The Bowdoin Orient

After passing a resolution that some took to be an endorsement of the Academic Bill of Rights (ABOR), Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) worked quickly on Wednesday to distance itself from it. Following a visit to BSG from Dean of Academic Affairs Craig McEwen, who said the College will not create a proposed Academic Bias Incident Group (ABIG), and a discussion in which many of the members of BSG expressed disappointment and anger in the way the resolution had been construed, the body passed two subsequent resolutions intended to clarify its intent.

As Bowdoin boasts high returns on its half-billion-dollar endowment?which provides nearly a quarter of its budget annually?a small number of students have been meeting informally with President Barry Mills over the past year about concerns over whether the College's money is invested in socially responsible companies.

The growing participation of graduating Bowdoin seniors in the Peace Corps has not gone unnoticed. This year, the College entered the top 25 list for small schools generating the most Peace Corps volunteers. Bowdoin is ranked 20th.

Colby College Professor of Sociology Jonathan White called students to action at the Darfur Teach-In Thursday evening and urged them to work together to end conflict and human rights abuses in Sudan. "There's a massive university movement that is taking place," White said. "It is student action from the United States that led the way to the divestment movement. You have no right to say that you can't make a difference," he said.

The Perry-MacMillan Arctic Museum recently introduced an audio iPod tour, which visitors can plug into to hear both commentary on the exhibits and the natural sounds of the arctic north.

The community of Brunswick will celebrate the life of 1825 Bowdoin graduate Henry Wadsworth Longfellow during the second annual "Longfellow Days," to be held from February 11 to March 4.

Young female athletes from Brunswick, Topsham, Harpswell, Bath, Freeport, and Falmouth will join Bowdoin women to celebrate the College's annual Girls and Women in Sports Day next week.

-Attendance: 23/26. Absent: Ray Carta '08, Molly Dorkey '06, Mike Lobiondo '06. -Bree Dallinga '06 and Clark Gascoigne '08 attended the meeting to voice their disapproval of the endorsement of the Academic Bias Incident Group.

As the Board of Trustees meets this weekend, the genocide continues in Darfur. The trustees may believe that there is nothing they can do to help stop this genocide. Yet there is something they can do?they can use the force of the College's nearly $600-million endowment to send the message that Bowdoin will discourage investments in companies that cooperate with governments that support genocide.

The issue of academic bias in the classroom is not outside the scope of Bowdoin Student Government (BSG). The matter could have been discussed and addressed in a productive and timely manner.

Earlier this week, I was offended and surprised by insulting depictions of the Prophet Muhammad in European newspapers, and I am sure that many of you were as well. I supported the Muslim community's right to protest these images, but the violence that has erupted as a result of these cartoons is progressively getting out of hand, with senseless deaths ensuing. One Iranian newspaper in particular has gone too far in its desire to respond to the images published in the Danish Jyllands-Posten newspaper. The Hamshahri newspaper has announced a contest it is holding for cartoons depicting the Holocaust in response to the images of Muhammad. In justification of the contest, the best-selling Iranian newspaper offered this statement, according to BBC: "Does the West's freedom of expression extend to...an event such as the Holocaust or is this freedom of expression only for the desecration of the sanctities of divine religions?" The Hamshahri is offering gold rewards to the best 12 artists (to match the number of cartoons commissioned by the Jyllands-Posten).

Recently, there has been a debate over "academic freedom" in the Bowdoin community. Unfortunately, a misuse of the phrase "academic freedom" sparked this debate and thus, there is much confusion and vagueness surrounding the arguments. Wikipedia defines academic freedom as "the freedom of teachers, students, and academic institutions to pursue knowledge wherever it may lead, without undue or unreasonable interference." By this standard, Bowdoin is an exemplar of academic freedom. With honors projects and independent studies on an endless number of topics, it is clear that Bowdoin is an institution that values academic freedom very highly.

