The Bowdoin Orient

College Democrats are preparing for their first-ever state college convention to be held at Bowdoin next Friday and Saturday.

This Saturday, roughly 400 Bowdoin students will spend 12,000 hours participating in community service activities throughout Maine.

As students headed back to campus a week ago, US News and World Report published its rankings of America's best colleges. Bowdoin climbed from tenth to seventh place.

With the help of thefacebook.com, hundreds of Bowdoin students are meeting new friends and reuniting with old ones without even leaving their desks.

Following a year's worth of work in planning, design, and implementation, Bowdoin launched its new Web site on Aug. 20.

It is all too unfortunate that the qualities Mrs. Mary Marvin Breckenridge Patterson admired in Bowdoin did not guide its decision making process on the fate of the Breckenridge estate. By risking the estate's integrity, the college sacrificed a piece of its own.

I knew that the war had put an increasing strain on trans-Atlantic relations, but I had not expected to be greeted so rudely.

President Bush's verbal gaffes have received considerable media attention and been great for comedians, but what really unsettles me when I watch W. speak is the expression on his face. He has gotten better at reading off the teleprompter, but he can't seem to shake his tendency to deliver his lines with his mouth smirking and his eyes squinting, as if to say, "Cool, they're actually buying this crap!"

There are some issues on campus where party lines are unnecessary and everyone can join together for the common good. Today, we are all faced with a common enemy?the ridiculous advertisements on BCN spewed out by the infamous Bowdoin Democrats.

While healthy debate is a very good thing, a twelve-minute Republican National Committee-produced attack video being aired on BCNews has crossed the line.

In an election that has entrenched people's political views strongly to one side or another, it would mean a great deal if the Left and the Right could work together on something as universal as voter registration.

Instead of focusing all their efforts on the real issue?the election of Kerry to office?the Bowdoin Democrats seem obsessed with simply increasing their numbers.

I break with Mr. Urwitz simply on the inappropriate statement "...pro-Israeli means pro-Palestinian as well." True, you can be both for Israel and for Palestine. However, you can also be pro-Israel and anti-Arab.

After marching down nine flights of stairs for a second time, I suddenly felt like it was middle school again when someone vandalized school property and it was time for the principal to reprimand the guilty.

The issue is one of planning and prudence, and the lesson hopefully learned from the process extends beyond the Museum and its similarly notable companions on the Quad.

I'm in a UFO, peering out a porthole window at a two-headed alligator, a giant lobster attacking a trap and a jail cell. I should be dreaming, but this scene is 79-year-old Philip Day's reality: It is his backyard of crazy constructions, a West Bath quasi-theme park that he has deemed the Loony Lagoon.

Dear Dr. Jeff: "How does Emergency Contraception work? Is it basically medical abortion?" J.K.

The wonder that little things can hold is amazing: there's soft, green moss on an old tree stump, frog eyes peeking out of a pool of water, a web of roots in the ground, and small orange, black and white fungus. The more you look, the more you can see?and the awareness of all these details is illuminating.

Delightfully far from tacky and quite refined, you're not going to find a Hooters anywhere on Monhegan Island. Twelve miles from mainland, the tiny island offers a glimpse into pristine Maine.

Dear Students: Welcome to Bowdoin 2004-2005, from all of us in the Health Services! In this, my first column of the new year, I wanted to review some of our programs and services and write a little about our sense of mission here at Dudley Coe.

So maybe you have a car at Bowdoin. Perhaps you use it to get home during the holidays, but stay out of it during the school days. Cut back on CO2 emissions, save your gas money, and enjoy the wind in your hair. Hop on your bike and head to some great places to enjoy autumn in Maine.

Jason Spooner may be a Colby grad but don't hold it against him. His band will return to Jack Magee's Pub next Thursday to regale students with another unique performance.

The Music Department kicked off its Teatime Concert Series last Friday with English accents and wild animal sounds, courtesy of Oxford University's Ensemble ISIS.

If you thought your cell phone could only make funny noises and maybe take a lousy picture or two, think again. It can kill bad guys. It can save lives. It can make you a hero. Behold the wonders of modern technology.

In honor of those celebrating the High Holy Days, I decided to do my good deed for the week and find a good alternative to the nasty cough syrup Maneschewitz has the nerve to call wine.

Spouse does not have a consistent set of members, but at any one time usually has about seven active performers. During the show, they played a mix of their old and new songs. Ayerve introduced "Army Song" from the new album by saying, "This is a song I wrote when I was a student here."

What is "quite interesting" this weekend? Comedian, author, and "media gadfly" Mo Rocca will perform at Morrell Gymnasium at 8:00 p.m. on September 11.

I've often wondered if long-dead English authors ever roll in their graves when Hollywood takes a whack?often literally?at one of their masterpieces. It's not that Vanity Fair, a film based on William Makepeace Thackeray's classic novel, is akin to literature shredded to pieces?not exactly...

We've made it, everybody. Another movie summer come and gone. Catwoman, Club Dread, and Troy are safely behind us, groveling in the deep dungeon reserved for the celluloid sludge that should have never made it to the screen. Now it's full speed ahead into a fall season promising the usual suspects for Oscar glory.

Before I get to my reviews for the week, let me explain how this is going to work. I am not a wine snob; while I have attended a class on wines, I do not believe in using words like "leggy" or describing a "bouquet." I love wine. Wine is a very social drink because it means you have to have company in order to do a bottle justice; I don't believe in re-corking. Also, I like the fact that you could drink a different bottle of wine every day for the rest of your life and never do the same one twice.

I woke up Sunday morning on a couch that was about as far away from my room as can be, and it wasn't pretty. My head was killing me, my clothes smelled like a dirty bar rag, and I had a feeling I'd be riding the pain train all day long. After sitting up and collecting my bearings, however, something occurred to me: the day had finally arrived.

Despite a strong showing after the first day, the Bowdoin golf team finished third in a nine-team field in the two-day Bowdoin Invitational Golf Tournament. With a two-day total of 640, Tufts took home top honors, while Brandeis finished second with a total of 642, followed by Bowdoin at 644.

Since becoming the first team in Bowdoin history to qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships in 1994, the Bowdoin Women's Cross-Country Team has continued a tradition of success. This year appears to be no different as the women's team looks to build on last year's accomplishments.

Wad of chewing tobacco in his mouth, Manny Ramirez lazily jogs over to pursue a fly ball. You're certain that this ball will fall in for a hit. Manny has a long, loping stride, enough to convince you that he decided long ago that long strides expend less energy.