Responding to Rachel Baron’s column from last week entitled “Career Planning’s misguided prioritization of lucrative fields:” 

I felt that the article relied heavily on anecdotes and I wanted to share a counter-anecdote. Personally, I am hoping to pursue comparatively low-paying jobs in public service. I have met with my Career-Planning advisor periodically and they have never in any way pressured me to pursue corporate positions. The only time they pushed me in any direction was when I asked if I should consider applying to some corporate jobs alongside the public sector positions I was actually passionate about. They immediately reminded me that I was not interested in corporate jobs and encouraged me to pursue my passions. I completely acknowledge that this anecdote does not disprove the claim that Career Planning prioritized lucrative fields, but I do believe that it demonstrates that this subject requires further inquiry. I would love to see an investigative piece that looks closer at the services the Career Planning Center provides; I would propose that they are more balanced than they immediately appear.

Jacob Russell is a member of the Class of 2017. 

We live in a society where very little is sacred and every element of the human condition is on display or exploited for pure shock value. It seems that either destroying or entirely laying waste to previously taboo barriers and boundaries has become an accepted practice in today’s curriculum. This sentiment was recently on display in the most recent installment of The Bowdoin Orient, and I challenge anyone to read Nell Fitzgerald’s article, “Provocative Student Art Brings Menstrual Blood, Trump’s Face in View” and not be repulsed. I cannot fathom how offended I would be to stumble upon photographs of women’s used menstrual pads while visiting a Bowdoin College men’s bathroom. It begs the question: who validates these graphic and visually repugnant pictures as art?  Presumably this was sanctioned by the Bowdoin College Visual Arts Department, so I am assuming there was both consent and possibly encouragement to pursue this project. I strongly doubt any individual who witnessed these horrifying pictures ever drew the sympathetic connections regarding “period angst” that the artist had hoped. Both this project and its presumed objective have failed miserably and has likely fostered antipathy and gall towards its intended subject rather than empathy. Repulsive and disgusting.

Michael W. McCullom ’86

Taking action to combat global warming/climate change is worthy. Without listing all of the reasons why divestment from fossil fuel companies sounds good, but will do nothing in pursuit of the cause, let me suggest that members of Bowdoin Climate Action (BCA) join the effort in Augusta to develop Maine state solar energy policy that really will move the needle.

Spending time and energy, so to speak, working with the Natural Resources Council of Maine and other environmental organizations to affect policy change in Augusta that has practical, immediate consequences would be far more effective in achieving BCA’s laudable goals than the one they insist on pursuing.

Richard MersereauBrunswick

Yesterday, I spent the day listening to colleagues and students react to the result of our presidential election. At 4 p.m., I sat with many of you in Morrell Lounge and listened as students processed their pain and articulated their fears, some pointing to stories of family and friends who have experienced bigotry since Tuesday evening.

President-elect Trump and his campaign trafficked in fear and bigotry, and his election to our nation’s highest office has many, especially people of color, LGBTIQA people, people with disabilities, women, immigrants and Muslims feeling disrespected, unwelcome and unsafe. And while that presents so many painful questions about who we are as a nation, there should be no doubt in the minds of students of what that means about who we are as a college. We are and will remain a place where all students are welcome. We are and will remain a place focused on the common good, inclusion and equity. We are and will remain a community where all students are safe to be their whole selves. Some feel they have no place in President-elect Trump’s America. They should know they have a place here at Bowdoin.              Leana E. AmáezAssociate Dean of Students for Diversity and Inclusion

Last week the Orient published an editorial on the current state of liberal arts at Bowdoin, spurred by a campus-wide email from President Rose. The editors quoted me as a prop in their argument, contending we need a broader definition of the liberal arts that encompasses science and pre-professional disciplines in addition to the humanities.

The argument is so absurd that even the editors must not believe it. To call the humanities prestigious and everything else marginalized is to imply that classics and sociology are standard bearers of social worth, while biology and computer science are tragically sidelined as fruitless pursuits. Fast forward to Thanksgiving in a few weeks to reveal the preposterousness of this claim. After your distant uncle hears of your newly declared major, he’ll only say one of these two things: “Classics major, little Johnny? My, what are you going to do with that?” or “Classics major, little Johnny? How pragmatic! That industry is taking off! Pass the stuffing.” Even the editors argue that Bowdoin’s value lies in its ability to teach economics differently because students can exercise creativity and critical thinking, presumably because they have learned these skills in the humanities. The distinction of traditional liberal arts and scientific, pre-professional areas resurfaces, with the latter particularly great because the former imbue them with a humanizing aura.

Here the editors are right. Bowdoin uses the liberal arts as a way to cultivate its marketable image. In the halls of the admissions office, a guide might report to prospective students that we put a unique spin on pre-professional subjects because we focus so heavily on the humanities—we can study how the market works while also reading Dante, and so we produce better economists. (I doubt any admissions reps have said the converse.) And we tend to uphold this image. How many Bowdoin graduates wear a badge of pride for having doubled majored in economics and gender and women’s studies? How many consultants, lawyers and bankers wistfully think back to their honors projects or senior seminars in German or Africana studies? Or, from the other side, how many current studies feel the pressure to balance humanities courses with more overtly pre-professional ones?

The humanities themselves aren’t worth much on the résumé, but they do add a nice sheen to the whole package. For instance, because of our liberal arts training, we can think critically about some bond trading, or even be creative in the boardroom. The critical thinking, curiosity, and “cross-discipline dialogue” that Bowdoin encourages as idealized pursuits are really just ways of marketing ourselves for the initial job hunt and our professional careers thereafter. What seems to be an environment for pursuing academic interests is really a boot camp for entry-level jobs and professional graduate schools.

Now we are witnessing the corporatization of the university itself. What Bowdoin provides us for the humble cost of $65,590 per year is a brand, surely a potent brand given its elite status, but a brand nonetheless. The College needs to maintain that brand in order to hold currency in the corporate world. It should come as no surprise that the freedom to think critically, to learn for learning’s sake and to be imaginative occurs alongside a campaign to advance, in President Rose’s words, “purpose, culture, opportunity, and innovation” or “to enhance the ‘quantitative literacy’ of our students.” Bowdoin’s liberal arts cannot protect us from becoming professionalized zombies, crunching numbers all day, working an unfulfilling nine to five shift, or whatever—they instead help us acclimate to the prospect.

Craig A. Comen ’12

In Maine, median income has remained stable over the last several years, rising just 1 percent since 2000. Tuition in public colleges has climbed by 57% on average. Tuition and fees at Bowdoin College amounted to $25,890 in the 2000-2001 school year. In 2014-2015, they added up to $46,808, an increase of 81%.People are burdened with student debt now and it’s getting worse. We can fix that.In 2009, we bailed out the big Wall Street banks with TARP loans and quantitative easing (QE). The government and the Federal Reserve repeatedly purchased bank loans that were uncollectable. The TARP loans were paid back over time. The debts involved in QE were never paid back. The government erased them.The Green Party, led by Jill Stein, M.D. and Ajamu Baraka, Ph.D., wants to do the same thing with student debt. The government, probably working through the Federal Reserve, would buy the student loans from the holding entities [Sallie Mae, for instance] and then just forgive the loans.The only way this can happen any time soon is to for us vote for the Green Party candidates for President this year. Vote Green! Linda Featheringill

To President Rose, Dean Scanlon, the Bowdoin Board of Trustees and the Campus Planning Committee, The Campus Master Plan is an opportunity to dream big about the Bowdoin that we bequeath to future generations.  As Campus Planning Committee member Grace Butler ’16 summarized, this is an opportunity in which we consider “our values as a community and how [they] translate into the built environment.”  Knowing that continued reliance on fossil fuels will cause enormous economic disruption, social destabilization and ecological catastrophes, we should place sustainability at the heart of all building decisions.  We urge you, the leaders of campus development, to make deeper investments in sustainable infrastructure.  The College has committed to carbon neutrality by 2020.  This commitment is beyond debate, but reaching that goal is very challenging.  The surest way to avoid failure is by requiring that every addition to the campus adds no carbon.  Such “net-zero” buildings are increasingly common and represent a minimum standard for Bowdoin to adopt in ground-up construction.  Bowdoin exists to educate its extraordinary students and serve the Common Good.  Bowdoin is much more than a collection of buildings, but net-zero buildings can be superb educational tools.  Simply by existing and being overtly carbon-free, these buildings will raise awareness and instruct.  If Bowdoin chooses a less sustainable path forward, we’re also educating our students, but with lessons inconsistent with the Offer of the College. We applaud the new Roux Center for the Environment as a site of interdisciplinary collaboration and, in President Rose’s words, “new and enhanced engagement with… stewardship of the environment.”  The Roux Center itself is part of that engagement and must reflect the highest standards of energy efficiency and low carbon.  LEED Standards do not meet this need.  Instead, the Roux Center should be built as the first net-zero facility at Bowdoin and one of the first in New England. We live in a crucial time for both the College and society as a whole. We look to you for leadership.

 David Vail, Adams-Catlin Professor of Economics, EmeritusNathaniel Wheelwright, Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Natural Sciences /Chair of the Department of BiologyTricia Welsch, Professor of Cinema StudiesMadeleine Msall,  Professor of PhysicsBruce Kohorn, Linnean Professor of Biology and Biochemistry /Director of Biochemistry ProgramMary Hunter,  A. LeRoy Greason Professor of MusicHadley Horch, Associate Professor of Biology and Neuroscience and Director of Neuroscience ProgramLaura HenryJohn F. and Dorothy H. Magee Associate Professor of Government/Acting Chair of Russian DepartmentNadia Celis, Associate Professor of Romance Languages and LiteraturesMark Battle, Associate Professor of Physics

At a moment when colleges and universities across the country, including Bowdoin, are actively stripping away their historical and economic ties to slavery, I want to call our community’s attention to another, perhaps less-talked about but no less significant, tie to our past. Last month, the Network to Freedom, a branch of the National Park Service devoted to preserving and disseminating information about the Underground Railroad, the symbolic name given to the vast route slaves developed to secure their freedom, designated The Stowe House an official stop on the Underground Railroad. The Stowe House, named after Harriet Beecher Stowe who resided at 63 Federal Street from 1850-52, was where she wrote “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” A less known fact about the house is that Stowe harbored fugitive slave John Andrew Jackson in the “waste room” of the house so that he could continue his journey for freedom that began when he fled his home on a plantation in South Carolina.

