be an ongoing series of open student discussions facilitated by Bowdoin Student Government (BSG). "There has been a discussion on campus that there is no place where students can talk about certain issues and so, this year, the Student Affairs Committee decided to hold a discussion series," said BSG Vice President of Student Affairs Chanwoong Baek '12. "We thought that Bowdoin as a community talking about anonymous conversation would gain interest among students."

Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) did not meet this week, but that did not mean the group was not busy. On Tuesday, BSG introduced a new way for students to browse course syllabi and last night, BSG organized transportation to the long-awaited Harry Potter movie release.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued warnings to four companies that produce alcoholic beverages that contain caffeine, among them Phusion Projects, LLC, the producer of Four Loko. The FDA said that alcoholic drinks with caffeine additives pose "a public health concern," and indicated that it would take action if necessary, including possibly seizing inventory or imposing an injunction on production.

A student's letter to the editor printed in last week's Orient regarding the early termination of an on-campus Halloween party has garnered attention in local media and prompted discussion among students, administrators and residents regarding the relationship between Brunswick and the College. Junior Samir Sheth wrote that Brunswick thrives "financially and culturally" on the presence of Bowdoin, and broadly referenced multiple occasions in which the Brunswick Police Department (BPD) has been involved in shutting down campus parties in reaction to noise complaints made by residents of the town. Sheth suggested that students boycott Brunswick businesses in response.

Imagine an opportunity to see two highly talented, renowned musicians without paying for overpriced tickets. Imagine no more because that opportunity is here.

With the first round of early decision applications due Monday, the annual fervor of admissions season has kicked into gear. Much of the national media's attention this fall has been directed at the ethics of legacy admissions at selective colleges and universities. Like almost all liberal arts colleges, Bowdoin factors an applicant's relation to an alumnus of the College into its admissions decisions, and data shows that legacy students are on average about twice as likely to gain admission than non-legacy applicants.

Brunswick—Brunswick, Maine: approximate pop. 23,000. Every college town needs a watering hole where the fanciful bond between enlightened manners and democracy diminishes in drink. These are places we go to live vicariously, speak crassly and porch-philosophize about how life is absurd. This week, I learned it's best to do it with a clown.

A recent report on athletics in Division III indicates that recruited athletes at highly selective colleges have lower GPAs than their teammates who are walk-ons, and significantly lower grades than non-athletes. However, Director of Athletics Jeff Ward said that this is not the case at Bowdoin. "The academic performance of those on teams is the same as those not on teams," he said in an interview.

The biggest change from high school that I noticed as a first year last fall was the different schedule. In high school, I was in class for six hours a day, five days a week. In college, I'm in class for three hours a day, four days a week. A suburban kid through and through, it's not often that I feel directly affected by a national issue. As a college student, however, it's hard to look at the national education debate and not feel affected.

Waders. Galoshes. Wellies. Rain boots have many names, but only one wearer: females. Girls are able to stay protected from the drizzles and downpours, while guys remain vulnerable to the wetness because rain boots have become a solely female phenomenon. Just as cross-body bags have slowly shifted from being a feminine accessory to a co-ed phenomenon, and baggy "boyfriend" jeans have entered into the female wardrobe, the same gender neutralization can happen with rain boots.

The volleyball team was searching for its first-ever trip to the NESCAC semifinals but was stopped dead in its tracks when Williams pulled out of a five-match losing streak last Friday.

In a change from previous years, the results of the off-campus study preliminary application, collected on November 1, indicate that, for the next school year, more students intend to study abroad in the fall semester rather than in the spring. "[The shift] is a little surprising because the spring is usually the more popular semester," said Director of Off-Campus Study Stephen Hall. "I think some may have chosen the fall semester because...they had heard what we were saying about the spring being more popular [in past years]."

As hard as it may be for some students to imagine, I strongly believe that the locals, police, campus security and the administration all have the students' best interests at heart. Along with most parents, we collectively want all of you to get a good education and to revel responsibly.

In a unanimous vote, the Brunswick Town Council rescinded an ordinance passed last September to purchase land for a new Brunswick Police Department (BPD) station. At a public hearing on Monday, residents voiced their dissatisfaction with the proposed purchase of a property at the corner of Stanwood and Pleasant Streets, identified as a potential location for a new BPD station. Upwards of 40 town residents attended the hearing.

Buoyed by strong results, the sailing team is preparing to host and compete in the Atlantic Coast Tournament. Fresh from a first-place finish at the Crew's Regatta and a sixth at the competitive Rhode Island State Championships, the Polar Bears are optimistic about a strong home-water performance this weekend.

Following The Morning Benders concert tomorrow night, the popular mash up artist E-603 will perform at Reed House's space-themed party from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Members of Stoned Clown and Chaos Theory will be able to show off their ultimate skills for the final time this fall at the annual Frozen Butter Ball (FBB) tournament.

In "Brunswick community intolerant of students" (November 5), Samir Sheth '12 calls for Bowdoin students to shut Brunswick residents out of their lives because they are "ruining our good time." In short, Mr. Sheth's letter is ludicrous. I can understand that an abbreviated Pinefest might be disappointing, but I am embarrassed to be part of a student body defined by mere revelry. I am also mortified for Mr. Sheth knowing that the greater Brunswick community will read his letter.

Bedbugs crawled back into the College with another reported case, this time in first year residence Winthrop Hall. The student contacted Facilities Management after suspecting the presence of bedbugs. Facilities Management was unable to confirm an infestation at press time, but planned to reexamine the area. In the interim, the student was relocated to another residence until further notice.

Polar Bears choose diverse methods for selecting captains

The standard sounds of Smith Union will give way to the dancey melodies of three up-and-coming bands tomorrow night. WBOR is bringing The Morning Benders, Lady Lamb the Beekeper and The Milkman's Union for its annual fall concert.

Mr. Sheth discusses the timidity of the administration in not standing up to the community. Wake up. Every single adult in that "timid administration" you so blithely refer to is a member of the Brunswick community.

The town of Brunswick is economically dependent on the College in many ways, but Bowdoin needs Brunswick just as much. I'm not speaking of nice perks like good restaurants—though I'm hard-pressed to come up with another college town of a similar size with so many great places to eat and drink—but of basic fundamental services. So yes, Mr. Sheth, please cut out Brunswick entirely.

Two and a half years after Bowdoin was named College Prowler's "School of the Year," Bowdoin still holds the title. College Prowler recently updated its rankings for Bowdoin. The website determines rankings based on analysis of student survey responses, open-ended student reviews and statistical data. This means that the ratings can fluctuate as student reviewers post their comments.

Mr. Sheth's letter is illogical, offensive and unworthy of publication. Bowdoin and Brunswick share a relationship, which while presently healthy, is at all times inherently symbiotic. Mr. Sheth asks, "Without Bowdoin, what is Brunswick?" This question can easily be reversed—its answer is that a Bowdoin bereft of the residents, shops and community of Brunswick would not survive.

Bowdoin's and Bates' orchestras will join forces in two performances of classical music this weekend. The combined orchestra will perform both at Bates' Olin Arts Center and Bowdoin's Studzinski Recital Hall.

Mr. Sheth proposes a course of action that students should consider carefully. It is important that students take note of improper, excessive and violent acts by the Bowdoin Police Department, which are oftentimes gratuitous displays of power specifically directed at Bowdoin students. When the police employ "curfew" tactics on students—such as retaining innocuous pedestrians, manipulating underclassmen, and terrorizing houses at night—they are targeting Bowdoin students.

The men's soccer team is simply the best soccer team in the NESCAC. Only through the largely arbitrary horror of a penalty kick tie-breaker did Middlebury win the technical right to the conference championship. Yet the NCAA rankings, the NESCAC standings and anyone who went to the championship game will tell you that Bowdoin is indeed the better team.

I enjoyed last week's excellent article by Amanda Minoff, "Wabanaki lecture celebrates Native American heritage" (November 5). Many people at Bowdoin have been working diligently over the past few years to bring more attention to Native American issues, and to attracting more Native American students to our campus.

On May 5, 1970, members of the Bowdoin College community voted 727 to 207 in favor of conducting a school-wide strike that would last the rest of the school year.

While vodka-Redbull and coffee brandy have been staples of the Bowdoin drinking scene for years, a more potent upper-downer beverage has made its way to Maine. Four Loko, a caffeinated, 24-ounce drink that contains 12 percent alcohol by volume, is stirring up controversy on college campuses nationwide.

Red with anger at Democratic incumbents, Maine voters joined the tide of Americans allying themselves with the GOP. On Tuesday, Republicans took the majority in both of Maine's legislative houses and the governor's office, ousting Democrats after an eight-year stronghold in Augusta.

USA women's hockey squares off at Watson

With the creation of anonymous online gossip forums, old-fashioned bathroom wall graffiti—joking, well intentioned, or derogatory—is effectively transmitted to virtual stall doors worldwide. College ACB is the newest college gossip site, which came to the formal attention of the Office of Residential Life and the Office of Student Affairs late last week when a student who was discussed on the site reported it. The increase in student posts over the past two months has triggered student backlash.

Though the women's soccer team's season may be lost, its causes are not. Off the field, the team works together on a number of charity projects that benefit the Bowdoin and Brunswick communities, as well as those well beyond Cumberland County's limits.

The Polar Bears will not meet the White Panda after all.

With the start of spring 2011 course registration one week away, Information Technology (IT) has changed the information system Bearings to provide more stable service to students and faculty.

A win over Bates tomorrow afternoon to kick off the annual CBB competition would certainly go a long way towards brightening Bowdoin's 2010 season.

You know what's awesome about Brunswick? Bowdoin College. Without Bowdoin, what is Brunswick? The recently closed Naval Air Station? No. Maybe a home to Mainers that have lived here for decades? I can't really argue that. However, the point is Brunswick thrives on the presence of Bowdoin College, both financially and culturally. And the most important part of Bowdoin College is its college students, with all their noise, rowdiness, alcohol and general vitality.

This semester has already brought several overhauls in Bowdoin's technology infrastructure, the latest of which include a redesign of the Student Gateway. The Student Web Advisory Team (SWAT) is in the research and development phase of redesigning the Student Gateway Web page and the Student Digest.

Coming off an exciting win in its Senior Day doubleheader last Saturday, the volleyball team will face off against Williams tonight in the NESCAC quarterfinals at Amherst.

'The Kilpatrick Band,' a recurring student favorite

In "A new mentality to end animal testing at Bowdoin" (October 29), Anthony Colabella suggested that Bowdoin end harmful animal research unless it "expresses a willingness to perform these same experiments on humans whose mental capacities roughly compare to those of the animals tested." My intent in writing this letter is not to refute Colabella's argument, but to highlight a popular misconception about human cognition versus "lower-order" animal cognition.

Pat Meehan '78 was elected to represent the Seventh Congressional District of Pennsylvania in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, soundly beating his Democratic opponent, Bryan Lentz, 55 percent to 44 percent, according to Politics Daily.

The women's soccer season came to an end in the NESCAC quarterfinals, when they lost a hard-fought battle to second-seeded Amherst. The team ends its season with an overall record of 6-7-2, as Amherst moves on to host the semifinals against Bates.

