The Bowdoin Orient

Some Bowdoin officials received substantial pay raises during the 2004 fiscal year, public tax documents show. Though President Barry Mills's salary became significantly higher than what the presidents of Bates and Colby colleges earned, it was still lower than presidents at comparable top liberal arts colleges.

Former Sen. George Mitchell '54 said it was "very unlikely" he would be tapped by the Bush administration for the post of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, but said he would "consider it" if asked.

Bowdoin students often trek to Colby or Bates to see their team clash with their rivals. In coming years, they may also make the trip to see their favorite bands perform.

Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) will urge the College to create a committee that would consider responses to humanitarian issues around the world, the body decided Wednesday. Despite previous skepticism by some members of the body, the proposal calling for the Community Response Committee was approved unanimously.

After years of construction, the College will complete the renovation of first-year dorms by the fall of 2007. With the completion of the renovations combined with the construction of East and West halls, the total number of first-year dorms will rise from six to eight.

Karen Gordon Mills, the wife of President Barry Mills, was nominated by Governor John Baldacci on Monday to chair the newly created Council on Jobs, Innovation, and the Economy, according to a press release.

Feeling blue? Need to talk to someone about it? Get in line. With a 37 percent increase in services provided to Bowdoin students by the Counseling Service in the 2005-2006 year, an earlier-than-usual waiting list developed and has required students to wait up to three weeks in some cases.

Recent efforts to raise awareness about the human rights crisis in Darfur have taken many forms, ranging from divestment to film screenings. Students have succeeded in persuading President Barry Mills and the Board of Trustees to agree not to invest in companies with business interests in Darfur. In addition, the Darfur Coalition organized Darfur Week, a campus-wide educational and fundraising campaign.

As the fall semester comes to a close, we're looking forward to finding out what Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) will do in the spring. That's because throughout the semester, BSG has proven itself ready and able to take up issues meaningful to students and the College generally. The body has considered policy issues ranging from academic life to investment policy, and the College is a better place for it.

People love to read about celebrities. Us Weekly, a magazine that keeps citizens well-informed as to which pop culture icons deserve our scorn for their iniquitous "fashion faux pas" each week, has been in publication for 27 years. People Magazine, whose cornerstone is its yearly naming of the "50 Most Beautiful People Alive," has been around for even longer.

In part of last week's "Talkin' About It," Lauren McGrath stated, "I know we're living in a post-sexual revolution society where both men and women can ostensibly enjoy unattached sex without any real stigmatization..."

On campus last weekend for the dance concert, I noticed posters tacked up at Smith inviting responses to the question: Is Bowdoin diverse? Beyond numbers or representation, diversity is a spirit, an energy.

I was happy to see Ms. Abbruzzese's article on Bowdoin's naked parties (12/1), but she is mistaken that they are a new event. There's a long tradition of naked parties at Bowdoin.

The illegal immigration dilemma has arisen yet again. Currently, there are around 10 million illegal immigrants in our country. Besides committing crimes and potentially being terrorists, they are harming the American economy.

Shortly after the Democrats won back majorities in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in November, party leaders laid out their agenda for the 110th Congress. Near the top of the list was making college more affordable to students who can't pay today's astronomical tuition costs. Specifically, the Democrats say they want to substantially heighten the ceiling on Pell grants, halve federal interest rates on student loans, and decrease federal tax liability for families who are paying tuition.

International students make a positive contribution to the U.S. economy. Chief negotiator for the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, Kim Jong-Hoon, noted that the balance of payment from education services reached a net deficit of $3.33 billion last year, far outpacing any surplus earned by South Korean automobile manufacturer Hyundai or Kia.

The one thing presidential candidates have in common is that they make great caricatures. Ross Perot's ears, Bill Clinton's nose. John Kerry's droopy chin. George Bush's uncanny resemblance to a chimp. Al Gore didn't lose because of hanging chads; he lost because there was nothing distinctive enough about him?visually or politically?to caricature.

As a new Orient subscriber, I read with interest the views expressed by Professor of Government Jean Yarbrough in her November 9 op-ed concerning the recent national elections. Clearly, the professor expects little good to come from the Democratic take-over of the House and Senate. She is, of course, entitled to her own opinion. She is not, however, entitled to her own facts.

Joe Adu and Szymon Rus want to get people talking?about anything. The two seniors have chartered a club on campus called Stuff 101. While the club's title suggests a basic-level course, its mission is intense: Adu and Rus want Stuff 101 to be a place where students discuss diverse issues, with the ultimate goal of enhancing knowledge.