While the House was designated a national landmark in 1962, to commemorate the novel that supposedly helped to start the Civil War, it took another half century for the nation—and the College—to recognize the house as a site for freedom. With the official recognition from the National Park Service we now have cause to celebrate our history. I urge you to visit the House that will soon be open to all members of the College—and the nation. Tess ChakkalakalAssociate Professor, Africana Studies and English

I was hoping with a change in administration that some of Bowdoin's PC rhetoric would be tempered with at least a modicum of reality. No such luck. 

As an alum with immediate family members of Mexican descent, I was annoyed by the news regarding a “tequila" party held on campus. I was not upset by the alleged events, but by the politically-correct environment that has spun out of control at Bowdoin.

Coddling each student’s particular sensitivities leaves him/her woefully unprepared for the outside world (and the reality of others' first amendment rights). It also (erroneously) gives the impression that one can expect to modify others' behavior by whining about it, and then retreating to a "safe space" free of "micro-aggressions."

Bowdoin students need to be taught tough life lessons. In the real world, people may do or say things that one dislikes. Simply being put off, though, doesn't necessarily provide a legal basis for one to demand certain behavior from others. No PC bubble exists in the real world—in the US, or even Mexico.

Gregg Abella '92

P.S. If sombreros and tequila offend you, don’t attend a soccer match at Estadio Azteca. Your head will explode.

I’d like to pass on some praise for a wonderful group of young women at Bowdoin.

A few weeks ago, my wife gave birth to our second child. She has gone through some severe postpartum depression. Knowing she liked a cappella, I reached out to Bowdoin College Miscellania and asked if they would be willing to stop in and sing some Christmas Carols to brighten her spirits and provide some entertainment for our two-year old daughter. The group obliged with no expectation of financial gain, publicity or other benefit. I had no prior connection to the group or Bowdoin College (in fact, they came despite both of us being Colby grads).

The small gesture renewed a bit of my faith in the kindness of people amidst a time in the world where turmoil and negativity seems to overwhelm our thoughts.

I just thought you would like to know.

Best wishes,Andrew Jenkins, Colby College '06

I’m writing in regard to the article about the student petition in support of Professor John Bisbee in last week’s issue of The Orient. I was instrumental in recruiting Professor Bisbee 19 years ago, and I have never wavered in my conviction that he is an exceptional and unusually gifted teacher, a generous and insightful mentor and a remarkably innovative artist whose creative and professional achievements have continued to flourish with each passing year.

A generation of Bowdoin graduates from many fields, as well as the arts, proudly trace their life’s work to his example of personal and creative integrity, and his inspiring presence will be greatly missed.

Sincerely,Mark Wethli, A. LeRoy Greason Professor of Art

If the visual arts department is to maintain its vibrancy and merit, retaining John Bisbee is just as essential as the creation of a digital media position. We urge the school to reconsider its decision.

Alumni Stories about Professor John Bisbee by bowdoinorient

I've studied art at Bowdoin, MICA, and NYU and have been lucky enough to learn from successful working artists from Tylden Streett to Spike Lee to Todd Solondz.  I can say without a doubt that no one genuinely cares about their students like John does.  And John cares so much about every student, not just those, like me, who wanted to pursue careers in the arts, but every student regardless of talent or experience.  If you showed up to work, he showed up for you.  The work ethic he inspired, and the joy he taught us how to find in the process of doing the work, not just in the final project, is something that still serves me today.  

John's teaching is definitely unconventional, and I was aware that it made the administration nervous back in 2003 when I requested John as my advisor and was strongly discouraged by all.  I'm glad that I persevered because he was a fantastic advisor.  John was the subject of one of my first short films when I started my MFA program at Tisch.  I made the film on practically no budget and he let my crew stay in his house and cooked dinner for us during our stay.  He provides employment and free studio space for Bowdoin alumni at Fort Andross.  He makes Bowdoin, and the town of Brunswick, more vibrant and culturally relevant place for art.  

In 2007 I helped to create the Jean Kaempfer Artists Fund to support financially disadvantaged students enrolled in the Department of Studio Art, for the purchase of art supplies, one or more summer internships, or other supplemental activities or supplies needed to pursue their interest in Studio Art.  It was solely because of my experiences in John’s classes that the fund was created.  The students who have received support from the Jean Kaempfer Artist Fund have John to thank as much as anyone in my family. In this way, as in so many others, John's work and dedication extends far beyond the forty or fifty students who take his classes each year.

I feel so lucky to have had John as a professor.  It makes me incredibly sad to think that incoming students won’t get to experience his classes.  It's such a loss, and the worst part is that it's completely avoidable.

-Annie Kaempfer​

Dear Editor:

Living nearby allows me to audit Bowdoin classes. I’m grateful to the professors and students who welcome me to their classes. Outstanding professors and bright, engaged and prepared students create a wonderful experience. I have a gripe, though.

In a class of 18 students, six regularly disrupt class to go to the bathroom. In 30 years of courtroom experience, never once did a judge, juror or lawyer leave the courtroom to go to the bathroom during a case. Adults don’t leave business meetings to go to the bathroom. At Pomona College and Stanford Law School, students never left class to relieve their bladder. Professors never abandon a class to go to the bathroom. As a college professor friend of mine in California told his students: it’s part of being an adult to learn to “hold it,” and leaving a class is disruptive and rude for the professor and other students. Shouldn’t college students know better?

Michael Wischkaemper 

Dear Bowdoin Students, Alumni, President Rose and Trustees,

This summer, I participated in a campaign of “kayaktivist” events here in the Pacific Northwest–nonviolent on-water acts of civil disobedience. I risked arrest, potentially negative consequences for my medical license and fines as high as $36,000. Why? Because every independent scientific assessment has made clear that the survival of our world is in extreme jeopardy due to climate change and global warming. We have been lied to by corporations like Exxon and their lobbyists for decades.

Our collective society urgently needs to shift our energy policies and practices, away from fossil fuels and towards immediate and intensive investment in an ecologically sustainable energy economy. In my senior year at Bowdoin (1980-81) interviewing for jobs on Wall Street, I never imagined that one day I would be forced to make a choice between making a stand for truth and justice or letting problems on a truly apocalyptic scale be someone else’s problem.  Apathy and ignorance is a choice after all. My Bowdoin education gave me the foundational integrity and rectitude to make a choice based on compassion for all life.  Please support divestment.

Jordan Van Voast ’81, L.Ac. 

To the Editor, Belated kudos to the artists and historians who designed and wrote the program booklet for President Rose’s inauguration. From the embossed texture of the cover—in the mold of the art museum terrace bricks—to the continuation of the theme throughout, the designers thoughtfully created a keepsake. Not to be overlooked is the artwork contained therein (Artists: Nicole E. Faber ’16, Kelsey E. Gallagher ’17, Elijah B. Ober ’15 and Associate Professor of Art James Mullen). The entire weekend was put together by a strong committee under the inspired leadership of Rick Ganong ’86 P’17, senior vice president for development and alumni relations. Well done!  David B. Humphrey ’61

To the Editor:

On October 1, faculty, staff and students from across the campus came together for an extraordinary day of learning and dialogue.  It wouldn’t have happened without a tremendous amount of work from many, many people.  You set up chairs, tables and microphones, organized equipment, reserved rooms and printed posters.  You moderated panels, gave presentations, tabled at the expo and taught classes. You rescheduled team practices and adjusted syllabi.  Most importantly, many, many of you attended some part of the day, encouraged others to attend, learned from each other and engaged in thoughtful and challenging conversations.

As members of the group who’ve worked since last November to make the Teach-In happen, we’ve always known that broad participation was essential.  The widespread engagement of the campus was gratifying and gave us hope for ways forward.  To all who lent their energy, time and intellect for the day, and to those who accepted this event even if you didn’t feel it was the best way to proceed:  Thank you!

Sincerely, 

Amina Ben Ismail

Brianna Cardwell

Carl Boisrond

Caroline Martinez

Catalina Gallagher

Diamond Walker

Dillon Sandhu

Hadley Horch

Heather Witzel Lakin

Kelsey Freeman

Madeleine Msall

Maria Kennedy

Mark Battle

Mary Hunter

Nadia Celis

Roy Partridge

Students of Bowdoin,In the past few weeks, we received over 1,300 orders from Bowdoin students. With an average of more than four books per order, we were the first choice for most of you. Last week, this newspaper published a story critical of Chegg’s pricing and service and has given us 200 words to reply: go. 

We take student feedback seriously. If your experience did not meet our standards for perfection, we will make it right. Soon, all Bowdoin customers will receive a survey by email. Please fill it out; your input will shape how we serve you next semester.Like Amazon, our prices will fluctuate based on inventory levels. We ensure that we have ample inventory and competitive pricing during back-to-school season because you decide from where to order your books. 1,300 of you would not have chosen Chegg if we were not competitive on price. 

It is a privilege to serve you and an honor that so many Bowdoin students choose Chegg. We are working overtime, every day, to create a delightful experience for all of you—and millions of students like you across the country.

John FillmoreVice President of Required MaterialsChegg

To the Editor:Re: Mice in the house: Bowdoin’s animals in lab research (9/18)

It’s unfortunate that Bowdoin College is again imprisoning and tormenting mice in cruel classroom psychology experiments at a time when many professors are replacing the use of animals with interactive computer simulators and other modern non-animal teaching methods that studies show are more effective.

Mice used in psychology teaching laboratories are often drilled into or injected with drugs before being forced to swim until the point of exhaustion or forced to complete confusing and stressful tasks after which, they’re typically killed.Even though they feel pain and suffer just like cats and dogs—they even wince when they’re hurting— mice are excluded from even the minimal federal protections afforded to some animals in laboratories and the biased university committees that review and approve these experiments are made up almost entirely of animal experimenters.