The new business of the night at Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) was a discussion of the first year book program's elimination. Last year, the faculty decided to remove the first year book program due to lack of interest.

In any long run, there are occasional bumps in the road, and the men's cross country team discovered just such a bump last Saturday at the NESCAC Championship at Hamilton College.

With dropping temperatures, diminishing daylight and disappointing results last weekend, the sailing team is preparing for a final push to improve its ranking before the season ends.

While it may be less conspicuous than the expansive chair exhibition, "Something Completely Different: Raymond Pettibon's Repeater Pencil" packs a punch. The 14-minute video installation is composed of Pettibon's drawings and watercolors—animated and set to audio narration.

With less than a week until the polls open, Maine voters are looking at a three-horse race for governor. Different polls have shown a considerable amount of variety. The most recent, a Rasmussen Reports survey released Thursday, had Republican Paul LePage ahead with 40 percent of the vote, followed by Democrat Libby Mitchell and Independent Eliot Cutler tied at 26 percent. Cutler has made significant gains in recent weeks.

Women's field hockey fought for a 2-0 win over Trinity in front of a large crowd of parent spectators. The team is now ranked fourth in the nation after its 2-0 win against the Bantams, moving up from its previous ranking of fifth.

Bowdoin students can look forward to a little California sunshine next month when WBOR brings the Morning Benders to campus on November 13.

Currently, 43 students at Bowdoin are able to spend their four years here free of charge. These students are recipients of the Joshua L. Chamberlain Scholarship, created in 2000 to address the observed lack of diversity on campus and offered to a similar number of students each year. The award covers students' tuition, book expenses, and travel costs, in addition to providing a $3,000 stipend for other educational opportunities.

A sophomore was transported from West Hall to MidCoast Hospital after allegedly consuming hallucinogenic mushrooms last Saturday, according to Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols. The student, who reportedly consumed the mushrooms with a friend visiting from out of state, was "not in serious condition" and returned to campus after spending "just a couple of hours" at the hospital, said Nichols.

Tuesday, November 2 is Election Day. Pundits all over the country—and all over this campus—have been speculating and forecasting. Will the election be a referendum on President Obama? Is the Tea Party movement for real? Americans are angry. Again. They're mad at unemployment and deficits and, most of all, they are really, really mad at politicians. What are Americans going to do?

The results of last spring's Health and Wellness Survey were reviewed and released by Bowdoin's Senior Officers this week, though the data will not be officially published by the College. The survey was voluntary and anonymous. It was administered to all students in the spring semester, elicited 934 respondents. Of that number, 42.8 percent were men and 56.9 percent were women.

Though a 1-4 start has left the young and injury-riddled Polar Bears down, they are not going to count themselves out. They are determined to finish 2010 on a high note, starting tomorrow afternoon at Wesleyan.

I would like to echo The Humane Society and its Director of Program Management for Animal Research Issues Kathleen Conlee's call to end all testing on animals in Bowdoin classes. But unlike Conlee, I am asking Bowdoin to justify its actions by meeting the challenge I pose here. My challenge is an appeal to ethical consistency that cannot be ignored by a college that professes to champion the Common Good. Before an institution like Bowdoin can make such a claim, it must somehow justify excluding some creatures from the Common Good.

As the date for Brunswick Naval Air Station's (NASB) closure approaches, Bowdoin continues to move ahead with its plan to acquire approximately 175 developable acres of land on the west side of the base. "The process of acquiring the land has not changed since 2007," wrote Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration & Treasurer Katy Longley in an e-mail to the Orient.

Achromatic combinations are in. Tones like beige, apricot and off-white might appear drab and lifeless, but a little black dress coupled with a pair of neutral-toned shoes, be they flats or heels, will never fail to make your legs look longer.

Paul LePage is going to be the next governor of Maine. Not only that, but he may very well start his administration with Republican majorities in both houses of the Maine State Legislature. The sad truth is that Democrats are going to get routed all over the country this Tuesday. What does this mean for America? Income inequality is going to rise as tax breaks for the rich are paid for through cuts to social programs for the poor, government expenditure will be slashed—de-stimulating the economy—and unemployment is going to rise. In short, Republicans are bad for the economy, and they will be in charge.

Frontier, VSA film festival focuses on disability

As campaign season enters its final weekend before the November 2 elections, the congressional race in Maine's First District between Democratic incumbent Chellie Pingree and her Republican challenger Dean Scontras has narrowed to a statistical dead heat. The most recent Maine Poll, released on October 22, reveals a dramatic tightening of the race. While Pingree's lead declined slightly from 48 to 45 percent, support for Scontras made a significant jump from 33 to 40 percent over a single week. Thirteen percent of polled voters remain undecided.

The women's rugby team ended its season with a record of 4-5 after losing to Stonehill College in the first round of the New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU) playoffs.

During a quick run to Hannaford one morning last week to cure my craving for chocolate-covered almonds, I was struck by an unexpected realization regarding the changing American Dream. While standing in the express checkout line, I overheard two women behind me discussing their shared passion for baking. However, the conversation quickly turned a more pressing issue. One of the ladies spoke about her enjoyment of cookie-baking at work. With this comment, their shared passion for baking was quickly overshadowed, since one lady was employed and the other was not.

Weather problems continued to plague the sailing team last weekend, but the lack of wind did not calm the team's enthusiasm for the upcoming New England championship events.

This year, says the Sustainable Endowments Institute, Bowdoin did its homework. The College's overall grade on the Institute's College Sustainability Report Card rose from a B in 2010 to an A minus in 2011. The uptick was a result of the College's improvements in the categories of Endowment Transparency, from an F to a C, and Shareholder Engagement, from a D to a C. These are two of the nine categories that the Report Card evaluates. The College also improved from a B to an A in Green Building. It received As in all other categories both years.

In his article on the national debt ("National debt poses greatest threat to the United States," October 22), John Dale Grover '14 suggests that the United States has "yet to start a serious plan" to bring its long-term fiscal situation under control. That is simply untrue. The single greatest threat to the long-run solvency of the U.S. is the projected escalation in health care costs. Indeed, if we had the same per-capita health care spending as countries like France, Germany and Canada, the long-run deficit would be a non-issue.

Portland has traded one high-end supermarket for another, as Wild Oats has been replaced by a new Trader Joe's store. The grocery chain is breaking into Maine's organic and natural foods market with today's opening of its first store in the state. The announcement of the store's opening has been met with much excitement throughout the Portland community. The location's Store Captain Tracy Acciola told the Portland Press Herald that residents have called the store saying they were skipping work and taking kids out of school in order to attend the grand opening.

Several challengers are looking to unseat incumbent Democrats in state elections next Tuesday. One of the most significant races is for the seat representing the 66th district in the Maine State Legislature. This district includes approximately 300 Bowdoin students, including those living in Burnett House, Howell House, Helmreich House and Stowe Inn. The incumbent is State Representative Alex Cornell du Houx '06.

The town of Brunswick will not provide early voting in Smith Union this year despite the success of last year's Early Vote Day. Town Clerk Fran Smith called the change the result of a "resource issue." "The reason that we're not doing it is that we're reconsolidating our polling locations," Smith said. "We're opening [early voting] up to the entire public and that will be at the Recreation Center this weekend."

Ever since Bowdoin upgraded its wireless network over Fall Break, many members of the community have expressed frustration as the College adjusts to the new system. To many on campus, the upgrade seemed arbitrary and unnecessarily disruptive. However, the new protocol—WPA2 Enterprise—was implemented after about a year of discussion and testing, according to Chief Information Officer Mitch Davis. The network is designed to close the security gaps of the old, open access system that allowed anyone to "get on the wireless network and 'click,' get your information," according to Davis.

Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols made a guest appearance at this week's Bowdoin Student government (BSG) meeting. The discussion developed into a follow-up on the two current issues, the apparent surge of alcohol-related transports and the investigation of the recent assault.

As parents descend on Bowdoin this weekend, there are some who might feel a little more at home on campus. Currently, 151 Bowdoin students are the children of one or more Bowdoin alumni. Known by admissions and the alumni council as "generational," these students have a unique connection with the College.

The peace and serenity of the woods behind the Bowdoin athletic fields was briefly interrupted last Saturday as runners in the 2010 Maine State Intercollegiate Cross-Country Championship blazed through in pursuit of victory.

The recent bequest of $13.5 million—the largest ever posthumous gift to the College—from the estate of Bion Cram, a member of the Class of 1937, is sure to have a significant impact on Bowdoin's ability to maintain its financial aid program and need-blind admission practices.

I recently made a bucket list for senior year. Number one on that list? Reading the Student Digest. "Seriously," my friend announced in the middle of lunch at Thorne, "who even opens the digest?" Well, I have good news for all the mass e-mailers and digest posters at Bowdoin: you've got another reader in Abby Snyder.

When your father is an Olympic canoeist, following in his footsteps is easier said than done. When you are a decade younger than your closest competitors, this is even harder. But when you are Alex McLain '11, nothing is out of the question.

Although there are many issues on our minds as Election Day approaches, the economy should be our main focus. Many Americans are unaware of—or do not fully comprehend—the size of the national debt, which currently stands at roughly $13.6 trillion, according to government estimates. To write that amount out in full: $13,676,109,536,322. The citizenry is only just beginning to wake up to this huge debt that will have to be paid off. Debt does not simply disappear, and it is astounding that we have gotten this far into the hole without a massive uproar. It would also be foolish to assume that we can remain the world's preeminent power while incurring the largest debt as well.

"Sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite" has taken on literal meaning for several Bowdoin students. Katie Kinkel '13 returned to campus this year to some unexpected roommates in her Stowe Hall room. Early in the year, Kinkel began to notice red bumps similar to mosquito bites concentrated primarily around her feet, legs and hands. Kinkel's father, a doctor, thought these bites may be a result of bedbugs; however, when she went to the Health Center for treatment, they diagnosed it as an allergic reaction and sent Kinkel on her way with an anti-histamine.

A midseason record of 1-3 was not what the Polar Bears envisioned at the start of the 2010 season. They will, however, have a major opportunity to revive their season if they can upset Trinity tomorrow afternoon at Whittier Field.

Today the College will recognize the top 20 percent of students in the annual Sarah and James Bowdoin award ceremony. Sarah and James Bowdoin Day is one of the few occasions at which grades are openly celebrated at the College, though even on this special occasion GPAs are not disclosed. Some students have reacted against what they perceive as the reinforcement of academic competition.

It is shocking that Bowdoin undergraduate students are performing invasive neurosurgery on rats ("Lab rats find a home in Kanbar, enrich student research," October 15). Federal law requires animal research personnel to be appropriately trained and qualified to perform any proposed procedures on animals—the procedures described are complex and could involve immense animal suffering, especially when performed by inexperienced students.

After suffering its second loss in a row when it failed to score against Brandeis University in non-conference play on Wednesday, the women's soccer team looks to secure its first win since October 3 as it hosts Trinity (5-2-4 NESCAC, 3-2-2 overall) on Saturday afternoon.

