The Bowdoin Orient

The Office of Residential Life has planned significant alterations for certain campus living spaces in response to a housing shortage caused by increased demand for on-campus housing. These changes will have immediate implications for the upcoming housing lottery. Residential Life plans to officially make the updated lottery information available today. Beginning next fall, all of the quads in Stowe Hall and three of the 14 quads in Howard Hall will take on an extra occupant and become "quints," adding a third bed to one of the two bedrooms, which currently house two beds each.

The Board of Trustees has agreed to hit a target on-campus student body population of 1,700 by the 2008-2009 academic year, according to Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer Katy Longley at a faculty meeting on March 7. The current on-campus student body population is 1,666, up from 1,635 in the fall of 2001 when President Barry Mills was inaugurated.

With the start of kNOw Poverty Week on Tuesday, the College will put a spotlight on a theme that has been growing in prominence over the last year and one that many hope will continue to draw attention and action.

President Barry Mills agreed with Maine Attorney General Steven Rowe that Bowdoin students could be influential in curbing underage drinking in the Brunswick community when asked in a recent interview with the Orient.

One hundred Bowdoin students were randomly selected to complete a health and wellness online survey, distributed for the second time since the formation of the College's Health and Wellness Committee.

The new first-year dormitories, East and West Halls, were certified as "green" at the silver level by LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). Silver is the third-highest ranking possible out of four.

Slap bands?which many students remember as a childhood bracelet fashion fad in the late 1980s and early 1990s?will attempt a comeback next week when Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) and the Department of Safety and Security distributes Bowdoin-branded reflective versions of the bands to students.

The College is currently trying to overcome a housing shortage for next year by, among other things, planning to cram more students into certain existing rooms designed to accommodate fewer people.

"Dixieland." What sorts of things leap to mind when you hear this term? Warm weather? Moonshine? Ted Turner? Those good ol' boys from Hazzard County? Home? The inexplicably popular Trace Adkins single "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk?" I'm willing to bet that for the majority of Bowdoin students, mention of the South evokes a hodgepodge of interrelated ideas: Red states, religious yahoos, "values" voters, country bumpkins carousing around in pickup flatbeds with their shotguns and smell hounds, stopping periodically to participate in a hootenanny and/or elect Bush.

The growing row over immigration reforms debated these past few weeks in the Senate and media represents an abundance of misunderstanding on the part of most Americans about the intent of the changes being proposed. Millions of Americans, mostly of Latino ethnicity, have taken to the streets in the past days to protest what they perceive is a gross breach of their civil and human rights.

In activist America (or whatever is left of it), there is a silent bewilderment to our apathy. While a generation before us traded their silence for tear gas and batons, our generation participates through Guess Jeans, iPods, popped collars, and colored wristbands. To so many in our generation, civil disobedience is a historical reference retired to the prose of Thoreau and the photographs of King and Gandhi. Our assumption of its extinction indicates a culture not incapable of acting, but one that sees no interest or profit in doing so.

Dear Dr. Jeff: I've been reading reports about adolescents not getting enough sleep. Do you think that's a big problem at Bowdoin? - A Concerned Parent

For WBOR's annual concert tonight, The Hold Steady brings its straight-ahead accessible rock to Smith Union.

The Academy is a farce. Most people already knew this to be a statement of some truth, but after this year's Oscars walloped us with a one-two punch of irrelevancy, it certainly bears repeating. Not only did the Hollywood voters deny "Brokeback Mountain" its deserved Best Picture award, they snuck "Crash" in for the gold with a pivot of self-righteous posturing. I've been singing the praises of "Brokeback" and the criticisms "Crash" for months now, but this latest Oscar rant isn't about a mere film-geek scorned?it's about an art form undermined by its own shepherds.

Are you ready to shed the layers and lose the wool? Sure, it's not quite that time yet, but soon enough you'll be able to expose more than the occasional collar bone. Spring fever will undoubtedly take hold in the next few weeks, so while you strip down, remember to style up.

The world is turned upside down! A masked avenger wants to make things right! Natalie Portman shaves her head! "V for Vendetta," the new action film that opened last week, fits the same mold as books like "1984" and films like "Blade Runner" in its futuristic take on the problems of the current world. This film is primarily concerned with the lack of political activism for worthy causes like combating racism and other hatreds.

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA?($7.99 for a six-pack at Warming's) This beer was recommended to me by numerous sources, many of whom touted bodies nearly as impressive as that of this Delaware-based IPA. Though I do not usually go for IPAs, I decided that the hype was enough to push me toward a purchase.

Despite a magical run to the Division III Elite Eight, the Women's Basketball Team fell to the University of Southern Maine (USM) in the sectional final three weeks ago. The Polar Bears, who lost in a 56-53 heartbreaker, finished the season with an impressive 27-3 record and their sixth-consecutive NESCAC Championship.

Last Tuesday, the men's squad dropped a close decision to Wheaton, 4-3, while, the women rolled over an inexperienced Smith team, 9-0.

In Belichick we trust. This has been the mantra of the New England Patriots through their amazing run over the past five years, during which head coach Bill Belichick has led the team to four playoff berths and three Super Bowls. However, this offseason has been a tumultuous one for the Patriots. Among the players lost through free agency, three departures stand out: the 12-year Patriot linebacker Willie McGinest to the Cleveland Browns, wide receiver David Givens to the Tennessee Titans, and kicker Adam Vinatieri to the Indianapolis Colts.

Weekly update for women's lacrosse, men's lacrosse, and softball.

Women's basketball Head Coach Stefanie Pemper doesn't want to be remembered for her team's accomplishments on the court, and that's precisely what makes her great.