 Half of Americans—and even more college-aged ones—now oppose experiments on animals and there are more humane and effective ways to do science without hurting animals. Rather than reviving retrograde classroom exercises on animals, Bowdoin should get with the times and embrace superior twenty-first century non-animal teaching methods. To learn more about experiments on animals visit www.peta.org.  Mitch Goldsmith, M.A.Research Associate, Laboratory Investigations DepartmentPeople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

To the editors:

The suicide rate among young Palestinians in Gaza is skyrocketing because their lives feel hopeless and they do not see a future growing up under Israel’s constant siege and almost biannual bombardment. 

That juniors Zachary Albert, Rachel Snyder and Evan Eklund criticize the boycott of complicit academic and cultural institutions because “Israel’s right to exist” is “absent from” the “rhetoric” of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) is baffling at best (“Denouncing SJP’s one-sided narrative,” April 10). The boycott doesn’t even call for a one-state or two-state solution. It calls on Israel to abide by international law: something it has adamantly refused to do.

The boycott, called for 10 years ago by hundreds of academics and faculty members in Palestinian civil society, is an institution-level boycott. This means that regardless of their political views, scholars from Israeli universities would be welcome to come and talk and present their research, as long as they did so as individual scholars, not as representatives or ambassadors of the state or its institutions. 

The point of the boycott is to cut institutional ties with Israeli universities and cultural institutions for as long as they normalize, fully aid and abet Israel’s policies of apartheid, occupation, siege and systematic discrimination. 

Sincerely,Christopher Wedeman ’15Student Leader of SJP

To the editors:

For the second time in as many weeks, Orient contributors have published articles as agents of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a movement that has called for an “academic and cultural boycott of Israeli institutions.”

Israel is not a perfect nation, and there are certainly aspects of its domestic and foreign policy that are open to criticism and debate. But make no mistake, the “Petition for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel” that has been circulated by SJP, is deeply anti-Semitic and should be labeled as such.

I make this claim within the framework of our State Department under former Secretary Clinton and President Obama who adopted the “Three Ds” test for identifying twenty-first century anti-Semitism

1. Demonization: SJP and its agents consistently and unfairly demonize Israel and compare its “genocidal practices” to those of the Nazis during the Holocaust or South African apartheid.  Such comparisons are, of course, illegitimate and false.

2. Double Standards: The petition notes “Israel’s systemic violation of fundamental human rights.” The multitudes of nations with significantly worse human rights records than Israel (China, Russia and Saudi Arabia to name a small few) are left unmentioned.

3. Delegitimization: The petition questions Israel’s fundamental right to exist as a Jewish state and SJP’s agents label Zionism (the movement articulating the principle of Jewish self-determination) as racist.

SJP and their boycott petition fail the test.

In 2011, the State Department’s Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Hannah Rosenthal said, “When all academics and experts from Israel are effectively banned or their conferences boycotted, or individual Jews are held responsible for Israeli policy—this is not objecting to a policy—this is anti-Semitism.” 

Rather than boycotting Israel, Bowdoin should strive to invite those from all viewpoints to campus and expand debate towards the shared goal of a peaceful two-state solution.

Sincerely,

​Alex Linhart ’06

To the editors:

Whatever we may think of the College’s divestment from fossil fuel companies, most of us probably agree that using less of these fuels is a desirable goal to avert climate disaster. Personal vehicles account for nearly one-fifth of all U.S. emissions. Did you know that every gallon of gasoline you burn puts nearly 20 lbs. of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere? 

You might now be questioning how a gallon of liquid gasoline, which weighs about six lbs. can turn into 20 lbs. of carbon dioxide gas.  Combustion in your car engine requires oxygen—the carbon dioxide emitted is mostly oxygen by mass.

So one trip down to Portland and back, in most cars, puts about 40 lbs. of heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

“Driven” by both a climate perspective and from the angle of a mom who wants her teenagers to have some transportation independence, I’ve become locally involved with advocating for increased availability of public transit in the Brunswick and mid-coast Maine areas. 

The Town of Brunswick is currently in discussion with Portland METRO about expanding their proposed Portland-Freeport bus route to Brunswick. Imagine if you had the option to catch a WiFi-equipped bus several times per day from here to downtown Portland? Or to the mall—or L.L. Bean along the way? This project is likely to go ahead if Brunswick can gather local match funding. What do you think, Bowdoin Student Government?  Would this be a good project to support?

 Let’s think outside the car.

Sincerely,Karen ToppKaren Topp is a Senior Lecturer in Physics.

To the editors:

In the fall, 100 Bowdoin students travelled to NYC for the People’s Climate March, a historic collection of people in support of a greener future. Now, another movement is starting in our own state of Maine, and it could be the perfect opportunity to unite different perspectives under the shared goal of protecting the environment and our future. If you have an opinion on how to solve the climate crisis, come to Generation Climate Rising and make your voice heard!

Governor Paul LePage is failing to protect Maine and its residents by vetoing policies that aim to make the state more sustainable. Maine citizens are currently at risk from warming waters and record snowfall which disproportionately affect indigenous groups and those who rely on Maine’s natural resources for income and industry. The burden of climate change will be passed to our generation. This is not just an environmental issue. This is an issue of justice. 

Hundreds of students and citizens will march on the Blaine House in the biggest climate action in Maine’s history. Join Green Bowdoin and Bowdoin Climate Action as we march in Augusta. Let us remind our governor what our state motto—“Dirigo,” (I lead)—really means. 

The march will take place on Saturday, April 11 from 11 a.m. ­ to 2 p.m. Contact mlemalbr@bowdoin.edu about transportation. 

Come protect the common good. Come preserve Maine’s natural wealth. Come make history! 

Sincerely,Maddie Lemal-­Brown ’18Ellie Mersereau ’18

To the Editors:

I am a member of the Bowdoin Justice Coalition. This is our mission statement:

The Meeting in the Union was our first effort to bring to light some of the issues that plague our world and pervade our campus. Going forward, it is our mission to facilitate a continued dialogue between members of the community about these issues, and work together toward concrete change—toward equal opportunity and equal treatment at Bowdoin. With increased communication between students, administrators, faculty, and staff, we are optimistic that BJC will promote self-reflection, respect, a desire to learn, and a more urgent desire for progress. We envision a more integrated and inclusive culture here, and believe that real, institutional change is possible.

If you would like to get involved or have any questions, please email me at embsimon@gmail.com.

Emily Simon ’17

To the Editors:

Last Friday, over 200 students gathered in David Saul Smith Union to reflect on experiences of fellow students and how they relate to five themes of justice, ranging from race to climate. Bowdoin Climate Action (BCA) reiterated its call for divestment and requested the appointment of a trustee as divestment liaison to the student body.

Since BCA met with the Board of Trustees in October, there have been 126 days of silence. In that time seven schools have committed to some form of fossil fuel divestment. Appointing a liaison is the next step towards Bowdoin becoming a leader for climate justice. Bowdoin must choose between the fossil fuel industry and climate justice. Whose side are you on?

Divestment is the tactic, but climate justice is the goal. It’s about more than carbon—it’s about a common fight against larger systems of oppression. The Meeting in the Union was just the first step, and we hope those interested in continuing this conversation will join us. 

We invite everyone to the Polar Bear outside the Union every day at 4 p.m. for the climate justice minute to reflect on issues of climate justice and remind the Bowdoin community of the continued silence from our administration.

Julia Berkman-Hill ’17

To the Editors:

I would like to provide an Indian/redskin perspective and context in the matter of utilizing a fellow human being—an Indian—as a mascot.

First off, the word “redskin” is the white man’s word for a savage toward whom he felt extreme hatred. In addition to his hatred for the savage Indian, he also had extreme fear of the savage Indian—a fear that drove him to genocide.

These were the early so-called pioneer days when “men were men” and when it was not only alright, but a duty, for whites to kill Indians. It started by taking Indian scalps, then ears and then the whole Indian head, all for a bounty.

Whites eventually began to peel the skin from alive or dead Indians, not only for the bounty but also for the pure pleasure of torturing, terrorizing and killing the Indian. This practice of peeling away the skin left an Indian body that seemingly had red skin.

My choice of words like whites, Indians and white man is very deliberate because we have been using those words and labels since our two peoples met in 1492. That has been the nature of our peoples’ relationship. That is what defined our relationship and continues to define our one-sided relationship into the present.

I would like to remind everyone that we are all children of God, and that we are all related and that we must love one another or die.

All my relations,Dan Ennis, O.I.M.Tobique Indian Reserve New Brunswick, Canada

Thank you

To the Editors:On behalf of our family, I would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Bowdoin College: our president, Barry Mills, and Dean for Academic Affairs, Cristle Collins Judd, my esteemed colleagues, and all of our dedicated staff, who labored so lovingly at my husband’s funeral, interment and reception. We are especially grateful to Dining Services, who, faced with the challenge of producing the annual Thanksgiving dinner that evening, provided refreshments at the reception following William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Constitutional Law Richard Morgan’s burial. It has been a painful time for us, and speaking personally, I would like to thank Bowdoin’s administration, Trustees, and  my colleagues across campus, but especially in the government department, as well as students past and present for their outpouring of support.Sincerely,Jean M. YarbroughGary M. Pendy, Sr., Professor of Social Sciences

To the Editors:

Exciting news! Responding to calls from student activist groups, the University of Maine (UMaine) System Board of Trustees unanimously voted to divest from direct coal holdings on Monday. The University System, which was one of the first to divest from South African apartheid in the 1980s, is now the first land grant system to divest from coal. 

The UMaine schools join the growing list of institutions that have committed to some form of divestment, including Hampshire College, Pitzer College and Stanford University. The UMaine board also stated its willingness to consider fully divesting from fossil fuels and announced that UMaine Presque Isle had done so quietly already.  

This is very exciting because divestment is a hugely important step toward achieving justice for those harmed by the fossil fuel industry. Pollution from coal companies and fossil fuels disproportionately affects impoverished communities, and climate change will disproportionately harm vulnerable populations across the globe. Thus, divestment in my mind is an environmental justice issue. 