Looking for early treats? The Bowdoin College Concert Band (BCCB) might have just the thing for your sweet tooth.

One thousand four hundred writers. Two weeks. One champion. It is what Conor Williams '05 calls "the Washington Post version of a reality show," and he is right in the thick of it.

I applaud President Barry Mills and Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster for their recent letter to the community, which was also posted to the Bowdoin Daily Sun, entitled, "A Message about Civility and Respect from President Mills and Dean Foster." Thank you for your excellent leadership on this issue that affects not only current Bowdoin students, staff, faculty and their children, but alumni and the surrounding Brunswick community as well.

The volleyball team ended conference play with a 3-2 loss to Williams. The Polar Bears fell to 14-8 overall and finished their conference season with a program best 7-3 record last Saturday.

The women's rugby team will look to ground the Skyhawks of Stonehill College this weekend in the first round of the New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU) playoffs.

The women's tennis team completed its fall season with a solid performance at the New England Women's Invitational Tennis Tournament (NEWITT).

The Polar Bear sailors struggled against the winds of a Nor'easter last weekend, and are now looking ahead to their fall championship regattas, putting tough finishes and canceled events behind them.

After struggling at the NESCAC Qualifier earlier this month, the men's golf team traveled to the Crumpin-Fox Golf Club in Bernardston, Mass. last weekend to take on a familiarly challenging field at the first-ever NESCAC Match Play Championship.

With the November 2 election less than three weeks away, Republican Dean Scontras, though still trailing, has made a seven-point gain on the incumbent Democrat Chellie Pingree in Maine's First Congressional District.

Applying to live and work as an artist-in-residence on Kent Island is an unusual process. Alongside typical questions regarding major and GPA, the application asks, "Have you spent time living in 'rustic conditions' (e.g., no running water, electricity, cell phone coverage, flush toilets, TV, or internet access)?" and "What is your favorite meal to cook?"

The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced on Tuesday that Lonnie Hackett '14 will receive its prestigious High School Scholar-Athlete award.

The online student information system Bearings may be nearing the end of its service to Bowdoin. The College is currently considering replacing Bearings, which is unreliable and uses outdated technology, with a more comprehensive system. According to Chief Information Officer Mitch Davis, change to the system is likely to occur soon. Davis said that there is general agreement between administrators about the need for change, and that, "It is just a matter of the trustees approving it."

Summer is a busy time for Bowdoin students. Activity options include finding an internship, traveling around the world, doing research on campus, and occasionally just relaxing. Evan Graff '11 and Piper Grosswendt '11 had an additional commitment this past summer: putting together photography projects as winners of the McKee Photography Grant.

After three years of consideration and planning, the NESCAC announced that Hamilton College will become a full member of the conference in the 2011-12 academic year.

University of Southern Maine (USM) School of Music will perform Bach's "B-minor Mass" in Studzinski Recital Hall this Sunday. "[Bach's 'B-minor Mass'] remains today as the most compelling, most musically reasoned, most aesthetically rewarding of all settings—a standard of excellence perhaps for all time," said Professor of Music at USM Robert Russell.

The athletic department has caught some attention due to a gift endowing the position of head coach of the baseball team. Director of Athletics Jeff Ward said that "as far as we can tell, it is the first Division III baseball position that's endowed, which is very cool."

Several area institutions have made Brunswick and our neighboring communities different than many other parts of Maine, and we are all the beneficiaries. The presence of the Brunswick Naval Air Station, Bowdoin College and Bath Iron Works has helped to create a local population that has been more diverse for a longer period of time than other regions within our state, and we enjoy a well-deserved reputation as a place of tolerance and respect.

For the first time, chance will partly determine which students are selected for Alternative Spring Break (ASB) trips this year. Though in past years the selection process was based solely on the evaluation of applications, this year, the application—which includes five short essays—will be just one component of the "weighted lottery" process that the McKeen Center will use to choose participants

I was assassinated the week before fall break. It was pretty late at night, and I had just come back from the gym. I went to my room to get a towel and left my door open while I took a shower. When I got back to my room, everything seemed fine. I left my door open and went over to my desk to check my e-mail. That's when I saw my assassin. He had been waiting for me in my room as I showered. He hid behind the front door to my room when I came in, closing the door when I saw him. As he did, he said, "You're not going anywhere." He then whipped a sock at me. I was out.

Riding a five-game win streak, the men's soccer team moved up in the national polls to No. 22 and No. 3 in the New England region.

Regarding your recent article on Christian tracts being found in the Hawthorne-Longfellow Library ("Christian pamphlets planted in H-L stacks," September 17): When I was in college, we used to laugh at finding such things. I can't believe students, or anyone of college age for that matter, need to be so coddled that they require the removal of these tracts.

Currently, six Consortium for Faculty Diversity (CFD) Fellows are teaching on campus, a number the College expects to maintain next year. The College will start looking for replacements for the three departing fellows as soon as CFD dossiers become available in early November.

This fall marks Rick Scala's 25th year as men's rugby coach.

When employers recruit at Bowdoin, they are consistently impressed by students' striking accomplishments on paper, but according to Career Advisor Meg Springer, "we have heard repeatedly...that during the interview, [students] are basically blowing it because they haven't practiced and aren't presenting themselves well." As a result, "jobs are being left on the table."

The women's field hockey team continued its undefeated season with an impressive 5-1 win over Colby on Wednesday.

At last week's meeting, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) convened to address the new controversial printing policy implemented this year. BSG addressed the general concerns associated with the new printing policy which has sparked student anger and misconceptions.

The men's cross-country team will reach the most important juncture of its season this weekend. The runners will compete at the State Championship here at Bowdoin tomorrow.

Closer medical care might be just what the doctor ordered. Mid Coast Hospital will be extending its services and moving part of its operation to a new office building in Maine Street Station. The construction and move-in is set to be completed in May 2011, Mid Coast Hospital Executive Vice President Lois Skillings said.

Despite performing at the Open New England Championship without three of their top seven runners, the women's cross-country team managed to finish 23 out of the 47 teams and ninth among D-III schools.

Bowdoin received a record-breaking amount of scholarship and grant support during the 2009-2010 academic year. "A total of $7,349,699.00 in grant monies and institutional support was awarded an increase of nearly 14 percent over last year's record breaking total," the Bowdoin website reported.

The change of seasons brings another change to Bowdoin campus this week with the addition of small bicycle warning placards on public handrails around campus. Installed before break, these small placards inform students of the illegality of locking bicycles to public entrance ways around campus.

For Casey Grindon, the second time's the charm. After losing in the singles final of last weekend's Stony Brook Invitational to teammate Chris Lord '14, the sophomore came back with a vengeance and won his doubles bracket alongside Alex Jacobs '12.

The women's golf team's undefeated streak came to an end last weekend at the Williams Classic, where the team finished in eighth place in a field of 10.

The Polar Bear sailors did not relax on their fall break. Instead, they posted the team's strongest results yet—a win at Bates and a second-place finish on Long Island Sound.

After dispatching D-I Holy Cross in impressive fashion (7-0) in its only dual match of the fall season, the women's tennis team continued its successful fall with a strong showing at the Gail Smith Doubles Tournament hosted by Middlebury College.

The students of Professor of Art Mark Wethli's Senior Seminar left Maine and got an invaluable glimpse into the world of professional visual artists last weekend. The trip took the class comprised of the senior visual arts majors to the epi center of the art scene in America: New York City.

After dramatically decreasing 17 percent in 2009, Bowdoin's endowment grew by 10.3 percent in fiscal year 2010. Following a decade in which the College's endowment regularly outperformed other school's funds, this rate fell below the 12.2 percent that Cambridge Associates reported as the median return among the educational funds the firm tracks.

The men's cross-country team drove home from its last race in high spirits, and, to celebrate the events of the day, first years on the team sang solo performances over the bus microphone.

A new poll suggests a dead heat in this cold state's race for governor. Data released Wednesday shows 30 percent of likely voters supporting Democrat Libby Mitchell and 29 percent supporting Republican Paul LePage. These numbers come just 10 days after a poll that had put LePage at a 13-point advantage and is welcome news for Democrats, with only one month left until the November 2 elections. All polling data was generated by Critical Insights of Portland, Maine. The poll size was relatively small—405 likely voters were polled.

I was absolutely dead set against it. After eight years of basketball, tennis and soccer, I decided that college was not going to be just another year of athletics for me. This was going to be a year of "fun" weekends, academic-filled weeks and Gossip Girl Mondays. However, my floor had different plans for me.

Despite humid weather and unfamiliarity with the course, the women's cross-country team dominated at the Wesleyan Invitational. Although the Polar Bears were underdogs to Wesleyan, ranked No. 9, running smart allowed them to escape with a victory last Saturday.

A Louis Vuitton bag did David Little '85 in. No, it did not send him into a spiral of debt or cause him to rob his local department store to get his hands on one.

Bowdoin will award its highest honor, the Bowdoin Prize, to Leon Gorman '56, L.L. Bean Chairman and Trustee Emeritus of the College today. In 1960, Gorman joined his grandfather's mail-order business in a time of unforeseen decline and considerable challenges. Gorman's grandfather, Leon Leonwood Bean, founder of L.L. Bean revolutionized outdoorswear by creating The Maine Hunting Shoe, a boot with a rubber sole and stitched leather that protected hunters from the dampness of the Maine woods.

On Monday night, the men's soccer team proved they are a team to be feared in the NESCAC. Playing through steady rain on a slick field at Colby College, the Polar Bears controlled the game from start to finish to earn a 4-0 victory.

The Board of Trustees begins its yearly evaluation of College funds this weekend, beginning with meetings starting today. Aside from its presentation of the Bowdoin Prize to Leon Gorman '56 tonight, the Board's focus this weekend will be primarily fiscal. "It's going to be a pretty routine meeting, there is nothing overwhelmingly important taking place," said Senior Vice President for Planning and Development and Secretary of the College Bill Torrey. Torrey noted that the October meeting is generally a time for the Board to discuss the College's financial standings at the end of the fiscal year and assess how the College fared in terms of budget and financial returns.

After reading "Coe Quad memorial too close to Ground Zero" (September 17), it took several minutes and another reading to consider whether this article was either so dripping with sarcasm and laced with "irony" that it could have been written in earnest, or was rather intended as a jarring parody. All politics aside and without delving into the propriety of the College Republicans erecting a memorial to 9/11 on campus this year, I find it in very poor taste to make a mockery of the notion of sacred ground and commemoration.

On Wednesday afternoon, the women's soccer team cruised to a decisive 5-1 victory against the University of Southern Maine (USM).

He has been interviewed on NBC Nightly News and the Tavis Smiley Show; he has been profiled as the ABC News "Person of the Week"; and, to put the seal on his recent explosion into the limelight, Geoffrey Canada '74 has been on "Oprah." Canada has been popping up all over the media to build enthusiasm for the already acclaimed documentary, "Waiting for Superman," of which he is a subject.