Dear Dr. Jeff: I've been dating the same woman for over six months now, and we're both committed to not sleeping with anyone else. She's on the pill, and we've both been tested for STDs. Do we need to keep using condoms? K.C.

Groups of 12- and 13-year-old students pile into the Mt. Ararat Middle School cafeteria. Seven Bowdoin students stand at the entrance waiting for their mentees. One girl spots her mentor, Jenny Lam '09, and walks quickly to meet her. The first exchange of the day between the two is shy. Quickly, though, the two begin to share stories of the past week.

I want to know what happened to dating at Bowdoin. Where did it go? I know you've probably heard this gripe before, but I'm serious. We need to bring dating back to Bowdoin.

Dear Dr. Jeff: Can I get travel shots at the health center for my study away? C.K.

For the student-led jazz dance group VAGUE, last week's December Dance Concert was not something to dance about. Along with the student-led dance groups Anokha and the Unity step team, the 12 members of VAGUE were one of five groups that failed to be selected to perform in the concert.

It's that time of year again: hot cider, snowflakes, and the nagging feeling that the perfect present is out there somewhere. Socks wear out and boxes of holiday chocolates are instantly consumed with nothing to show for it but poundage. However, books, particularly good ones, can be devoured without consequences and last forever.

The holiday season is here with a raft of films, many vying for year-end awards. I've always found it funny how critics attempt to set up films for viewers before either one of them has seen it. For one, it lets the Hollywood buzz machines receive undue power. More importantly, it takes away the excitement of word-of-mouth. You decide you want to check out the film, instead of being told by the box office or awards groups. So over winter break, with a month to sleep, relax, and pursue your interests more fully than is often possible at Bowdoin, check out those films that interest you. It doesn't matter if they're mainstream or art house, just let your own curiosities draw you to the theater.

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale?$9.70 for a six-pack at Uncle Tom's Market I'm chalking up last week's article in the win column. I do this for two reasons besides the psychological advantage it gives me heading into finals period: First, I received an e-mail from the great guys over at Red Bull, who informed me that my article is being passed around their office faster than we'll be dish ing out Colby slurs at tonight's hockey game. In fact, they liked it so much, they're currently under negotiation with the makers of Natural Light to create a Natural Bull product line, complete with action figures, lunchboxes, and that elusive five-pack (because it doesn't really count as drinking until you've knocked back that sixth).

Diana Peterfreund's "Secret Society Girl: An Ivy League Novel" is one of those books you love to hate. While fast-paced and fairly well-written, its facile premise seems annoyingly obvious: the mysterious Rose & Grave society invites Amy Haskel, Ivy League student at the fictional Eli University, to join its elite ranks. Peppering her descriptions with sometimes strained literary allusions, the author, who graduated from Yale in 2001, attempts to give her gossipy narrative an intellectual veneer.

The women's basketball team is No. 1?at least according to the latest Division III poll on D3hoops.com. The team has shown itself to be worthy of the spot with a 7-0 record, its most recent win coming against a previously undefeated Colby-Sawyer (now 6-1) on Thursday night in New Hampshire.

The Bowdoin Men's Basketball Team (5-2) squeaked by Colby-Sawyer (2-6) on Thursday night. With the score tied 65-65 and 4:53 left in the game, the Polar Bears were on the brink of being upset by the Chargers. But a late fourth-quarter surge put the Bears ahead in a close 82-78 victory.

The women's squash team claimed four wins in 24 hours at Wesleyan, improving its record to 5-1 and demonstrating its enthusiasm and endurance in the game.

My, how the time does fly. It seems like just yesterday the Texans were making arguably the most questionable decision in Draft Day history when they selected Mario Williams and not Reggie Bush with the first overall pick, effectively guaranteeing them another disappointing season. At least the defensive end out of N.C. State has shown good form on his post-sack jump-shots. Nevertheless, here we are rapidly approaching Week 14 with a mere four games remaining and Bears quarterback Rex Grossman has yet to be benched! I mean a 1.3 rating is solid if it's out of 1.4, but out of 158.3...good lord.

The majority of Division III hockey pundits felt that Bowdoin would be too young and small to have any real impact this season. These doubters believed that it would take too long for Bowdoin to integrate its enormous batch of underclassmen to compete effectively this year.

Nate Krah '08 described it as "quicksand," Ken Akiha '08 called it "soup," and John Hall '08 said it was "almost comical." Regardless of how they described the muddiness of the 2006 Cross-Country National Championship, Bowdoin's top seven runners grinded through ridiculous terrain to capture 17th place out of the 32 teams at the meet.