I would love to see Bowdoin follow UMaine’s lead and invest in an equitable future. Since they can do it, why can’t we? Let’s be on the forefront of history, Bowdoin, and commit to countering global climate change now.

Meredith Outterson ’17

To the Editors:

I was dismayed to read last week’s letter to the editor from Jeff D. Emerson ’70, wherein he criticized the views of Christopher Wedeman ’15.  To be clear, I don’t share Wedeman’s views, but I was disappointed that Emerson, a Bowdoin trustee, would resort to ad hominen attacks and straw man arguments in order to put down a current student. 

For example, Emerson insinuated that Wedeman is disdainful of the First Amendment because he questions the wisdom of giving a person a public forum on campus. However, the First Amendment protects citizens only from government restrictions on speech.  There is no constitutional right to be an invited speaker at a private college nor is there a constitutional guarantee that a choice of speaker must be free from student criticism. Accordingly, Wedeman is of no immediate threat to our constitutional rights.

Notwithstanding his incorrect interpretation of constitutional law, Emerson further contends that Wedeman’s dissenting views somehow disparage Bowdoin’s military veterans who died to protect our freedoms.  Emerson, neither you nor I know exactly what motivated each of these brave men and women, but I sincerely doubt any of them gave their lives with the hope that their deaths would be used as a cheap rhetorical ploy by a trustee bullying a student.

I hope Bowdoin continues to recruit speakers who will challenge the campus’ prevailing politics.  I also hope that students who oppose such speakers’ views will continue to voice their dissent.

But I most fervently hope that the trustees as a whole possess better reasoning skills and a greater depth of character than Emerson has displayed. 

Sincerely,Kevin R. Larivee ’06

To the Editors:

In an otherwise routine story about Colonel David Hunt’s lecture on terrorism at Bowdoin (“Terrorism lecture sparks protests over strong rhetoric,” November 7, 2014) there were some very disturbing quotes attributed to Christopher Wedeman ’15. Apparently Wedeman believes that “the biggest state sponsor of terror in the Middle East…would maybe be a tie between Israel and the United States.” This remark betrays such ignorance of the facts that one wonders what world Wedeman inhabits. 

Clearly he does not read the newspapers or watch the news. Wedeman appears to be ignorant of the fact (not belief) that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. Perhaps he believes that summarily executing civilians on the streets (Hamas) is not terrorism. Perhaps he believes that beheading civilian non-combatants (ISIS) is not terrorism. Perhaps he believes that firing rockets indiscriminately into civilian areas (Hamas and Hezbollah) is not terrorism. 

Perhaps Wedeman’s world view is best explained by the fact that he is one of the founding members of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a student group that “promotes the self-determination of Palestinian people and their liberation from Occupation”. If, by “Occupation,” SJP is referring to Hamas (which controls Gaza) or the Palestinian Liberation Organization and Fatah (which control the West Bank) then fine. 

But more likely SJP is referring to Israel. If so, SJP betrays total ignorance. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 and, other than some unfortunate Jewish settlements in the West Bank, it does not occupy any part of “Palestine,” itself a territory generally without consensus world recognition. Palestinians in Israel have more rights and freedoms than Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan or any other Middle East location.

Finally, it is fascinating that Wedeman states that “it’s interesting that Bowdoin gave [Colonel Hunt] a platform to speak like this.” Apparently Wedeman’s ignorance is not limited to geopolitical matters; he also is ignorant of the First Amendment. My suggestion is that Wedeman (and the members of SJP) walk around the campus and pay special attention to the monuments to Bowdoin graduates who gave the last full measure of devotion to protect the very freedoms which he and SJP apparently disdain.

Sincerely,Jeff D. Emerson ’70Member of the Board of Trustees 

To the Editors:

In making his argument (in the column “Dressing to look homeless is distasteful, not humorous,” November 7, 2014), the writer used an egregious false equivalence comparing the “homeless-chic” style of dressing to blackface. This comparison to blackface is superficial and careless as it erases the function of blackface as a system of oppression. 

Blackface never was just about the imitation of black people or an attempt at being ironic. At its core, blackface is about the dehumanization of black people in order to justify the existence of racism in our society. 

It perpetuated ugly myths of black people as dangerous, simple, violent and overly sexual creatures that are humorous in their “attempts” at humanity. It was historically done to humiliate and mock black people, to show that they were unworthy of anything like compassion, understanding, respect or basic human rights. 

These myths still last today in more watered down versions in discussions ranging from the hyper-sexualization of the black body to the inherent criminality of black men.

This more intensive understanding of blackface is often lost in mainstream conversations and is part of the reason why people ranging from your average Joe Schmo to celebrities like Julianne Hough still ignorantly use blackface. The comparison used whitewashes and oversimplifies this history, ultimately serving as a disservice to both the topic he was writing on and the issue of blackface.

Alex Mathieu ’15

To the Editors:

The members of Bowdoin Climate Action (BCA) are disappointed by the recent reporting the Orient has done regarding fossil fuel divestment. Rather than attempting to facilitate a productive conversation, the Orient accused the student group of intentionally misrepresenting student support for its own benefit. Not only is such a claim false, but it is also wrongly damaging to a student group that has actively pursued an open and productive debate on campus.

The claim that only 825 petition signatures are valid is a misconstrual of the facts. The master spreadsheet, which was supplied to President Barry Mills, contained 1,000 unique student signatures calling on the College to divest. Today this signature count is nearly 1,200. We apologize for not being clear about the discrepancy between the physical and electronic signatures.

Investigative journalism, simply by its stakes, is beholden to the highest standards of objectivity—to present the facts not only as they appear, but also in relation to the context they exist in. In this case, the Orient failed; desire to break a scandal trumped understanding and unbiased reporting. 

Where objective journalism would have sought out the rationale of the so-called silenced dissent, the Orient merely asserted its existence. Likewise, with divestment, it failed to actually explore the proposal made before the Trustees—attention to the crux of the argument was replaced by a focus on those arguing. 

All of us, for the sake of a constructive and intelligent discourse, owe it to each other to have this conversation with the utmost respect and understanding that Bowdoin demands of us. BCA will continue to pursue a collaborative student-faculty-Trustee effort focused on developing a responsible divestment policy, which best suits both the moral and financial obligations of the College.

Sincerely,Hugh Ratcliffe ’15Peter Nauffts ’15Clara Belitz ’17

To the Editors: 

Cruelty towards both wildlife and people has no place in Maine. Chasing shy and gentle black bears through their forest home with GPS-collared hounds and then shooting these panicked bears out of a tree is not fair chase hunting; it is persecution. Any decent human being who witnessed a pack of dogs attacking a wounded bear who had been shot out of a tree would realize why Mainers are being asked to put a stop to this cruelty in our forests. 

Bears are intelligent and sensitive beings. To kill them in this way should not be acceptable human behavior. Snaring black bears at a site baited with junk food and then shooting the trapped bear at point blank range is an execution and not true hunting. Baiting itself is nothing more than cheating. There is no challenge in shooting a bear while it is feeding on human junk food—that’s why many other proud hunting states have banned baiting. 

Maine people have a unique opportunity to stop cruelty and injustice in our forests, while still allowing for fair chase hunting. For decency and fairness in the Maine woods, please vote yes on Question 1.

Sincerely,Robert GoldmanSouth Portland, Maine

To the Editors: 

While reading Julia Mead’s article about Trader Joe’s, I found myself remembering my own trip to a somewhat similar store. Over the summer, I was lucky enough to accompany my father to the wonderland that is Costco. Like Trader Joe’s, Costco only stocks one brand of each item, though that is really where the comparison ends. See, my dad goes to Costco because he is a fiend for deals of the bulk variety.

The mistake that Julia makes is equating lack of choice within the store to lack of choice at all. Some people like Trader Joe’s for its unique products at a marked-up price (I do too, sometimes), while others prefer the ability to buy as much as they want for as little as possible. 

So when I walked down the aisles of Costco marveling at my ability to buy unwieldy amounts of Kirkland Potato Chips for cheap, I swelled with pride for the American system of capitalism. I didn’t buy the chips, but I felt heartened knowing that I could. And that is why we won and they lost. That is why America is the land of the free and the home of those who eat way too many potato chips.

Sincerely, Adam Lamont ’16

To the Editors: 

At the polls on November 4, please cast your vote for Kathy Wilson for Brunswick Town Councilor At Large. 

 Kathy is a local small business owner on Pleasant Street who was born in a maternity clinic right on Longfellow Avenue. She is a progressive who has observed many changes in Brunswick over the years and welcomes change to come, as long as it is thoughtfully managed.  She is an outspoken advocate for education, appreciating that we must invest in the youth in our community.  At the same time, she is for wise spending of Brunswick’s limited resources so that high taxes do not discourage young families from settling here, drive seniors from their homes or force businesses to locate elsewhere.

 Kathy loves Brunswick and has served it well as a member of the Downtown Master Plan Implementation Committee and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee.  Kathy will be dedicated and hard-working member of Town Council.  She’s a big-picture person, willing to listen to all views, who will work for the common good of all Brunswick, not just the interests of a few.

 For more about Kathy, visit her website: www.KathyforCouncil.weebly.com. 

Alison HarrisBrunswick, ME

To the Editors: 

In the article published on October 17 about the Christian Fellowship at Bowdoin, it was stated that the Fellowship’s leaders “felt they could not sign [the Volunteer Agreement] due to religious convictions, specifically the Christian gospel’s interpretation of homosexuality.”  This view is not universal among Christians.  Many Christians unequivocally support uniform civil rights for all and marriage equality, and feel it is completely within keeping with Christian beliefs and values.  A more accurate statement would have been “the Fellowship’s interpretation of the Christian gospel regarding homosexuality.”  Those who  identify as Christians have a wide spectrum of belief; please use nuance in future coverage of issues involving Christians and their beliefs.

Amanda HarrisBaltimore, Maryland

To the Editors:

All of us should be concerned about climate change and it heartens me to see students expressing their concern. There is consensus on the science and consensus on the broad policy solution: we need to use carbon taxes or a cap and trade system to make the price of carbon-based fuels reflect their true cost including environmental costs. Revenues from such measures can be used to offset increased costs for low-income households. A proper price for carbon fuels makes renewables easily viable. The problem, then, is a political one. Even though the current state of politics has disillusioned many students, the political process is the only way to accomplish the scale of changes necessary. I urge all of us to get politically involved, vote, and work to support candidates and elected leaders that are willing to move forward on climate issues.