"Bowdoin has never seen a women's golf season like this year." Chelsea Gross '13, herself an integral part of the team's success, expressed the significant steps that women's golf has taken during the 2010 season under new head coach Gerry Caron.

Lectures and dance performances are typical fare for Kresge auditorium, but the Women in Action (WIA) brought a unique combination of both art forms to the stage last night. The six female Nicaraguan dancers of WIA performed traditional Nicaraguan folk dance pieces while incorporating informative lectures about WIA's humanitarian initiatives to combat poverty in Nicaragua.

Although the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the H1N1 pandemic over on August 10, College Health Services is still preparing for the onslaught of seasonal flu. The H1N1 virus, commonly known as swine flu, swept the globe last year, infecting hundreds of thousands of people, including over 200 Bowdoin students. In response to the high-infection rate last year, the College set up quarantine rooms in Chamberlain Hall during September to contain transmission of the virus.

At last weekend's West Point Invitational, a tournament comprised of all D-I teams except for Bowdoin and Amherst, the women's tennis team showed that its members have the grit and talent to play at any level.

For Susannah Burrage '11, the printers at Bowdoin are like the vending machine that takes one's money, but gives nothing in return. On September 26, Burrage printed a document from a library computer, and after swiping and confirming her print order, she waited. Five minutes later, no documents had come, but in terms of her $60 allocation for printing, it was as if they had.

In women's rugby this Homecoming Weekend, the Polar Bears will seek to claim the crown as the top bears in Maine when they face-off against the Black Bears of the University of Maine-Orono (UMO).

"I couldn't really be confident," said Grant Easterbrook '11, discussing last week's class council election in which he ran for President. "It's anyone's guess what will happen when you have four people running." Easterbrook's concerns, however, were alleviated when the results of the senior Class Council elections were announced Sunday night, with Easterbrook winning the presidency for the second year in a row. The Orient Express predicted Easterbrook's victory on Sunday afternoon.

The women's volleyball team won a stunning comeback victory from a two set deficit against the Colby College Mules Wednesday Night. The Mules won the first two sets 26-24 and 25-21 before the Polar Bears rallied to take the next three sets 25-19, 15-21, and 15-10.

The investigation to find last week's assault perpetrator is ongoing, but has yet to yield results. In an e-mail to the Orient, Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols wrote on Thursday regarding the process that he had "Nothing to report."

Despite high winds and rough waters, the sailing team's weekend was highlighted by a third place finish at the Chris Loder Trophy.

This Tuesday, Brunswick will welcome Flipside, a new, by-the-slice pizza restaurant at 111 Maine Street. Before its official opening, Flipside will host an open house today from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., allowing Brunswick residents to sample free slices of pizza.

Thousands flock to New York City every summer for big-shot internships or jobs. With an iPhone in her hand, senior Lauren Gesswein ended up capturing some big shots of her own.

The expressionless man holding a pitchfork next to his stoic wife of Grant Wood's painting "American Gothic" is a familiar sight. Couples from Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy to Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie have reenacted it. This weekend, the painting moves to a new medium: the theater.

2010 will be different for the football team. That's what the Bowdoin players and coaches think, and they can't wait to prove it to the rest of NESCAC.

Artist Aniruddha Knight learned to dance as if it was his second language. Raised in an artistically-gifted family, Knight can trace his maternal genealogy nine generations back—two hundred years—to the revival of the Southern Indian religious performance of the bharata natyam.

The men's soccer team drew its second scoreless draw in as many weekends against the Bates Bobcats. After 35 total shots and three crossbars, the Polar Bears came away frustrated with the game's result last Saturday.

Yesterday the Judicial Board (J-Board) released its 2009-2010 Annual Report detailing the 11 cases it heard in the last academic year. The report was released in an e-mail to students, faculty and staff on yesterday afternoon; username authentication is required to access the report. Seven of the J-Board cases from the last academic year dealt with Academic Honor Code violations, for which three students and two faculty members sat on the Board.

Andy Serwer '81, the managing editor of Fortune Magazine, is not a bad guy. By all accounts, he's actually a pretty good guy, a real good guy, even. Before his speech at Common Hour today, he will probably be introduced by President Barry Mills or Dean of Academic Affairs Cristle Collins Judd, either of whom will undoubtedly shower him with praise. Perhaps he deserves it.

Renowned West Bath artist Evelyn Dunphy will be featured in an exhibition of watercolor and still life paintings from next Monday through October 29 in Lancaster Lounge, Moulton Union.

The field hockey team began Saturday's game against Bates with a bang, when Cathleen Smith '13 scored the first goal only 16 seconds into the game.

Bowdoin College seems to be a place where comfort never goes out of style. The ostentatious is frowned upon, the frills are scoffed at and nice outfits are always inquisitively received with: "Did you have an interview or something?"

This Saturday, 430 people will pay homage to Taryn L. King '07 at the third annual "Go Big or Go Home for TLK" benefit for the Taryn L. King Memorial Scholarship Fund. At this $75 per ticket celebration, guests will consume 1980s hits and "Fenway Franks" at Boston's famous stadium.

The women's rugby team will face off against Boston University this Saturday on Pickard Rugby Field for its home opener. The Terriers are coming off a 57-0 thrashing of University of New Hampshire and should prove to be worthy opponents for the Polar Bears.

Last week's editorial supported the new printing policy, stating that it is an "important environmental move" and "we should accept the cost of this worthwhile cause." I don't.

With his one-man multimedia spectacle "Wow and Flutter," performer Andrew Schneider is slated to transform Wish Theater tomorrow night.

The women's volleyball team extended its winning streak to four matches on Wednesday with a 3-0 sweep of Maine Maritime at home in the Morrell Gymnasium. The win improves the Polar Bears record for the season to 6-2, while the Mariners drop to 5-6 overall.

I appreciated last week's article, "Convocation address sparks intellectual diversity debate on campus" (September 10). I am writing specifically in response to Barry Mills' comments encouraging "intellectual diversity on campus in a broader sense" and the sense of unease within some "underrepresented groups on campus." If Bowdoin is committed to diversity, why is the Multicultural House at 30 College Street the only place on campus (with the exceptions of the Russworm House and 24 College Street) that provides a meeting place for those of different cultures and religions?

The men's golf team overcame a sluggish start by outmatching rivals Colby and Bates on the Brunswick Golf Course last Sunday.

Each year Bowdoin welcomes several language teaching fellows from across the globe to teach at the College and take classes. This year the College is playing host to two teaching fellows from France, one from Germany and one from Spain.

As part of an ongoing process to boost academic advising on campus, the Bowdoin Advising Program to Support Academic Excellence (BASE) was initiated this semester to strengthen the quality of first year advising relationships. A two-year pilot program, BASE is the brainchild of Dean of First Year Students Janet Lohmann and Associate Professor of Psychology Suzanne Lovett.

I'm 40, so by your standards, I'm old. It still seems like yesterday I was scrambling from Coles Tower with my half-frozen hair, trying to make it to my first class. Alas, how time flies.

After a strong showing from five members of the women's tennis team this past weekend at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) New England Championship, the Polar Bears will attempt to maintain the momentum as they travel to the West Point Invitational today.

The year 2010 doesn't only mark the 10th anniversary of the destruction of our civilization at the hands of the Y2K bug, it also rings in the 200th anniversary of the greatest celebration of beer on the planet: Oktoberfest!

Though he figures prominently in Bowdoin culture—from the way he greets visitors from his post on Maine Street to the places on campus that bear his name—Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain remains a surprisingly unknown figure.

Andy Serwer, managing editor of Fortune Magazine, is scheduled to speak at Friday's Common Hour in Kresge Auditorium. He will be discussing "Money, Markets and Mayhem." Andy Serwer transcends the conventional notions of the business man. He carries a certain magnetism and astuteness that translates business journalism across a spectrum of media.

A crowd of over 100 spectators lined the 5K course on a sunny Saturday to watch the women's cross-country season opener, in which the team finished in second place behind Colby.

Bowdoin students, staff and faculty members will come together for the 20th annual Memory Walk tomorrow at 9 a.m. The Memory Walk seeks to raise money to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease, as well as to promote overall awareness of the disease.

The sailing team continued to rise in the rankings of the NEISA conference after noteworthy finishes at University of Vermont, Boston College and Middlebury this past weekend.

According to Associate Director of Housing Operations Lisa Rendall, roughly 6 percent of students live off campus. While many stick close to the campus frontier, others live as far as five miles down Mere Point Road. All represent conduits piercing the membrane of the "Bowdoin Bubble."

For those who love to dance, wish they could dance, or enjoy watching dance, there is a new face on campus that can assist with all three. Charlotte Griffin has joined Bowdoin's faculty as an assistant professor of dance.

As I'm sure you all know, the Bowdoin College Republicans placed nearly 3,000 miniature American flags on the Dudley Coe Quad this past week to memorialize the 9/11 attacks. Frankly, I was shocked.

During the second game of one of the most highly-anticipated seasons for the men's soccer team, the Polar Bears showed their true colors and proved why they are setting their sights on a NESCAC championship.

Since 1927, the Bowdoin Magazine has connected College alumni with their alma mater. Now, as it continues its transition from print to online media, the Magazine is becoming more accessible to students and expanding its role as a facilitator of communication between all members of the Bowdoin community.

Historically, the drive to explore has opposed to the desire to conserve land. After all, it takes a very conscientious explorer not to alter a landscape while passing through. Senior Evan Farley's current exhibit—located in the Fishbowl Gallery of the Visual Arts Center—not only reconciles the ideas of exploration and conservation, but beautifies the eventual union of these two ideas.

Recent attempts by the Student Activities Funding Committee (SAFC) to bring the Bowdoin Orient to its knees have put this newspaper at a crossroads. It could fight back; it has leverage against the purse-keepers, and might win in a showdown. Or, the Orient could treat this crisis as an opportunity to undergo a drastic but inevitable metamorphosis.

The campus knows them, loves them, and arrives at their concerts up to an hour before doors open to guarantee they get a seat. A cappella is a part of Bowdoin—a big part—and last night, it got just a little bit bigger.

The Career Planning Center's (CPC) search for a new Associate Director of Employer Relations ended last Friday when Todd Herrmann '85 accepted the position. Herrmann will start the job on October 1. Currently the Assistant Director of Employer Relations at Colby College, he expressed enthusiasm about his new position.

For mathematicians like Professor Pietraho, questions of symmetry are of great theoretical importance and carry far-reaching ramifications in mathematics and beyond.

Even as an 11-year-old, I could tell that something was wrong on September 11, 2001. The police officer who helped us cross the street to get to school in the morning was absent and without a replacement. It was the first time I ever had to cross the street alone to get to my elementary school in suburban New York.

The first week of the season was filled with ups and downs for the women's soccer team. After experiencing a tough loss versus conference rival Amherst, the Polar Bears rebounded from Saturday's loss with an exciting victory against Husson on Wednesday.

The newly opened Trattoria Athena, located near Fort Andross on Mill Street, is not the type of place that you would find unless you were looking for it.