I read a story on BBC's news web site recently about a man who caught a mouse in his home. The man was bored, and instead of ridding himself of the mouse by drowning it or returning it to the wilds of British suburbia, he (probably) thought to himself "Oi, wouldn't it be a kick in the knickers if I torched the little bugger alive?" As fortune would have it, the man was burning brush in his backyard at the time. Giddy, he hurried outside and with sadistic pleasure cast the hapless rodent into the flames. "That'll teach 'im to dally about me property!" the man may or may not have said, reveling in the illusion of great power.

Jim Appel was a member of the Dining Service for many years. He was courageous, kind, and loving to the end. I always thought Mr. Appel's name was pronounced as it is spelled. He corrected me and told me he was "Mr. Apple." I never believed him.

Valentine's Day is around the corner, and I couldn't feel more pity for the singletons on campus who actually want to partake in the Hallmark holiday. "Why?" you ask. Because some of the men at Bowdoin are clueless, at least when it comes to showing a girl that they like her or think she's adorable.

As a Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) member and as a student, I feel as though freedom of ideas is of the utmost importance on a college campus, especially one like Bowdoin. It is with these feelings that I must express my embarrassment with recent decisions made by BSG.

In last week's opinion section, Alex Linhart '06 wrote, "Affirmative action is a program disseminated by liberals who think certain groups lack the talent to make it in America without help."

For the very many of you who have no idea who I am, I used to run BUBS, the Bowdoin Used Book Store, along with a crew of dedicated employees. Our goal was two-fold: We provided students with the lowest priced books on campus and reimbursed students the highest amount of money possible for their end of semester returns.

Dear Dr. Jeff: I just got over a mild case of mono, but haven't been cleared to play hockey. How come? ?M.P

Last week's Academy Award nominations included "Darwin's Nightmare," "Murderball," and "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room." Never heard of these movies? Well, that's probably because they're documentaries. Although the documentary is one of the oldest genres of film, it still suffers from a lack of exposure. Few docs, with the exception of films like "Fahrenheit 9/11" or "March of the Penguins," get wide distribution, and thus never reach audiences that may be interested.

With Eastern College Career Day coming up and interviews looming for jobs and summer internships, proper attire is necessary to make the right impression. This is time a when all those "Ms. Manners" tips for dressing are actually applicable. It may seem old-fashioned, but picking the right color pantyhose makes a difference if your interviewer only has an hour to decide whether he or she thinks you have what it takes to join the company.

Knuckleball?($8.29 for a six-pack at Uncle Tom's) This interesting looking beer caught my attention from the start. Classified as a Bock beer, Knuckleball is brewed in Portland by the Stone Coast Brewing Company and delivers a powerful punch as most bock beers do. The smell of this dark brew is malty and thick. This implied a heavier-than-average beer.

They are more than the voices chanting in "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" or "Homeless." They are more than Paul Simon's discovery and the backing vocals on his masterpiece, "Graceland."

"Sex is like having dinner," Woody Allen once observed in a famous stand up routine. "Sometimes you joke about the dishes, sometimes you take the meal seriously." The same goes for sex in cinema; when it comes to on-screen love, there's a fine line between the tasteful, the tasteless, and the downright tasty.

The Oscars just can't quit Jake and Heath. In this year of critically acclaimed politicized cinema, the Oscar nominations, which came out this Tuesday, sent a strong message of support for "Brokeback Mountain," Ang Lee's film about two cowboys repressing their love. It received the most nominations of the field with eight, a point of note as, since 1980, the film receiving the most nominations won the Oscar for best picture all but four times.

Harp Lager?($8.49 for a six-pack, available at Hannaford) The Guinness Brewing Company has created quite a beverage with this imported lager, combining pub-style beer with subtle sophistication. When opened, Harp slowly releases a dark and full-bodied smell much like other high end beers, a true sign that the flavor is ensconced in the heart of the beer, not just the spices.

The Super Bowl is in the rearview mirror, which means that pitchers and catchers report to spring training in mere days. The frostbitten winter will soon be brightened by the rays of the great summer sport.

The Bowdoin Men's and Women's Squash Teams fell a second time to rival Bates on Tuesday night, with 7-2 defeats for both the men and women.