John FitzgeraldProfessor of Economics

To the Editors:Jean-Paul Honegger’s column on the proposed Amtrak layover facility in Brunswick repeats the misinformation of the train authority building the project (NNEPRA).

1. Trains would not be “switched off” once in the facility, because large diesel engines take too long to warm up from cold starts. NNEPRA has thus far failed to provide required operating plans documenting exactly how the engines would be run.

2. The facility is not “essential to preserving Amtrak service to Brunswick.” NNEPRA offers no evidence to support this statement. The facility is something NNEPRA wants, not something it needs.

3. The claim that “ridership numbers aren’t low” is unsubstantiated. Most reporters never question NNEPRA’s own figures, which regulators have claimed are unreliable and inconsistent. Industry think tanks actually report reduced ridership from last year to this.

4. The facility will not benefit Brunswick’s economy. It will generate no new runs to Brunswick, for that requires new tracks, which NNEPRA has not proposed. The building will offer no new employment opportunities. It will not bring more consumers to town, and it will not bring in new tax dollars, since it operates at taxpayer expense.

Senator Angus King, Governor Paul LePage and a host of state legislators have all raised serious questions about this project.

So too has the state Department of Environmental Protection, which rejected two of NNEPRA’s attempts to secure stormwater management permits. See, NNEPRA failed to offer any plan for the management of wastewater proven to contain toxic chemicals and heavy metals, which threaten to pollute local drinking wells and ultimately Brunswick’s watersheds. Given its established record of “railroading” neighbors, NNEPRA’s “trust us” response to these concerns is of little solace.

NNEPRA misinforms the public, neglects local laws and ordinances, and evades required regulation. Journalists have a responsibility to investigate, rather than echo, its claims.I am all for the growth of greener transportation networks, even at taxpayer expense. I am not for a process contemptuous of laws designed to protect residents and the environment from irresponsible development.

Patrick RaelBrunswickThough he is a professor of history at Bowdoin, Patrick Rael writes to the editors as a citizen of Brunswick.

To the Editors:

Proposition 1 is about Maine’s conscience. Examine your conscience, as a Mainer, and ask if you believe it’s wrong to allow tourists to hunt bears by using dogs to tree them or trash to bait them. Only the rankest kind of amateur would hunt without stalking. Only the rankest kind of hunting guide would sanction this way of hunting. I am proud to be a citizen of Maine and proud of our state motto: “The way life should be.” 

Shame on anyone who implies that trash hunting is the only kind of hunting that can reduce bear overpopulation. The true hunters of Maine have the ability to control the bear population. My conscience tells me that trash hunting is wrong. Is it wrong? What does your conscience tell you? Mine tells me to vote YES on Proposition 1.

Michael GrantBrunswick

To the Editors:

Many women at Bowdoin are active in exploring and affirming what it means to identify as women because we are invested in gender issues, not because we have a living room to do it in. While I, too, want more of my male classmates to get involved in dismantling the patriarchy, I would call for a cultural change rather than an institutional change. I don’t see many Bowdoin men involved in existing programs that confront issues around gender and sexuality. Why are there so few men in Safe Space? And where are all the guys in my gender and women’s studies and gay and lesbian studies classes?

I don’t want a separate Men’s Resource Center. Not because “everything is your resource,” but because no one should conceive of topics around masculinity as distinct from (or worse, not implicated in) women’s issues or LGBT issues or sexual and gender violence. If it feels uncomfortable to enter 24 College because it has signs for the Women’s Resource Center and the Resource Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity, know that it’s not because you’re not welcome. I would encourage you to examine and confront that uncomfortable feeling of privilege before you start tackling the patriarchy.

Oriana Farnham ’15

To the editors:

I’ve never seen myself as a political person. When I heard that our state is the very last one to still allow bear trapping, hounding and baiting, I felt a lot of embarrassment—this is not “the way life should be.”

These practices are unnecessary and cruel.  I’m speaking up to support a “Yes” vote on Question 1 and to tell my fellow Mainers how much I want to see cruelty banned and fair chase restored.

Last year, my friends and I began volunteering for this cause, gathering signatures for the ballot. It was a really energizing and rewarding experience!  Now that Question 1 is on the ballot, there’s even more to do to get ready for Election Day.  If you haven’t, I encourage you to visit www.YesOnQuestion1.com/Volunteer and sign up to volunteer today. Please vote YES on Question 1.

Thank you,Susan Baker-Kaplan

To the Editors:On Thursday, September 4, I was walking through Smith Union, and I noticed that two representatives of a Maine non-profit organization were registering students to vote. While I was glad that students had this opportunity, I was concerned that the two representatives were trying to persuade a student who obviously wanted to vote in his home state to register in Maine.

Bowdoin students have every right to register to vote in Brunswick if they consider it to be their residence. However, students who do register become subject to the same laws concerning driver’s licenses, automobile registrations, and income taxes as other Maine residents.

I recommend that students visit the website of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU and search for “Student Voting Guide.” The guide explains voting laws in each state.Students who want to vote in other states should be aware that many states have much earlier deadlines for registering and requesting absentee ballots than Maine. For example, Massachusetts requires mailed voter registration applications to be postmarked by Wednesday, October 15; New York requires them to be postmarked by Friday, October 10; and California requires them to be postmarked by Monday, October 20.

The Brennan Center’s Student Voting Guide contains links to voter registration applications and absentee ballot request forms that may be printed and submitted by mail. For some states, there are links to websites where these documents may be completed and submitted online.If you start the process now, you will have plenty of time to mark your absentee ballot and return it to your state by Election Day.

Michelle A. Small ’86

To the Editors:As an alumnus working to solve climate change, I want to say kudos and thanks to the Bowdoin administration for moving forward with the state’s largest (1.2 megawatt) solar array! This is great leadership, a good business move and a fantastic educational tool for students of economics and science alike.  

Sincerely,Auden Schendler ’92

To the Editors:Over the past two months, you’ve probably received an email from me imploring you to come to the People’s Climate March. 

Given the amount of spam you have received, I feel it necessary to give my own motivations for marching in New York.

Roughly two years ago, Hurricane Sandy touched down in lower Manhattan. It knocked out my power and flooded my neighborhood. While I only waited weeks to return to my routine, for many of those close to me, it was months before the healing process even began. In the following months family friends would come over in search of reassurance and/or some basic appliance. In these interactions I was given a window into those unthinkable moments of panic, the decisions over which family keepsakes to save and which to part with.

And so, I march to reclaim some sense of ownership over the city that I saw downtrodden in unimaginable ways. I march to raise attention so that we may all bear witness to the damage and pain that Sandy still wreaks, two years on.

Though we cannot directly connect climate change to Hurricane Sandy, the increase in extreme weather events across the nation frightens me. I ask my peers to consider their own stories. While we often view climate change in abstract terms, all of us are inextricably tied to the warming of our planet. 

I’ll be there, President Obama will be there, hundreds of thousands of people will be there. Will you?

Kenny Shapiro ’17

To the Editor:

If you’re concerned about climate change, you may feel there is little you can do that will make a difference.  Here’s a suggestion: vote. If you choose a candidate who consistently advocates for climate-friendly legislation, you’ve taken a positive step.

As it turns out, Bowdoin students have such an opportunity this June. Jackie Sartoris is running in a June 10 Democratic primary for the Maine State Legislature.  Her district includes almost all of Bowdoin’s dormitories. She’s been a consistent proponent of sustainability initiatives at the local and state levels and her non-partisan work to pass comprehensive wetland laws won a national award from the Environmental Law Institute. The urgent need for leadership addressing climate change is a primary reason that Jackie is running. For more information go to jackiesartoris.com.

While few Bowdoin students typically participate in June elections, these are races with small turnouts and every vote will matter. Students can register to vote in Brunswick and vote absentee. I encourage you to take this simple step to help the planet.

Sincerely,Mark BattleAssociate Professor of Physics

To the Editor:

The students of Bowdoin Climate Action are to be commended for their activism and efforts in advocating for divestment of the college endowment from fossil fuels.  And President Mills is to be commended for stating that “climate change is a hugely important issue” and for arranging a meeting between these students and the Board of Trustees for next October. He also says that about 50 percent of Americans don’t share his belief in climate change. A significant reason that many do not share his belief about the seriousness of climate change is that the fossil fuel industry has spent vast sums to deny the science and foster a climate of doubt about climate change. The issue has falsely been politicized.  

Senator Angus King has said that climate change is not a Democratic or Republican issue but an issue of science.  Science tells us that fully 80 percent of known fossil fuel reserves need to remain in the ground if we are to avoid runaway climate change. The fossil fuel industry will not stop digging without pressure. Quite the contrary: In 2013 it collectively spent $650 billion exploring for more oil, coal and gas to add to its already proven reserves. If burned, these additions would push average global temperatures so high as to make civilization as we have known it, and the survival of an increasing host of species, untenable. 

By divesting, Bowdoin has an opportunity to be a moral leader by applying that pressure.  The divestment movement worldwide is fast growing and soon others will be following those colleges that have already divested. President Mills has stated that the endowment should not be a mechanism by which we choose winners and losers on political and social and moral issues.  In the past many colleges, universities, and municipalities chose to divest from investments in apartheid South Africa and in the tobacco industry. 

These divestments were seen as responding to political, social, and moral issues. The climate change crisis surely rises to that level of seriousness.  And also, by remaining invested in fossil fuel, one is choosing to support the current business model of the fossil fuel industry which, if successful, will likely lead to catastrophic climate change.

As one BCA sign said, “Bowdoin Divestment is for the Common Good.”

Sincerely,Billy Rixon Freeport, ME

To the Editor:

A story in the April 24 edition of the Orient ("Mills: Trustees likely too busy to meet with students on divestment this year") included comments by me that have been interpreted incorrectly by some as a statement that legitimizes the view that climate change does not exist.