If you build it, they will come. At least that's what Onsite Project Manager of Maine Street Station (MSS) Mike Lyne said he is hoping. Along with being Amtrak's port of entry into Brunswick—a train service is scheduled to begin in early 2012—the station currently offers access to the Maine Eastern train and the Brunswick Explorer, and has recently merged all of Concord Coach's previous Brunswick-area stops into one location.

I get it. You're a first year and you are already overwhelmed with work. Or you're a sophomore who has made a goal to improve your grades. You might even be a junior or senior who has résumés and upper level classes to worry about. Whatever year you may be, the start of any semester is tough. But take a deep breath. Despite however busy you may be, there is life beyond classes.

After only a single week of play, the men's golf team faces a busy and critical weekend of competition. The team heads to Boothbay Golf Course for the Maine State Tournament on Friday and Saturday, before returning home on Sunday for the annual Colby-Bates-Bowdoin Championship at the Brunswick Golf Club.

In an effort to communally commemorate the anniversary of 9/11, the Bowdoin College Republicans (BCR), the Muslim Students Association (MSA) and the Bowdoin Christian Fellowship (BCF) joined forces. The three groups gathered at the flagpole in the evening of September 11 to share memories of the event. Bringing together participants from three different campus groups, the event offered diverse perspectives on 9/11.

I have a bone to pick with both the economy and Bowdoin right now. I am sure people can sympathize with this in many ways, but my bone is not over our endless recession or pricy tax hikes. Nor is my issue over too many dollar signs and too little dough. No, this little bone I have consists of two words: toilet paper.

The sailing team welcomed the start of the fall season this past weekend, finding both success and room for improvement at regattas across New England.

International performers the Lydian String Quartet (LSQ) will join cellist Rhonda Rider in a "Quintetssentials" performance at Studzinski Recital Hall on Sunday.

The Bowdoin admissions website poses a rhetorical question—"Does Bowdoin welcome international students?"—and answers it: "Absolutely!" But international students, unlike their American counterparts, are mostly only "welcome" if they can pay up. Though Bowdoin has practiced "need-blind" admissions for domestic students for over a decade, "admission for non-U.S. Citizens," according to The College Catalogue, "may take a family's financial resources into consideration."

Brock Cochran's summons to West Bath District Court for September 21 most likely will be postponed. According to Lieutenant Mark Waltz of the Brunswick Police Department, Cochran, accused of stealing electronics in multiple parts of Maine, was revealed to have a prior record of thefts. If convicted, these prior occurrences would bump the current charges against him to felonies.

After a year that saw 26 alcohol transports and a reexamination of Bowdoin's party scene, the campus drinking culture picked up right where it left off. By the second day of classes four students had been transported to the hospital for reasons relating to alcohol, though there have been none since.

Someone needs to get the Bias Incident Oversight Committee to take a look at an e-mail recently sent to the residents of Harpswell Apartments, the fabled campus destination better known as "Bro Village." I am pretty sure that Harpswell residents are being discriminated against due to their lifestyle choices.

Even before Aijalon Gomes set foot back on American soil August 27, Bowdoin was with him. Gomes '01 spent over seven months in a North Korean prison after being arrested in late January for illegally entering the country. The Bowdoin Christian Fellowship (BCF) compiled messages of support and encouragement for Gomes, which BCF adviser Rob Gregory handed off to the State Department to send to North Korea. On Wednesday, Gregory spoke with Gomes, and learned that the letters reached Gomes while he was imprisoned.

Two thousand one hundred career yards is a respectable record for a quarterback, almost enough to make the top-10 for Bowdoin College. This number, which could be a career in and of itself, is the difference between Oliver Kell '10 and Hayes MacArthur '98, for the number one and two spots in the College's history.

How do you say no to the U.S. Women's National Rugby Team? That's exactly the question that Director of Athletics Jeff Ward asked himself earlier this summer when the national team visited Bowdoin for a three-week training camp.

So, there's fighting in Washington. All but the most rabid voters aren't happy with either party, and no one is expecting real change in the next Congress, save for those who have grown so confused that they think "change" and "obstruction" are one and the same. What can we to hope for, besides more gridlock?

"Jazz is in the heart, no, the soul, of those who embrace it," writes Irvin Mayfield on his website.

They hail from Portland to Pakistan and, at 510 students, they are the largest group of first-years Bowdoin has ever seen. Please welcome the Class of 2014.

It was disheartening to read the Orient's article on Trevor Powers and his subsequent arrest ("Season cut short for coach with OUI," May 7). While this might have constituted news in the New York Post, it is disappointing that an upstanding college newspaper has sunken to reporting on the personal situations of a former student and staff member.

Downtown Portland, Maine is not usually considered an ideal place to camp. Loretta Park '11 and her fellow sculpture installation artists at the Portland Art Walk last Friday night, however, seemed to consider it just that.

Students with accounts at TD Bank must now travel to Hannaford to withdraw cash without incurring fees. The bank did not renew its agreement with the College for the two ATMs it has operated on campus since 2005. Instead, Bank of America and Midcoast Federal Credit Union will have ATMs in Smith Union and the Thorne-Coles Tower lobby, respectively.

To the Editors: I support the decision of the Curriculum and Educational Policy Committee to deny the proposal for a theater and dance major ("Theater and dance major rejected," May 7). I have enjoyed dance classes at Bowdoin with the current full-time dance professors Gwyneth Jones and Paul Sarvis, but still harbor concerns.

Thanks to the September 1 introduction of the Brunswick Explorer, the ban prohibiting first years from having cars has become a lot less prohibitive. From now until November 1, anyone can ride the new public bus system free of charge.

Once again, Bowdoin's Dining Service takes the cake. The College regained its status of having the "Best Campus Food" as determined by the Princeton Review's most recent college rankings.

After more than 30 years of investment management, Stanley Druckenmiller announced his retirement in late August from his position as President, CEO and Chairman of Duquesne Capital, the company he founded in 1981.

A Maine State Music Theater (MSMT) truck struck and damaged the metal arch behind Pickard Theater on August 28 while transporting set pieces from the group's performance of "Spamalot."

To be or not to be, that was the question. A theater and dance major, collaboratively designed by faculty from the two disciplines and proposed by Associate Professor of Theater and Dance Robert Bechtel, was turned down this week by the Bowdoin Curriculum and Educational Policy Committee (CEP).

Assistant Baseball and Football Coach Trevor Powers '06 was arrested for Operating Under the Influence (OUI) on Sunday, April 25 at 1:31 a.m. on Coffin Street, according to public records on the Brunswick Police Department (BPD) website.

The level of faculty diversity at the close of this academic year is reflective of the notable success of the College's concerted efforts to expand the range of perspectives and areas of research on campus. In October, Dean for Academic Affairs Cristle Collins Judd issued a report to the Special Committee on Multicultural Affairs outlining the College's approach to improve faculty diversity. Her statement reported that faculty of color now comprise 20 percent of the Bowdoin faculty, a 10 percent rise from the 2005-2006 academic year.

Members of the Class of 2010 worried about finding that special someone for their last hurrah before graduation need not look any further: Senior Seven has finally come. The idea driving the Senior Seven tradition is simple. Members of the senior class hoping to achieve that one unrealized hookup (or possibly even seven) are given a last chance to anonymously test the waters before graduating.

A bare arm, a tangle of legs, a shadowy silhouette: all will be on display tonight at the fourth annual Naked Art Show.

As one of the most useful and arguably most important developments of the 20th and 21st centuries, the Internet has a ubiquitous presence in developed countries and is exponentially increasing in users worldwide. A report issued on February 23, 2010, by John B. Horrigan at the Federal Communications Commission, finds that 78 percent of adults in the United States are Internet users and 65 percent of adults have home broadband access.

Next fall, students will be introduced to a new, environmentally sound printing policy. The Bowdoin Printing Group (BPG), a committee composed of representatives from the library, Finance, and Information Technology (IT), recently approved a new measure that is expected to reduce paper waste by 20 to 40 percent.

Though the team competition for men's track has ended for the year, the postseason continues this weekend for a few athletes. The Open New England at Northeastern University is all about individual performances: bettering personal records and qualifying for nationals.

Most Bowdoin students love watching films, but there are also those Bowdoin students who love to make films. Next Saturday, The Bowdoin Film Society will host the annual Student Film Festival, where the Bowdoin community will have the opportunity to watch a series of student-made films.

I enjoyed your article on College pranks. To set the record straight, the chickens used for the auxiliary dining annex and stockyard prank were not stolen, but purchased from a chicken farmer.

In what was the final Bowdoin meet for the seniors on the women's track team, the Polar Bears finished an impressive sixth at the New England D-III Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

An ensemble of four student comedians and one student MC will entertain, amuse, and start a comedy movement at Bowdoin tonight with Comedy Night 2010.

Five hundred twenty admitted students have accepted spots in the Class of 2014 as of Thursday and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Scott Meiklejohn said it is "unlikely" that the College will accept any students off the wait list this year.

Like any senior, I've been looking forward to Senior Week for a long time. However, I recently became less excited when I learned that I am expected to pay $35 in Senior Week dues to subsidize lousy beer that I am not going to drink and a Portland Pub Crawl in which I will not be participating.

The women's lacrosse team fell to the Williams Ephs on Sunday in the NESCAC Quarterfinals, 14-12. The Ephs advance to the NESCAC Semifinals this weekend with the win, and the Polar Bears fall to 10-6 for the season.

The men's tennis team closed out their regular season this past week against Bates College (11-6 overall, 6-4 NESCAC).

Ever wanted to know how the Polar Bear statue came to be, or why there are so many sets of memorial gateways on the Bowdoin campus?

At an estimated cost of approximately $3.4 million, the work currently being done to the heating station is the largest scale construction project the College has broken ground on since the completion of the Peter Buck Center for Health and Fitness last year.

The sailing team traveled to Boston this past weekend to compete in its final regatta of the spring season.

More than half of the Bowdoin student body either plays a varsity, club or intramural sport, or competed in high school. And, many would argue, the sports environment is the hardest environment to come out in.

The seventh annual SolarFest will offer a variety of energy-conscious activities and solar-powered performances on the Dudley Coe Quad tomorrow from noon to 5 p.m.

Many students would agree that balancing athletics and academics at a college as demanding as Bowdoin can be a challenging prospect. Yet if the prospect of playing one season of a college sport sounds daunting, try three.

Construction is currently underway to make Thorne Dining Hall greener. A solar hot water project intended to reduce the College's fossil fuel emissions is projected to be fully installed on Thorne's roof by the end of the academic year.

While many of us may just pass by old, deteriorating buildings, for three students in Adjunct Lecturer Wiebke Theodore's independent study it is just this style of aging architecture that is the focus of their semester-long study.

While students get plenty of face time with their professors during lectures, they rarely see the scholarly work their instructors do outside the classroom. According to the College's website, "Faculty members are also expected to be involved in their field outside the College, making scholarly, artistic or other contributions which are recognized by the larger professional community."

With a runner on third, a one-run lead and only one out, the softball team was in trouble. But that's when sophomore centerfielder Hillary Smyth took things into her own hands—a fly ball was hit to Smith and she fired a strike to the plate, gunning the runner and ending the game.