To be clear, I agree that climate change is real. I believe it is a critical—or, as I said to the Orient—a “hugely important” issue. The scientific evidence is compelling, and I believe that those who deny the existence of climate change are incorrect. However, the overwhelming scientific evidence and the consensus among scientists on the issue does not eliminate the fact that there are those who have different points of view—views shaped by a different interpretation of science, or guided by economics or politics.

More importantly, even for those of us who agree on the existence of climate change, no one can argue that there is currently a consensus at the federal, state, local, or individual level on what to do about the problem, particularly when it comes to energy and conservation. For example, some believe in the imposition of a steep gas tax; others believe in the expansion of hydraulic fracturing. For some, alternative energy like solar and wind power are the answer. For others, a revival of nuclear power offers the best way forward. So, while there should not be a legitimate debate about the existence of climate change, there is surely an ongoing legitimate debate about the solutions.

I believe it is inappropriate for Bowdoin to ignore our duties to the College and our endowment by essentially picking “the winner” among these many positions through divestment from fossil fuels. And those who assert that the economic consequences of divestment to our endowment would not be substantial are profoundly misinformed. The “symbolic” statement of divestment would result in significant changes to our College that would affect each and every one of us today as well as future generations.

That said, I have arranged to have students from Bowdoin Climate Action meet with Bowdoin trustees in October to continue this discussion. I have also offered to consult with the students in preparation for that meeting. While I disagree with their approach, I respect our students’ passion for this critical issue and I applaud their eagerness to join the national debate over what can be done to tackle climate change in our time.

Sincerely,

Barry Mills  

To the Editor:

Last week you saw us, the students of Bowdoin College, turn out in strong numbers and speak passionately at the hearings in opposition to the Central Maine Power (CMP) rate change. We spoke to news outlets and directly to you about how a rate change—in particular a standby fee on renewables—would put progress at risk, adversely effect our school, and put our futures in Maine in jeopardy.

The Friday after the hearings, still feeling the rush of excitement from the hearings, Bowdoin students mobilized to turn off all of the light switches accessible to them and un-plug as many devices as possible from CMP’s grid. Part visual experiment, part boycott, during those fifteen minutes we were able to decrease energy use by 7.7 percent overall and by 13 percent on North Campus where the Quad, most of the first year bricks, and the majority of the academic buildings reside. Because a large portion of this decrease came from the dorms, some of which reduced their energy use by more than half, it is clear how much massive student support and collaboration was required to create this kind of event.

Beyond the practicality of a 15-minute boycott of CMP’s services, there was a beauty to it. The campus was unlike I had ever seen it. The freshman bricks only sported ribbons of light from the automatically illuminated bathrooms. In a transformation of one of Bowdoin’s most iconic buildings, Hubbard’s black silhouette revealed no light from the interior. Even Coles Tower, the second tallest building in Maine and our second largest residence hall, managed to go completely black.

How did this happen? Well, 76 students volunteered to turn off lights outside of their room, but there were far more students, faculty and staff who made sure that their rooms, offices, and break spaces were dark and unplugged. There are remarkably few times when the campus is unified around one issue, and this was one of them.

Maine Public Utilities Commission, (MPUC) we call on you to make a choice for the future of this great state. Do not approve the rate change. Do not punish renewables. Instead, help us move into a future that allows us, as citizens of Maine and as citizens of humanity, to chose to be energy independent. 

Thank you for your service to the state of Maine. I hope you make the right choice for the state you serve.

Bridgett McCoy ’15

To the Editor:

Your columnist Sam Chase says of me, “Easterbrook... is quick to proclaim his intellectual and moral superiority over, well, anyone who isn’t him,” in his column last week, "Hot takes and paragraph breaks: mocking the worst of sports writing."

Okay, that’s his opinion. Curious nothing is cited to support this sweeping generalization. In what instance did I “proclaim” my “moral superiority” over “anyone who isn’t” me? I doubt Bowdoin professors accept papers that contain far-reaching ad hominen condemnations unsupported by a single specific.

Chase further declares that I am “not exactly strapped for cash.” How does the Bowdoin Orient claim to know this? What possible information could your newspaper have about my finances? Chase certainly never called me for any form of fact-checking. I hope Bowdoin students do not imagine that writing serious nonfiction books, literary novels and Atlantic Monthly articles—how I spend most of my time—is a path to riches. When my son Grant Easterbrook ’11 attended Bowdoin, he received financial aid. Which your columnist would have known if he’d engaged in even the most rudimentary fact-checking steps.

One of the temptations faced by students who attend elite colleges such as Bowdoin is making oneself seem important by mocking others. I hope Chase will learn to overcome this sophomoric (in more ways than one) inclination. He’s obviously got a lot to learn about how to write carefully.

Regards,Gregg Easterbrook P ’11Bethesda, Maryland

To the Editor:

I write regarding the recent controversy about Bowdoin Christian Fellowship to encourage the Bowdoin community to evaluate the Dean’s action. 

According to Ernst Helmreich’s “Religion at Bowdoin College” (1981), the Bowdoin Christian Fellowship (BCF) began meeting in Moulton Union in 1974. Led by a staff worker affiliated with Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF), a national organization, BCF has met from 1974 to the present day as an officially recognized chapter of IVCF. IVCF has provided chaplains to BCF at no charge to the College. This 40-year, mutually beneficial relationship should not be blithely tossed aside. 

I personally benefited greatly from IVCF’s work; I know numerous students, Christian and non-Christian alike, who received hours of counseling, support, and encouragement from IVCF staff. Bowdoin is a challenging school with limited spiritual resources. The College should not divest itself of the vital presence of IVCF.

Inter-Varsity has chapters at nearly every top college and university in America: four chapters at Yale, six at Duke, 11 at Harvard, three at Stanford, six at Columbia, and seven at Berkeley—to say nothing of the chapters at Middlebury, Amherst, and Swarthmore. All of these schools have strong commitments to tolerance and diversity, and each has made a place at the table for an IVCF chapter.  If Harvard has 11 flourishing IVCF chapters, can Bowdoin’s expressed commitment to pluralism not bear the weight of one?   

Bowdoin welcomes other student organizations affiliated with national organizations, including the Amnesty International Club and Bowdoin Hillel. There is nothing strange or nefarious about BCF’s status as a chapter.

Sincerely, Dr. Owen D. Strachan ’03 Assistant Professor of Church History at Boyce College

To the Editors: 

I write in reference to your recent coverage of the controversy surrounding Bowdoin Christian Fellowship (BCF) and the requirements for student organizations. 

In the focus on questions of sexual orientation, a critical point has received insufficient attention. The non-discrimination policy requires student organizations to certify that they do “not discriminate on the basis of… religion” or “creed.”  The SOOC now requires the student organization leaders themselves to sign this policy.  

But what does the policy mean?  Does it require members of the Muslim Students Association to show no concern for whether a leadership candidate thinks Muhammad was a messenger of God? Does it oblige members of the Catholic Student Union or Bowdoin Christian Fellowship, when it comes time to their select leaders, to ignore whether candidates believe Jesus was a liar, a lunatic, or the Son of God?

Surely it would be a cruel charade for the College to claim to welcome student religious groups on campus, and yet in the same breath to tell them they can’t choose leaders who share their “religion” or “creed.”

One would hope the policy aims only to require student organizations to admit any student to membership, but then leaves members free to elect leaders who share their faith commitments—commitments which are, after all, the very raison d’être of the groups.  If this is the meaning of the policy, we shall be grateful to hear it from the administration.

Colin LeCroy ’04  

To the Editor:

On March 2 I will march from the campus of Georgetown University to the front gate of the White House with one simple demand—that President Obama fulfills his promise to the people of the United States and its future generations and blocks the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. I will demand that  our government find courage in the face of adversity.

But I will not be alone. Instead I will be one voice among hundreds or thousands, including 15 Bowdoin students, as part of what will be one of the largest single demonstrations of civil disobedience by youth at the White House in over a generation—and all of it organized by students. 

Keystone XL is an issue that has turned into a shouting match.  There are even those who argue within the ranks that this is not the battle to be fought. We say this is not the battle to lose. For my generation, we have no choice. Ignorance is no longer an excuse. A failure to block this pipeline would be aiding and abetting a crime against humanity.

Although we may not speak with checkbooks or massive campaign donations, we are armed with our disobedience and our message: We will no longer sit at the sidelines as our future is squandered.  

Bowdoin does XL Dissent.

Sincerely,Hugh Ratcliffe ’15

To the Editor:

The student body cheering section last Saturday at the men’s basketball game versus Trinity sadly failed to meet the NESCAC standard of good sportsmanship. The derogation of the City of Hartford was callous. How embarrassing! 

I note significantly one of the leaders of the women’s basketball team—playing her heart out—is from Hartford.

Sincerely,David B. Humphrey ’61

To the Editor,

I read with horror the article “BCF advisors refuse to sign policy, vacate role at College” in the Orient (February 14). First, the attack on religious freedom is picking up steam in American and now has landed full force at my alma mater. Second, the article is so deviously slanted against Rob and Sim Gregory that I must write to defend them. Are we really supposed to believe the monster from Penn State, Jerry Sandusky, should be used as any example, a connection or even anywhere in the same article as the exemplary Christian leaders Rob and Sim Gregory? Also, it is obvious that the Gregorys were effectively banned from their role and that they did not “vacate” their leadership at Bowdoin.No one from Bowdoin thought up a new document for people to sign just to protect the kids from the next Jerry Sandusky. Monsters like Sandusky would have signed the document!

Rather, they conjured up a way to get Christians off the campus. They knew that Rob and Sim Gregory could never sign it, as they have their Bible, not the director of “religious and spiritual life” for counsel.

Thank you Rob and Sim for bringing so many people to Christ. I only wish you both were at Bowdoin in leadership positions when I was a student!

The religious war on Christianity is picking up speed in America and we better get prepared to fight back.

Sincerely,Stephen P. Laffey ’84

I am writing to draw attention to what I see as an egregious abuse of power and an important resource. Every time it snows, I, like most other Bowdoin students, have been receiving texts notifying us of parking bans and cancellations of the Shuttle and Brunswick Taxi services. This is in addition to emails containing the same information and is unnecessary and annoying as shit. My main bone of contention, though, is that my understanding of the purpose of Bowdoin Security’s text alert system was that it was to be used to swiftly contact students in the event of an emergency. A parking ban is emphatically not an emergency, and as such, using the text system to notify students of parking bans is a serious misuse of the resource. The first time I received one of these texts, I assumed it was related to a campus emergency (why else would I have gotten such a text?) and my blood pressure ratcheted up, only to slink back down upon my discovery that the text was about parking. I have gotten enough of these texts over the course of the semester—I’m starting to get more texts from Randy than from my mom—that now when I see that I have received a text from Bowdoin Security, I assume it’s parking related, and ignore it. 

A text from Randy has lost any urgency it may have originally carried and as such has seriously damaged the efficacy of the text alert system as a way of notifying students of an emergency. What’s the point of having a text alert system for emergencies if you have, through vacuous messages, conditioned students to ignore them? Damn, Randy, stop abusing the text alert system to tell me about parking.

Correction, January 28: The third paragraph has been changed to note that climate policies will "batter" the earnings of coal, oil, and gas companies, not "better" them. 

Bowdoin College should be commended for its efforts to decrease its carbon footprint and become carbon neutral by 2020.  

“It’s about addressing the issue of climate change and how that’s part of Bowdoin’s overall mission of serving the common good,” said Keisha Payson,  coordinator for a Sustainable Bowdoin, in a September 2013 Orient article. 

To the Editors:

Just because I can’t grow a mustache doesn’t mean that I don’t support Movember and prostate cancer awareness. 

Sincerely,Peter Powers ’16Ordained MinisterClass D Licensed Driver

To the Editors:

Although I regret that I did not prevail in the race for District 6 Town Councilor, I do not regret the two-month campaign.  I thoroughly enjoyed knocking on doors and meeting the residents and many of the business owners of District 6.  It only reinforced my view that I am indeed fortunate to make my home in downtown Brunswick.

I could not have wished for a more committed, hard-working, broad-based group of supporters. For that I am especially grateful.

To the Editors:   

Many presentations on the issue of global warming leave one with a sense of foreboding doom given the complexity of the issues humans must overcome in order to prolong our present environment. However, the presentation by Dan Schrag last Friday at Common Hour left the audience with a resounding sense of hopelessness and I believe was  completely disempowering.  While indeed the hurdles are large, Schrag is not correct in stating that “sustainability” is not worth it, and that individual contributions can only really come from budding new scientists creating techno-fixes. On the contrary, each and every one of us has a responsibility to do what we can on an individual scale, for two reasons.  First, collectively each of  our efforts  add up to make a difference; reducing our personal  consumption  collectively will reduce emissions, not enough to actually stop environmental change, but a start.  Developing and using alternative energy sources at the local and national level is a proven solution that can be supported by each of us. Political action to stop the oil lobby in Washington  and instead contribute federal support to alternate energy and transportation will help too. The list is long, and there are many avenues of individual action.

And secondly,  without hope of a  livable future, we are indeed doomed.  Hope has helped the human race overcome major hurdles in the past, and we must not give this up.  If we lose hope we will indeed end up like Venus far sooner than we need to.  So to the students and to all in the community,  keep trying and keep believing your efforts are effective.  We have to.

To the Editors:

On behalf of staff, faculty, and community—our appreciation goes to the students of Reed House for such a delightful afternoon on Saturday October 19. They had pumpkin decorating, games, face-painting, treats(!) and attention of these wonderful and personable students! My grandchildren were delighted, as I’m sure many others were as well! Knowing how busy these students are, it is impressive that they took the time to put on this  event.  Many thanks!

Sincerely,Leslie NuccioStudent Health Insurance Coordinator

To the Editors:

I support Alison Harris’ bid to represent District 6 in Brunswick. Downtown Brunswick is vital to us all.

She is eminently qualified to assume this daunting task. Since moving to Brunswick, she has immersed herself in volunteer work. As a greeter at the Brunswick Visitor Center, she has gained an intimate knowledge of all that Brunswick, not just the downtown, has to offer. Working with her on a People Plus project, I got to appreciate firsthand her motivational and organizational skills. Her efforts with People Plus earned her its Volunteer of the Year award.

To the Editors:

We have known Alison Harris for quite a few years and enjoy her company very much. Alison is smart, friendly, encouraging, positive and likes to know the “whole story.” These are just a few of her qualities that will make her a great representative for town council. She loves getting all the facts, asking questions, and then putting everything together to get the best end result for all people involved. She is an independent thinker who looks for the best of the whole, as opposed to one narrow viewpoint.

Alison has great organizational and time management skills that will be valuable on the town council to deal with the many issues and activities that come before them. She loves Brunswick and shares that love with all that meet her, from the folks in her neighborhood, to the Brunswick Visitor Center and even to the town of Topsham.

To the Editors: Kudos to the entire staff for a superb first issue (September 13)! As a Bowdoin graduate, I appreciated the peek inside the College (the “Take Care” editorial, “Make the Global Local,”  “Talk of the Quad,” and “The Class of 2017”). As a Brunswick resident, I liked the local angle (Eveningstar Cinema and Jen’s Place). Other articles covered nice territory, from a well-deserved rap on Congress to an effective mix of cultural commentary, student profiles and sport highlights. Finally, as a professional writer, I appreciated the uniformly high quality of writing. Keep up the great work! People do still read newspapers. At least this old Polar Bear does.Sincerely,David Treadwell ’68

To the Editors:As many of you know, Bowdoin’s 15th Annual Common Good Day is fast approaching! Next Saturday, September 28, hundreds of Bowdoin students will be participating in dozens of daylong service projects throughout mid-coast Maine. As many of you may have also realized, group registration has closed and only individual sign-ups remain open. But does that mean you should scrap the idea and wait until next year? Absolutely not.

“Individual sign-ups” is misleading. No one will be volunteering as an individual. In reality, individuals will be working in groups of other individuals, allowing participants to meet new people while exploring a local project. These types of experiences have tremendous value, as they allow you to connect with other like-minded individuals who are also looking to develop new relationships during their volunteering stint. 

Common Good Day is also a very unique event that mobilizes both Bowdoin students and alumni all over the country to put aside school and work commitments for a day and dedicate themselves to serving their communities. 

To the Editors,

Until Bowdoin’s endowment is entirely free of companies that profit from fossil fuels, the College should stop referring to itself as a “leader” in confronting climate change. President Mills should stop flaunting the College’s environmental bona fides when he gives speeches, because when it comes to this issue, Bowdoin is really more of a follower.

Make no mistake: I am proud of the fact that only 1.4 percent of the College’s endowment is still invested in fossil fuels. And I am proud of the financial aid, faculty salaries and campus facilities that Bowdoin can provide as a result of trucking with companies more interested in today’s profits than tomorrow’s common good. It’s the hypocrisy that I find unbecoming in my alma mater.

To the Editors,

The student request for divestment from companies profiting from fossil fuels raises important questions that I hope the College will address. It is clear that the President, the Board of Trustees, the faculty, and many students and alumni want to deal with the problems that are caused by fossil fuels. Indeed, all should be commended for the actions that have been taken to teach about the problem and conserve energy. 

However, while the students argue that it is morally inconsistent and politically useful to profit from investments in the companies harming the environment, President Mills argues that such investment is justified because maximizing the endowment’s profits yields money that is used for scholarships, courses and conservation measures. While the students question if divestment would really cost as much as feared, the administration questions if divestment would really be effective and points out that the Board of Trustees must invest the endowment as wisely as possible.

To the Editors,

The NAS report lowered the level of discourse to partisan mudslinging, but we ought to rise above it, as Bowdoin taught us to do. 

The promise of the liberal arts is an education that pursues a better understanding of the human good by way of deliberation on diverse ideas. Diversity is not the goal in and of itself. Rather than merely acknowledging that people live differently, we are supposed to be considering how to live best ourselves. Studying other cultures informs our answer to this question. 

To the Editors,

One might think that an old white guy (Class of ’64) like me would be cheering the recent National Association of Scholars study for putting Bowdoin in its place. After all, the report notes that the Bowdoin I knew is a far cry from Bowdoin today and suggests that the changes have been very detrimental to the Bowdoin experience.

One would be dead wrong. I say this with above-average awareness of Bowdoin yesterday vs. Bowdoin today. I’ve stayed very involved: I’ve worked in admissions when the College went coeducational and made SATs optional, served as host parent to several fine students, given mock interviews for Career Planning, attended cultural and sporting events, served as Assistant Secretary to the Board, wrote for the magazine, and audited two courses. In addition, I’ve come to know several other students from a wide variety of backgrounds since I returned to Brunswick 11 years ago. 

To the Editors,

This week I have requested that the Alumni Office remove my name from the Bowdoin Magazine mailing list. I also want to strongly suggest that the president of this once great academic institution, Barry Mills, should immediately submit his letter of resignation to the Board of Trustees. The NAS report simply confirms what I have heard time and time again over the decades since my graduation—that Bowdoin has become just like any other anti-intellectual and intolerant academic institution in America—and that it has exchanged its distinguished record of pursuing knowledge and truth for “uniformity and partisanship.”  Having taught at a small college myself, I am fully aware of the intolerance and bigotry shown toward people of a conservative cultural viewpoint—people who are frequently silenced, denied tenure or simply outright fired because they do not espouse the shallow truths of today's liberal heresy—a heresy which Mills so valiantly defends every time he opens his mouth.

Sincerely,Peter Wilson ’70

To the Editors,

I’m disturbed at the unfair way the Orient handled its news article on the recent NAS study. As loaded as you may have found the report, there was a better and more responsible way to cover it than the thinly-disguised opinion item by Linda Kinstler and Marisa McGarry.

The editors should have caught the bias in the third and fourth paragraphs that skews the entire story and raises questions about the Orient’s fairness and commitment to reporting objectively. If Ms. Kinstler and Ms. McGarry wanted to write a column, they should have. Otherwise, as reporters, hold your own views in check as you report the story of the “nine-iron shot heard ‘round the world.”