Every year, nearly 6,000 students apply to Bowdoin College. Of the one-sixth accepted, nearly half chooses to matriculate. And every year, the Office of Admissions strives for a "diverse" graduating class. Diversity, however, is not a sugar-coated word for racial and ethnic minorities. "We don't have minority recruitment," said Associate Dean of Admissions and Coordinator of Multicultural Recruitment Elmer Moore. "But multicultural and diversity recruitment." Moore defined diversity as "people from various perspectives such as geography, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, political ideology, religion, height and so on." According to Moore, efforts to bring "diverse" students to the College began in 1794, when it was founded.

With the score tied at 12 in triple overtime, a goal by Carolyn Gorajek '13 won the women's lacrosse game for Bowdoin and snapped Williams's six-game win streak (see Athlete of the Week, page 18).

The cohort of faculty tenured this year will be the first group eligible to take advantage of the College's new sabbatical policy, which the Board of Trustees voted to approve on April 6, 2010.

Brunswick's Eleven Pleasant Street Gallery will exhibit Frank Valliere's show, "Classic Ruin: A Retrospective of Frank Valliere" from May 1 to 31.

"We decided that the Temple must be utterly destroyed, ruined beyond redemption, so we would blow it up." These words, which some might attribute to a deranged madman, are actually those of a former Bowdoin student. An anonymous note, which appeared in the Bowdoin Alumnus magazine of 1928, described one of the more notable incidents in the long history of pranks at the College: the leveling of the campus outhouse, known as the "Temple" in 1875. With the sense of revelry, and accompanying debauchery, that arrives with Ivies Weekend, this seems a particularly apt moment to revisit the often overlooked, but decidedly lengthy, history of pranks at the College.

As the results of Fulbright Program winners continue to roll in, it appears to be another good year for Bowdoin applicants.

After an unprecedentedly busy fall, the Counseling Center has seen some order restored. Emergencies, hospitalizations and counseling sessions have dwindled, despite the spring semester's reputation for higher Counseling Center traffic. In a November 6 article, the Orient reported that the volume of counseling sessions was up, the number of emergencies was high, and there had been more hospitalizations at that point in the year than ever before.

The men's track season is reaching a highly competitive point, as competition shifts toward individual performances. However, the team has some strong performances to build on as a result of its performance last weekend.

A misprint on the Ivies bottles sold by the Class of 2011 council is causing controversy and confusion on campus.

I am counting down the days before I can embrace my sisters again, speak Arabic to my compatriots, wear what my bearded, funny neighbor calls conventional clothes, and reassure my family that neither America nor Broadwain—a Moroccan rendering of Bowdoin with touches of the renowned Broadway—is hostile to Arabs. I have come to realize how unready I am for the last of this limitless list of matters, which I will be compelled to address back home. I do not wish to posit a basis for confrontation—American media coverage attends to that daily and impeccably. Rather, I would like to speak my mind with regards to the questions of identity at the crossroads of culture and religion, especially Islam, at Bowdoin.

After miserable conditions the previous week at the Aloha Relays, the women's track team excelled in more favorable conditions at the NESCAC Championships, held at Tufts University last Saturday.

With Ivies this weekend and discussions of responsible drinking abound, alcohol remains a hot topic. Members of the Alcohol team (A-Team) gathered for a summit last Friday to discuss the ways Bowdoin students view, use and abuse alcohol.

I heard the rumors while abroad: "The police are out of control," "Bowdoin is different," "Weekends aren't fun anymore," and "The party scene is gone." I refused to believe these outlandish claims when I heard them through my computer screen via a Skype call, or read them during a Facebook chat or in an e-mail.

Coming off the toughest defeat of the year against Middlebury, the men's tennis team faced University of Southern Maine and NESCAC rival Williams (7-4 overall, 4-1 NESCAC) last weekend. Bowdoin prevailed without losing a match, trouncing USM.

Colby students have taken their last shots—with the college's approval, that is. On April 20, Colby joined the growing list of institutions that have banned hard alcohol from their campuses. Colby's hard alcohol ban was instigated due to its high number of alcohol transports.

Over the years the students of Bowdoin College have come to pride themselves for testing the boundaries of free speech and artistic expression. We entertain radical ideas and interact with some fairly radical intellectuals.

On the eve of Ivies, I have decided to voice some thoughts. I want to first congratulate the administration for doing their best, as always, to watch over us na‹ve students while we revel in the magic that is Ivies Weekend. Nonetheless, the administration, as a formal body can only go so far—their earnest pleas for us to be good lack oomph. Here are some things that I feel need to be stated.

In the world of college sailing, the month of April signals an intense consecutive weekend series of New England championship regattas.

The Bowdoin Fencing Club hosted its first-ever tournament last Sunday, the Bowdoin Three Weapon Invitational, in Sargent Gymnasium.

On Monday, April 19, Women's Hockey Coach Stacy Wilson announced her decision to resign in an off-season meeting with the team.

Times have changed since January 2009 when the Blue Tarp Committee anticipated a zero percent rate of return on the endowment, suggested increasing the incoming class size to bring in revenue and advocated that the College not lay off any employees. According to President Barry Mills, the College expects a seven percent rate of return on the endowment, did not admit additional students to the Class of 2013 and has laid off four employees.

The Bowdoin Chorus will bring its year to a harmonious end with a final concert this weekend. Accompanied by a chamber orchestra, the 60-person ensemble made up of Bowdoin students, staff and Midcoast community members will be singing two pieces: Franz Joseph Haydn's "Insanae et vanae curae" and Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Dona nobis pacem."

Just like the spring weather, men's lacrosse is starting to get hot, as four straight victories have vaulted the Polar Bears back into contention for a top-three seed in this year's NESCAC tournament.

Some first years may be in close contact with professors well before classes start this fall. A proposal for a new pre-major advisory program, introduced by Dean of First Year Students Janet Lohmann and Associate Professor of Psychology Suzanne Lovett, is designed to focus on students who need more academic attention during their first year at Bowdoin than has been directly provided in the past.

Each week the Orient spotlights different aspects of the arts and entertainment scene in Portland. This week's installment focuses on venues for vegetarian food.

Through the cold Sunday drizzle, the scoreboard almost looked like a mirage; Colby College was leading Bowdoin 9-1 in the ninth inning of the decisive game of a three-game series.

Students will have the opportunity to hear original fiction this Monday as English Department Prize victors read their winning compositions aloud.

Despite a pay freeze at the College, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) reports that this year the salaries received by Bowdoin's full-time full professors are the 10th highest in the country among liberal arts colleges.

A year ago, the College's leadership assured the community that they had a plan to deal with the recession. The plan relied on reasonable pillars including careful evaluations of the College's costs and assets. Salaries were frozen to avoid layoffs and reductions in staff. It was a thoughtful and effective approach to securing the safety of the College's finances. Due to the strength of the plan, and the College's commitment, Bowdoin has weathered the recent recession with laudable results.

The Bowdoin Middle Eastern Ensemble will be performing at 8 p.m. in Studzinski Recital Hall on Monday April 26.

The cruelty of April was clearly in full force on Saturday, as the women's outdoor track team woke up to brutal weather conditions on the day of the Aloha Relays, its only home meet of the season.

After the Student Activities Funding Committee (SAFC) denied funding for the spring WBOR concert—which it had allocated money for in the fall—last week, questions were raised about how the committee distributes money from its discretionary funds.

Students may have noticed someting special in Moulton Dining Hall this week: the 12x24 prints lining main dining room's walls.

The women's tennis team fell 6-3 to the Middlebury Panthers last Saturday, suffering a heartbreaking loss to their 15th-ranked NESCAC rival on the Panther's home courts.

Hungry students typically know the faces of the people who serve them their meals, but they may not know that many of these Dining employees are not actually hired by Bowdoin. The use of Career Pathways Initiative (CPI), an outside hiring agency, to staff temporary positions at Bowdoin has been an important part of the hiring process for over 15 years. In the fall of 2010, Bowdoin Dining Services will stop using CPI to hire dining employees and will transfer hiring responsibilities to Dining Services staff members.

The Polar Bears headed to Connecticut this past weekend to sail in two of its most competitive events of the season, with promising results.

Students searching for sources on the library's home page can now see the holdings of Colby, Bates and Bowdoin at first glance. The default search catalog was recently changed to the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin catalog (CBBcat) instead of the Bowdoin Catalog.

This weekend, some of the most interesting and unconventional modern musical sounds that Maine has to offer will be heard at the 2nd Annual Back Cove Contemporary Music Festival. This festival features performers and composers from all around the state, a lineup that includes several Bowdoin students.

It was what Head Coach Frank Pizzo called a "picket fence Sunday" for the sailing team at the New England Dinghy Tournament (NEDT) this past weekend.

For the first time since 2003, WBOR will not be bringing a spring concert to campus. The Student Activities Funding Committee (SAFC) pulled funding for the concert last week after a change in the act, which was not reported to the SAFC.

Though Eleven doesn't quite add up to 11, the band's now eight-person lineup has grown (significantly) since the band was formed in the fall of 2006. Then-first-years Alexi Thomakos '10 and Nick Lechich '10 began playing music together in the common room of their first-year dorm. Soon thereafter, they met bassist Max Taylor '10 and keyboard player, guitarist, and vocalist Sammie Francis '09, who pushed for the formation of a band.

Despite a 7 a.m. departure and the six-hour trek to Middlebury, the baseball team's bats were wide-awake throughout a three-game sweep of the Panthers.

As Ivies looms on the horizon, the tally of alcohol-related hospital transports takes on renewed importance in the minds of some. There were no alcohol transports between Dean of Students Affairs Tim Foster's meeting with first year students about alcohol on February 12 and Spring Break. Since then, there have been two.

Sometimes, issues are best understood when they are illustrated on human scale. So believes a group of four students—Peter Fritsche '10, Maina Handmaker '11, Matt Pincus '10 and Madeline Sullivan '10- who have joined to create "A Ton of Food," an interactive sculpture project advocating for hunger issues.

The women's tennis team took home two victories this past week, easily defeating both Wellesley and Colby, but it fell to the No. 1 nationally-ranked Amherst team 8-1 on Sunday.

Bowdoin kicks off its fifth annual Relay for Life event in Farley Field House tonight. The 12-hour event will consist of various activities that commemorate and celebrate those who survived, currently have, or were lost to cancer.

Jazz guitarist Sean McGowan returns to Bowdoin Saturday to perform as the third part of the music department's mini-series on guitar

The men's tennis team defeated Colby College on Thursday afternoon by a final tally of 8-1. Bowdoin's only loss came at the No. 2 singles position.

On behalf of the WBOR management team, I would like to apologize for the lack of a spring WBOR concert. While the circumstances surrounding our failure to book the artists we pursued were out of our control, we nonetheless feel responsible to our DJs, the student body and the community at large.

The Bowdoin College Concert Band will greet the season with their spring concert, titled "Sousa, Then and Now" at Studzinski Recital Hall on Sunday. The Concert Band, Bowdoin's largest student music ensemble, is comprised of over 50 students who play brass, woodwind and percussion instruments.

This month marks the second annual Climate Days event series, which celebrates the College's commitment to make Bowdoin carbon neutral by 2020. The event series this month will culminate the year-long efforts of President Barry Mills's Climate Commitment Advisory Committee's (CCAC) to publicize the College's commitment to sustainability and encourage student discourse on environmental issues.

The sentencing of Bowdoin alumnus Aijalon Gomes '01 after his conviction on unspecified charges relating to his crossing of the North Korean border has shocked the consciences of U.S. diplomats, students of law and people of all faiths during the past week.

"I'm so f***ing scared," thought LZ Granderson, an openly gay ESPN.com journalist, when the LA Lakers asked him who his Hollywood crush was. Granderson, who has been out for over 10 years, said he grappled with the decision of what to tell these athletes—grappled, he said, until he saw his son standing behind them watching. It was then he realized that he had to tell the truth about his sexuality, or everything he taught his son would be a lie.

The women's lacrosse team lost 18-7 to the Middlebury College Panthers on Saturday afternoon, ending its five-game winning streak.

The Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) considered proposals to purchase food and beverages for Ivies, fund a Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day, and subsidize movie tickets for students at Regal Movie Theater in Brunswick at its Wednesday meeting. All proposals were unanimously approved.

The men's track team will compete against rivals Colby, Bates and University of Southern Maine (USM) this weekend with the Maine State Championship on the line. The meet, to be held at Colby, begins the most competitive portion of the track season.

In light of recent faculty and staff requests, two experts on autism visited campus on Wednesday for a series of meetings and presentations on how to best assist students with the disorder.

The women's rugby team started strong but faded in the second half of a match against a resurgent Boston University squad, who outscored the Polar Bears 17-0 in the second half on the way to a 22-10 loss.

Data collected Monday verified that Bowdoin students are among the best in the nation—at turning in census forms.

With the recent approval of new guidelines regarding faculty-led international travel at Bowdoin, that trip to Paris with your French class you've been dreaming of may be further out of reach.

For the sixth academic year in a row, Government and Legal Studies and Economics remain the two most popular programs of study for Bowdoin students. The current sophomore Class of 2012 turned in major declarations to the Office of the Registrar at the beginning of March. The Office of Academic Affairs recently tabulated this data and found consistent trends in the popularity of various departments.

Bowdoin can boast the sunniest students, if not the brightest weather. According to The Daily Beast, Bowdoin students are the 10th happiest in the country.

The torch has been passed. Baseball travelled to Hartford this past weekend to face the Trinity College team that had not lost a NESCAC series since 2007 and was ranked No. 4 in the country. Bowdoin won two out of three and dethroned Trinity from its long-held perch atop the NESCAC.

For the second night of renowned jazz performance this semester, Bowdoin welcomes acclaimed artist Cedar Walton tonight.

The No. 18-ranked women's lacrosse team bested ninth-ranked Colby 14-7 in Waterville on Wednesday evening. Wednesday's win improved the Polar Bears' record to 4-1 in the conference and 6-3 overall for the season.

Aijalon Mahli Gomes '01 was sentenced to eight years of hard labor and fined the equivalent of $700,000 on Tuesday for illegally entering North Korea across the Chinese border on January 25, according to the Washington Post.

Over the past six years, Bowdoin's athletic medical services have risen from the bottom of its conference to the top of Division III, according to Athletic Director Jeff Ward.

What's in a name? According to the students and faculty within the newly unveiled Department of Earth and Oceanographic Science—formerly the geology department—quite a bit.

While stages on Bowdoin's campus are consistently filled with impressive productions, there are certainly times that students crave some off-campus theater. For those of you who find yourself in this situation, Portland Stage Company in down-town Portland should definitely be on your radar.

This week, I attended a lecture by Writer-in-Residence Jane Brox on imagining place. She discussed the delicate interplay of time, space and memory that goes on in our minds as we develop a sense of place. Brox's topic seemed poignant to me in light of the juncture we find ourselves at. As spring returns to Maine, we rediscover our feeling of space as we reinhabit the campus and the town.

And they're off! Several students kicked off the race for Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) positions with a debate at Jack Magee's Pub on Monday night.

Do you instantly recognize the slogans "Just Do It" and "Got Milk?" Did you choose an Apple laptop because it looked a certain way? Do you leave the font in Microsoft Word as size 12 Times New Roman or do you change it immediately?

Coming off three straight victories over M.I.T., Connecticut College and Tufts this past weekend, the men's tennis team improved their record to 8-2. The No. 13-ranked Polar Bears will look to continue their winning streak this weekend as they head into difficult NESCAC competition.

The Princeton Review currently ranks Bowdoin's food second in the nation, and I'm pretty sure that all Bowdoin students feel that ranking is accurate. Yet, while students are exposed daily to dining hall food, few are aware of the meticulous process that the Dining Service undergoes in deciding where Bowdoin's food comes from.

A group of approximately 30 Bowdoin students and community members braved the waters of Popham Beach to raise money for Camp Sunshine last Saturday. The dip was Bowdoin's first official Polar Plunge fundraiser.

The Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) spent its Wendesday night meeting discussing how to improve Bowdoin's distribution requirements and what could be done to help first year students make their schedules. No proposals were voted on.

Before Spring Break we sunk more than a few hours (and dollars) into the Belgian Beer Fest at Lion's Pride. It was awesome! We experienced some pretty rare stuff, from hard to find Belgian beers from brewers like Smisje and De Dolle to Allagash's first ever "Cool Ship" batch of spontaneously fermented beer. Unfortunately, we didn't really coordinate our efforts well enough to turn the Beer Fest into a column unto itself.

After scoring two runs in the top of the seventh inning to take a 5-4 lead, the Bowdoin softball team defeated Tufts on Friday for the first time since 2004. During the back-and-forth nail biter, neither team ever led by more than one run.

Are students upset with the current stepped-up presence of Brunswick police during weekend parties, or with the long-standing ban on hard alcohol consumption? How have these policies affected their behavior? How do Bowdoin students feel about President Barack Obama, and how closely do students follow politics in the news?

On Wednesday, a team of professors received the Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) Grant to conduct research on global change in the Gulf of Maine. The Bowdoin team was one of 25 to receive the $1.5 million grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). One hundred twelve universities and research institutions applied for the three-year long award.

On Saturday, the men's track team will be competing in the New Hampshire Invitational at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). In addition to UNH and Bowdoin, the University of Southern Maine, Quinnipiac and Colby-Sawyer will also be competing.

Despite the sweeping changes the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will bring to health insurance policies in the United States, the effect it will have on Bowdoin remain unclear.

Your February 26 editorial "Alcohol Action," lauded the extension of Saturday grill hours, at the behest of the Alcohol Team, as clear "action," which signals "how seriously we take" the problem of alcohol abuse.

In the very first fencing tournament of his life, P.J. Lariviere '13 took first place in the foil division at the Vacationland Open at Monmouth Academy last weekend. After going 4-1 in the opening pool, Lariviere went 4-0 in the direct elimination bracket to clinch the victory

Purple-clad people will join the posters and balloons on campus today in promoting awareness for Bowdoin's Relay for Life.

Following a year-long search for a sculpture and architecture professor, the visual arts department announced yesterday that artist Alicia Eggert will join the visual arts faculty next semester as an assistant professor.

Starting in Washington, D.C. and making their way down to South Carolina, the Bowdoin College Meddiebempsters charmed audiences as they toured the South this past Spring Break. In the recent past, the group has toured in the Mid-Atlantic, New England and Southern California.

When a student's phone rings in the middle of Spanish class, President Barry Mills usually is not on the other line. But for Kyle Dempsey '11 on Monday, he was. Mills was calling to inform Dempsey he had been named a 2010 Truman Scholar, the first Bowdoin student to be awarded the honor since 2003. The award was not the only Bowdoin success over the past several weeks; Sarah Ebel '10 and Skye Lawrence '10 both received Watson fellowships at the beginning of Spring Break.

The game was tied 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning when Kara Nilan '11 stepped up to the plate against NESCAC opponent Middlebury College. Co-captain Lauren Coven '10 was on second base in the final game of the Bowdoin softball team's spring trip to Clermont, Florida, when Nilan hit a walk-off single to end the contest.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday will herald the arrival of a unique Best Buy annex in the College Store on Maine Street, the product of a collaboration between the College and a seven-month-old entrepreneurial incubation group within the Best Buy Company.

In search of community service and learning, almost 100 Bowdoin students spent their Spring Break across the United States and in Guatemala participating in this year's Alternative Spring Break (ASB) program. The diverse trips ranged from working with migrant workers in Florida to volunteering in schools in New Jersey.

The past comes alive this afternoon with a performance by Music's Quill, a duo specializing in Renaissance music.

After an up-and-down start to the season, the men's lacrosse team will face perhaps its toughest test yet, taking on undefeated Connecticut College this Saturday at Bowdoin.

While many at Bowdoin are focused on the new federal health care bill, the Office of Financial Aid is excited about a virtually unpublicized attachment to the legislation that eliminates bank-based loans for college students. The Student Aid Bill, presented by the Department of Education, will simplify the loan process for Bowdoin students and parents.

One visit to Bowdoin just wasn't enough for Zimbabwean musician Musekiwa Chingodza. Chingodza will return to campus for a musical performance on Wednesday, April 7.

After a successful spring training trip to the Mid-Atlantic, the women's rugby team is hoping to draw new recruits at this Saturday's Rookie Clinic.

Lecturer in Art John Bisbee, Visiting Assistant Professor of Art Meggan Gould and A. LeRoy Greason Professor of Art Mark Wethli were recognized as three of "Maine's Most Collectable Artists" by Maine Home + Design magazine.

The women's tennis team started out its 2010 spring season with a successful Spring Break trip to California. Playing in seven matches overall, the Polar Bears went 5-2, falling to eighth nationally-ranked Pomona-Pitzer and to highly-ranked D-II team Azusa Pacific.

Naval Air Station Brunswick (NASB) will become known as "Brunswick Landing: Maine's Center for Innovation" upon closing in May 2011, the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA) announced Tuesday.

In the March 5 op-ed, "Space travel will only help accelerate global warming," Cameron Weller's argument that space travel will accelerate global warming is an irrational and ill-conceived criticism of the privatized space industry. Yes, technically space travel does accelerate global warming, but so does just about everything else we do on a daily basis, including walking to class or picking up a copy of the Orient. So the question of carbon emissions is not one of absolutes, but rather one of degrees.

During this academic year, how often did you drink hard alcohol? Have sex that you later regretted? Eat breakfast? These questions appeared among 106 others on the 2010 Student Health & Wellness Survey, which is currently underway.

Fresh from a training trip to Florida over Spring Break, the men's track team is ready to make the trek to Middlebury for its first regular season meet. The team feels confident heading into its short outdoor season. With only two regular season meets before the Maine State Championship meet, the men need to take advantage of every opportunity to better their performances.

According to a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, three trustees on Bowdoin's Board are partners at investment firms that manage portions of the College's endowment. The article, which investigated the prevalence of business relationships between trustees and their colleges, found that of the 618 private colleges researched, one-fourth of them "have financial ties with trustee-affiliated companies."