To the Editor,

I write to tell you about my communication with President Mills regarding the NAS study. 

I sent the following letter to President Mills the morning after Monday’s faculty meeting. He was kind enough to call me upon receiving it. During our phone conversation I voiced my agreement with parts of the piecemeal reports that the NAS has already released; with the gist of Thomas Klingenstein’s arguments in his Claremont Review of Books essay and in the Bowdoin Orient; and with Mills’s own argument, in his September 2010 convocation address, which I excerpted in the letter. 

To the Editor,

First off, I’d simply like to say that I was deeply disturbed by the Bowdoin administration’s reaction to the men’s tennis team’s so-called “hazing” incident. However, before I start, there are a few things that bear mention. 

In fact, it is my impression that a good time was had by all. Yes, all. With these points in mind, it seems to me that there is no conceivable reason why the administration (let alone another student, unprovoked) should feel compelled to interfere at all in this matter, let alone strip these athletes of what amounts to more or less their entire season, practically one-fourth of their college careers. These athletes have worked for years for this opportunity, and to see it taken away by administrators tipped off by a third party is, frankly, heartbreaking. Let me tell you a dirty little secret: almost every team on campus has such “rituals,” and such events serve to strengthen our ties as teammates and friends, not to ostracize or belittle certain members.

To the Editor,

What I find most troubling about the NAS report is not the veiled racism and homophobia of its suggestion that “critical thinking” can be learned better from the study of Plato than from the study of how heterosexual whiteness maintains hegemony in much (though not all) of everyday public discourse. Nor is it the fact that this purported "full-fledged ethnography" lacks any clear methodology and appears not to have involved the element of participation—“hanging out,” you might say—that I take to be fundamental to the trustworthiness of any ethnographic work. 

Indeed, had the author actually visited my own freshman seminar on queer theory, he might have found that the social constructedness of gender was very much up for debate!

To the Editor: 

“It’s no big deal.” That was my initial reaction to the recent spate of racial incidents at Oberlin. Of course, I loathe bigotry in all its forms. But, I thought to myself, the actions of one or two malicious cretins at Oberlin is hardly indicative of a systematic problem there, let alone at liberal arts colleges in general. 

My initial reaction was not an uncommon one at Bowdoin. It was also deeply mistaken. This is a vital opportunity to confront the sinisterly subtle types of bigotry that are widespread at Bowdoin. 

Back in the early ’80s we started to hear about the disturbing increase in carbon dioxide levels measured atop the Hawaiian volcano Mona Loa. Then not much later, fellow scientists talked increasingly about the implications of this increase, and the likely effects on our climate. Public awareness at the time was minimal at best, and even most climate scientists failed to adjust their living habits to provide an example toward a reduction in carbon dioxide emission. Times have certainly changed in that there is now far more awareness of the consequences of increased carbon dioxide emissions. Clearly we have far to go, but there is a change afoot. But this change will drag on slowly, too slowly, until there is a realization of a sense of personal responsibility.

To the Editor: I would have been satisfied if our meeting with President Mills yielded a commitment to formally consider our proposal to divest Bowdoin’s endowment from fossil fuels. Instead, we left with our heads full of “stay the course” rhetoric. President Mills doubts the claim of the Aperio Group, an investment management firm that published a report finding that divestment poses virtually no risk to endowment returns. I trust these facts, over the profit versus environmental responsibility paradigm, because my Bowdoin education does not accept convention as truth.

To the Editor: In his job in the travel and tourism industry, Auden Schendler ’92 has clearly become well-versed in greenwashing. At least enough, as the tone of his column, “Bowdoin is falling dangerously behind on climate change,” makes clear, to point out where an industry expert would deem the paint too thin. Schendler’s column demonstrates two points extremely well. He is right that Bowdoin shouldn't be hiding behind green slogans and should be taking action that will drive actual change. Additionally, the text of his letter is a perfect example of how to use unbearably caustic words to destroy the possibility of consensus. For consensus is exactly what Bowdoin needs right now. Take the two headline sustainability initiatives that have come up for debate recently: achieving carbon neutrality and divesting the endowment of petrochemical firms.

To the Editor: Following on Auden Schendler’s January 24th piece calling for Bowdoin to take action on climate change, I am writing to express my strong support for his arguments. I first advocated Bowdoin take steps in this direction when I was editor of the Orient in the mid-1990s. Reading Auden’s article brought home how little has been done since I wrote those editorials. My hope is that the College will take steps in three areas: minimizing its own environmental footprint, building a leading edge sustainability curriculum, and investing the endowment with a sustainability focus. Since I am the co-founder of a fund that invests primarily in clean energy companies, I will add a reference that the Board may want to review the next time it allocates to new fund managers.

To the Editor: Mr. Schendler, in his article “Bowdoin is falling dangerously behind on climate change,” chose to assert that Bowdoin faculty are not only not doing enough, but that they are doing nothing. While all people and institutions can certainly do more to address the pressing issue of man induced climate change, Bowdoin faculty are certainly not doing nothing. I trust that his opinion is simply a lack of exploration of the course content, of the active faculty, and of student participation in the climate issue.

Although Eric Edelman intends to challenge the Bowdoin community’s attitude towards sexuality (“Do Not Put Me in a Box, Bowdoin: Leaving Sexuality Undefined”), his writing only confirms an attitude among many students, perhaps even the school administration, which does not give our intellectual and ethical compasses their proper roles. The answer for Bowdoin is not to “do as we please, for the sole reason that we think it might make our lives more enjoyable...The only thing that’s important is that you do you. Do whatever you want to do with whomever you want to do it with” but thoughtful reflection by individuals and groups on the meaning of sexuality. This critical feature of the human condition, explored for centuries by poet and philosopher alike, should not be left to the moral laziness of “do you” relativism, but guided by our deepest principles.

While Michael Levine’s November 16 article “Unraveling the Realities of Israel” claims to be a response to four complaints voiced against Israel by columnist Chris Wedeman, these complaints are neither effectively countered nor seriously addressed in his op-ed.

At Monday’s faculty meeting, the College administration and faculty chose to postpone, perhaps indefinitely, a change to Bowdoin’s academic calendar that has the potential to significantly enhance our college experience.

We are disappointed, to say the least, and you should be too.

The change is simple on paper: it involves pushing back first year arrival from Tuesday to Saturday and beginning classes two days earlier. Yet it solves many of Bowdoin’s easily identifiable problems: a hectic Orientation, an even crazier Phase II registration, and a financially taxing break schedule.

In his article “Sabra hummus supports Israel’s human rights abuses,” Chris Wedeman fails to live up to even the diminished standard of intellectual rigor reserved for our public discourse. The authors of this letter applaud Chris’ interest in launching a dialogue about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, it is difficult to engage in a discussion—especially over such an emotional issue—when the argument of one side rests on suppositions that have been discredited and are frankly inappropriate.

If you, like many members of the Bowdoin community, will be voting in Brunswick’s Maine House District 66, you’ll see my name on your ballot for Representative to the Legislature as K. Frederick Horch, Green Independent. Two questions may come to mind.

If you, like many members of the Bowdoin community, will be voting in Brunswick's Maine House District 66, you'll see my name on your ballot for Representative to the Legislature as K. Frederick Horch, Green Independent. Two questions may come to mind. First, yes, I am related to professor Hadley Horch in the biology department. We have been married for 17 years. Second, I am running as a Green Independent because I share the values of the Green party, and because I believe a third-party perspective in Augusta will strengthen our democratic republic.

To the Editor, We noted with pleasure the Orient's endorsement of Mattie Daughtry (October 26, 2012). Mattie is indeed a terrific candidate who will bring a fresh perspective to Augusta for the residents of District 66. However, many Bowdoin students are actually in District 63, and may be puzzled by the fact that Ms. Daughtry is not on their ballot. They will find that the Democratic House candidate on their ballot is Charles Priest, and in both House Districts the Democratic Senate candidate is Stan Gerzofsky. We urge Bowdoin students in District 63 to help re-elect Priest and in both 63 and 66 to select Gerzofsky. Charlie Priest's record of public service is impressive. He served on the local Town Council and continues to work on local Boards. Charlie is the only candidate in District 63 who is endorsed by Equality Maine and the League of Conservation Voters, as well as numerous other progressive organizations. Charlie has led the charge on marriage equality in the Legislature for several years, and his record on environmental protection is stellar. As the Democratic lead on the Legislature's Judiciary Committee, he wields real influence in moderating some of the more troubling proposals put forth by the Republican-held Legislature under Governor LePage.

To the Editor of the Orient: I appreciate the kind piece you wrote about my assignment as Chargé d'affaires in Libya, but I do have one correction. It is true that I was an undistinguished student at Bowdoin. It is even true that I was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. In these respects, I am guilty as charged. But it is slander to allege that I was ever a member of the hockey team. I deny this in the strongest possible terms, whatever my alumni file says. I was a gentle and inoffensive sort, as those who knew me then can confirm. Sincerely, Laurence Pope '67 cc: Tom Allen, '67

In two weeks, voters will come together at the polls to choose the leaders of our country, our state, and our communities. In Maine, we will also cast our votes on a referendum that, in my view, focuses on important issues of equality and fairness. I will vote yes on “Question 1” because I believe our democracy must protect the rights of all citizens, regardless of age, race, creed, religion, marital status, national origin, or, in this case, sexual orientation.

The passing of former senator, author, and historian George McGovern a few days ago reminded me of a quotation etched above my high school’s guidance office.

As college tuition continues to increase, some in the popular press have begun to ask what it is that professors do when they are not teaching. Even among Bowdoin students, alumni and some staff, there may be confusion on this matter.

In light of the unfortunate events of Saturday night, we, the leaders of the rugby team, sincerely apologize and take full responsibility for what happened to our two teammates and regret what happened to the two other students who were transported. The rugby team strives to create an inclusive and fun social environment and it was never our intention to put Bowdoin students at risk. However, we are incensed and embarrassed that Dean Foster’s campus-wide email labeled our entire team as hazers who intended to humiliate our recruits and implied that we were responsible for the two additional transports.