Over Spring Break, several members of the Bowdoin women's track team competed in a preseason invitational in Florida against D-I competition.

For many current Bowdoin students, this year's census will be the first they fill out for themselves. Next Wednesday, Residential Life proctors and Residential Advisors (RAs) will distribute the 2010 Census to students living in college housing. The College is participating with the Census on Campus program, and through the Office of Residential Life, is working toward its goal of total participation from students living on campus.

Students clamoring for summer internships will find their search broadened by a recent change to the policy regarding academic credit. The Bowdoin Committee on Educational Policy (CEP) voted to pass a proposal that will acknowledge internships that require academic credit as a condition of employment at Monday's faculty meeting, allowing students to pursue internships they previously could not.

As students begin to cram for the final week of midterms, Julia Bond '09 and her stand-up comedy arrive back on campus, giving Bowdoin students the opportunity to take a break and be entertained by an alumna who's kept humor at the center of her life.

The devastation caused by the recent 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile may seem remote to students clustered on a small campus in Maine, but for three Bowdoin students studying abroad in Chile, the disaster is anything but distant.

The to-do list of the members of the incoming Class of 2014: Buy twin-size sheets? Check. Sign up for a pre-Orientation trip? Check. Complete first year summer reading assignment? Not this year.

Many of us have caught snippets of Bowdoin tours while running to class or through the union or toward the stapler parked on H-L's front desk. In doing so, how many of you have heard the favorite fact that, following only behind San Francisco, Portland holds the second-highest number of restaurants per capita in the United Sates?

Head Coach Brad Burnham hoped his swimmers would leave everything in the pool when they competed at the NESCAC Championships.

The notion that the United States should behave "like an equal member of the global community on the foreign policy stage," as Catlin Hurwit asserted in last week's op-ed "Patriotism without exceptionalism" is as misguided as it is dangerous.

Bowdoin Security and local law enforcement are working around the clock to close the case of thefts that occurred on campus this past Tuesday and Wednesday. The identified suspect is connected to other thefts in the Portland area, and he seems to be targeting Apple laptop computers and is focusing his efforts on college campuses.

While the weather outside may be dreary, Nina Sylvia's exhibit "Botanical Impressions" in Lancaster Lounge will bring some natural beauty back to the campus.

At the Open New England Championships, several members of the women's track team competed against the top athletes from New England, leading to some fast times and strong performances in the high profile meet.

Appearing Wednesday afternoon, surrounded by medical professionals in white lab coats, President Barack Obama laid out his plan for passing health care reform in Congress. It came two days short of the one-year anniversary since the president kicked off his health care reform effort with a summit of medical professionals, insurance heads and other health care industry leaders. Pressing ahead on health care reform, the President announced, will require a final "up-or-down vote," which top administration strategists have said means using the budget reconciliation process in the Senate to force a simple majority vote on health care. But this is likely to be only one of a few stages of the process.

Professors emeriti at Bowdoin have drastically different lifestyles from your typical retirees. They are neither golf fanatics nor residents of retirement communities. Instead, they lead symposiums, contribute to academic journals, and spend time researching in Hawthorne-Longfellow Library. Professors in good standing receive the title "emeritus" upon retirement. Emeriti professors have the liberty and flexibility to continue pursuing their academic interests, as well as to enjoy retirement. Many live in Brunswick, just minutes away from Bowdoin's campus.

Pianist Chiharu Naruse travels to Bowdoin next Friday as part of the music department's Teatime Concert series.

On Saturday, the men's track team will compete in the Eastern College Athletic Conference, the last chance for athletes to qualify for Nationals. The meet brings together schools from all divisions.

Christmas dinner conversations with my grandma were especially intriguing this year: the horrible American obsession with sports, the decline of America's universities, the ridiculous price tag of university education, the lack of work ethic in American students in comparison to international students, and how all of these issues are somehow leading to the "inevitable doom" of my generation. As a granddaughter, I meekly listened and nodded my head. But as a Bowdoin student, I could not be happier with my university education, and I have hope for our generation.

The Judicial Board (J-Board)'s two-week search for new members ended Tuesday, when five students received notification from Dean of Student Affairs and J-Board adviser Laura Lee that they were accepted.

Jamie Nadeau '10 has become the first Bowdoin student to receive the prestigious Princeton in Africa Fellowship. This was the first year the fellowship was offered to non-Princeton students. With the fellowship, Nadeau plans to travel to Zambia in July to work for 11 months with the Kucetekela Foundation, which provides scholarships to Zambian children so they can attend elite secondary schools. Nadeau will be working in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. Nadeau studied abroad at the University of Cape Town in Cape Town, South Africa during his junior year, but decided he wanted to return to Africa after being unsatisfied with the community service opportunities presented to him in Cape Town.

Local musicians, physicians and community members will celebrate and support Haiti at a benefit concert at Frontier Café on Saturday, March 13.

I'm glad Bowdoin is thinking of ways to keep alums and friends of the College updated. But the new Bowdoin Daily Sun seems unnecessary.

If music is made to be shared, then it served its purpose at Pickard Theater on Tuesday night with "Béla Fleck and the African Project," a performance centered around the revered banjo player Béla Fleck and the African musicians he is collaborating with for a 33-show U.S. tour.

It is easy to gauge the true character of a sports team by its level of performance in its final event of the season. Some teams bow to their fatigue and slip out of the season in mediocrity, while others rise to the occasion and end on a high note.

The preference for semester abroad flipped from spring to fall this year, according to Director of Off-Campus Study (OCS) Stephen Hall. As of the February 22 deadline, the Office of OCS had received 260 applications: 131 applications for the fall, 109 for the spring and 20 applications for the full year.

The Office of Residential Life sent notification letters to students who applied to join the staff on Thursday. The Office received 110 applications for the 71 available spots, half of which were from this year's staff members.

After tickets to the men's hockey NESCAC quarterfinal game against Colby sold out last weekend, tickets to the semifinal doubleheader tomorrow also disappeared quickly. Bowdoin will play Hamilton at 1 p.m. and Middlebury will play Trinity at 4 p.m.

Associate Director of Dining Services Ken Cardone said that the Dining Service at Bowdoin, which serves locally grown tomatoes, has felt only minor reverberations from the devastating loss of tomato crops in Florida.

For several nights this semester, Super Snack will be facing some competition. In an effort to extend weekend nights in hopes of reducing alcohol-related problems, Dining Services will try keeping Jack Magee's Grill open until 2 a.m. on select weekend nights. According to Director of Dining Services Mary Lou Kennedy, the plan is to try the idea on three Saturday nights spread out across the course of this semester. "One of the things I have heard over and over again is the compressed social time on the weekends," Director of Student Activities Allen Delong said.

It's an "American art extravaganza," said Curatorial Assistant Kate Herlihy of the six-part lecture series kicking off today at the Bowdoin Museum of Art. The American Art Lecture Series runs in conjunction with two exhibitions, "Learning to Paint" and the upcoming "Methods for Modernism," both of which focus on American artists from the 19th and 20th centuries.

In the final week of the regular season, the women's hockey team (11-11-2; 8-7-1 NESCAC) achieved an impressive upset against Middlebury (15-6-3; 11-4-1 NESCAC), followed closely by a heartbreaking loss against Williams (12-10-2; 9-6-1 NESCAC) that assured the Lady Polar Bears a road trip for the first week of the NESCAC Championships.

The Bowdoin Daily Sun, a new daily blog of College news and features hit the Web on Wednesday. "[The Daily Sun] was my idea. I read a number of blogs every day," President Barry Mills said. "These blogs give me interesting information about what's going on in the world." "I may have had a unique idea," Mills added. "I don't know any other colleges that have done this."

Facing Bates in a thunderous Alumni Gymnasium, the men's basketball team saw its season come to an abrupt end, losing the NESCAC quarterfinal matchup by a final score of 80-64.

The banjo has traditionally been viewed as an instrument associated with country music, cowboys and the song "Home on the Range." Béla Fleck, the world-renowned banjo musician who will be playing at Bowdoin this upcoming Tuesday, has devoted his life to changing that mindset.

Everyone knows that brunch at Moulton or Thorne offers one of the best meals around, but when Bowdoin students begin to tire of the tried-and-true weekend lineup, Portland beckons as a brunch haven.

The development of a Student Web Advisory Team is underway, according to Associate Vice President of Communications for Marketing and Publications Robert Kerr. The group, expected to begin meeting in March, will give students the opportunity to "guide Bowdoin's presence on the net," said Kerr.

With the 2010 Winter Olympics drawing to a close, Professor John Gold's upcoming talk "London 2012, Olympic Legacy, and the Challenge of Sustainable Urbanism" holds particular global relevance. Gold's talk and recent research focuses on London's urban planning as the city shifts to accommodate the Summer Olympics in two years' time.

Bowdoin Student Government's (BSG) said yes to hip-hop, no to hydration. At Wednesday's BSG meeting, members cast votes on last week's proposal to replace a water fountain in Hawthorne-Longfellow Library (H-L Library), and a new proposal to co-fund the annual Hip-Hop Concert for accepted minority students during this year's "Experience Weekend." While the proposal to co-fund the annual Hip-Hop Concert was passed by a large margin, last week's hydration station proposal failed to gain approval.

Against the best small school athletic programs in New England, the women's indoor track team finished fifth at the Division III New England Championships. The Polar Bears were led by several strong individual performances, including three school records and three provisional qualifiers for the NCAA Division III National Championships.

While I'm abroad right now in Spain, I am naturally less in touch with campus happenings. However, I checked the Orient site to read about a friend's photo exhibit in the Visual Arts Center and found the article "Foster calls meeting over 20th transport."

Never before has more love been felt in Jack McGee's Pub than at "Heart's for Haiti," Bowdoin Musical Collective's (BMC) all-acoustic fundraising concert last Saturday. The pub was packed for the event, with students filling the space to the brim for the show, sitting in chairs and booths on both levels, layering onto couches and spilling onto the floor. The show offered the perfect means of kicking off Haiti Week. Beyond raising over $700 through open donations given willingly by students throughout the event, it also brought students together in a collective effort to support Haiti relief efforts.

Only 69 percent of the class of 2010 is taking four or more credits this semester, indicating that no matter the weather, senior spring is in full swing. According to Registrar Christine Cote, 31 percent of the senior class is taking three credits, the same as last year's seniors. In addition, six percent are taking three and a half credits. In the fall, 92 percent of seniors took four or more courses.

A student's college experience is determined by a seemingly infinite number of variables. However, demanding academics and loaded extracurricular schedules often overshadow other essential components. In an effort to ascertain the key factors that impact their students' experiences, seven liberal arts colleges are participating in the New England Consortium on Assessment and Student Learning (NECASL). Funded by the Teagle Foundation, NECASL began as a collaborative project at Bates College. In the program's first year, Lee Cuba, a sociology professor at Wellesley College, led a group of investigators to design a qualitative panel study focused on the learning and decision making processes of students throughout their college careers.