The Bowdoin Orient

College graduation is often associated with freedom. But with tuition costs at an all-time high, Bowdoin graduates often find themselves shackled by student loan debt years after receiving their degrees. No more.

An investigation conducted at the end of the fall semester has concluded that several students on the women's squash team were victims of "mild hazing" in 2006. According to Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster, "in the case of women's squash, there was certainly mild to moderate hazing."

For the second year in a row, Bowdoin made the Peace Corps's top 25 list for small schools with the largest number of volunteers serving abroad. There are currently 14 Bowdoin alumni serving as volunteers in 12 countries, earning the College a 24th place ranking on this year's list. In 2006, when Bowdoin was ranked 20th on the list, Peace Corps Regional Recruiter Christopher Lins noted that if the rankings were done on a per capita basis, Bowdoin would fall in the top five of all schools in the country.

A flurry of resignations late last semester and early this semester has led to a shakeup in the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG). BSG elected John Connolly '11 as vice president of BSG affairs at its Wednesday meeting following the resignation of Kata Solow '10, and four other positions on the assembly remain open. BSG President Dustin Brooks '08 stated that while the BSG will not be "absolutely settled" until February 13, the group is "workable" now.

The new Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phones, introduced in certain administrative offices in November, have now been installed throughout the entire campus. Replacing phones that have been used since the 1970s, the VoIP phones convert telephone signals for transmission over Bowdoin's existing internet network. The switch to VoIP occurred after a year of internal testing at the College. According to Chief Information Officer Mitch Davis, the new telephone network is now the nation's fastest campus-wide network.

Public printing at Bowdoin is now easier and more reliable than it has been in the past, according to Information Technology (IT). The College has replaced its four-year-old CS Print system with Pharos Uniprint. "We recognized some clear issues with the system we had in place," said IT Security Officer and Systems Consultant Steve Blanc.

Senior Associate Dean of Admissions Logan Powell has left Bowdoin to accept a position in the Princeton University Undergraduate Admissions Office. According to a press release on the Princeton Web site, Powell was appointed Director of Admission, effective December 12, 2007. In his new position, Powell is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the undergraduate admissions office and the management of its staff.

In his 1972 hit ?School?s Out,? rocker Alice Cooper articulated the catharsis that grips students each spring when they wave goodbye to the various undesirable aspects of school. For college graduates, however, it is often more complicated: While many might leave behind ?pencils, books, and teachers? dirty looks,? debt from increasingly large student loans tends to stalk them into adulthood.

After observing the presidential debates surrounding taxation, I have been intrigued by the estate tax. As the laws currently stand, one can pass on up to $2,000,000 upon death tax free to their heirs. I have heard a variety of stances regarding the issue.

To the Editors: Andy Smith ("Need to consider alternative options for development at Plum Creek," December 7, 2007) shows his lack of independent knowledge of the Moosehead Lake Region by submitting a piece whose entire substance consists of Natural Resources Council of Maine-published "talking points."

To the Editors: Brian Lockhart's column "Health care costs rise with medical liability lawsuits" (December 7, 2007) was well written but somewhat off the mark. Mr. Lockhart mentions "increasing incidences of lawsuits brought against doctors."

While students studying off-campus this spring have just begun their adjustment, students who spent their fall semester away are making the opposite transition back to life at Bowdoin. These students' stories are just a few of this fall's off-campus study experiences.

As temperatures drop to frighteningly low degrees, Bowdoin's rumored underground tunnels would certainly be a comfort to use.

As a savvy Bowdoin vet, I know that nothing hurts a good semester more than the seasonal depression associated with the Maine winter.

The largest environmental film festival in North America is coming to Portland, Maine.

The holidays provide an expanse of empty hours, perfect for those who like to combine sloth and intellectual stimulation. Bookworms are content to spend hours sprawled in a variety of uncomfortable positions for the sake of the stories in front of them. Sometimes the Christmas stack yields literary delights, other times you stir from four prostrate hours and berate yourself for not enjoying the crisp air, sunny skies and sparkling snow. (I live in Santa Fe where these things can all happen at once.) "Maynard and Jennica" by Rudolph Delson is the sort of novel that not only keeps you horizontal without complaint but induces visible grins and audible chortles, earning you skeptical glares from family members who try to occupy the same space.

If the hope for "27 Dresses" was an innovative gown of a film with bold style and a refreshing hue, the audience will have to settle for a reliable, simple, black dress of a movie: never the wrong choice, but not a remarkable one either. Directed by Anne Fletcher, the movie is pleasant enough, but similarly-themed romantic comedies such as "10 Things I Hate About You" easily outshine this fall-back date movie. With its inevitable happy ending and attractive actors, "27 Dresses" certainly succeeds in making its audiences feel warm and fuzzy inside, but it does no more than that.

The real shame of the Nintendo Wii is that it is incapable of running the more technologically advanced games of the current generation. "Resident Evil 4," one of the top games of the last generation, was originally a GameCube exclusive. Yet this generation's Nintendo system can't handle "Resident Evil 5," which will appear on both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. In order to compensate for this travesty, Capcom has released a Wii-exclusive "Resident Evil" game: "Umbrella Chronicles." Although this game cannot possibly compare with a powerhouse like "Resident Evil 5," it presents a fun and mostly satisfying experience that lives up to the "Resident Evil" (RE) tradition.

Top five desert island albums? JW: A smorgasborg of regular albums and soundtracks: "Goodnight and Good Luck;" "Before Sunrise;" "High Fidelity;" "O Brother, Where Art Thou;" "Motorcycle Diaries." KE: Paul Simon's "Graceland;" Bright Eyes's "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning;" Postal Service's "Give Up;" Rilo Kiley's "The Execution of All Things;" The Beatles's "Magical Mystery Tour."

As the Bowdoin Men's Hockey Team captured its fourth Salem State Holiday Classic in late December, Head Coach Terry Meagher became just one of seven coaches in Division III history to reach the 400-win mark.

A cool wintry breeze blew through the Brandeis quad on a sleepy Saturday morning, but inside the field house the atmosphere was tempestuous.

After coming back to campus two weeks early to train, the Bowdoin Women's Track Team benefited from all the hard work, taking second with 127 points at the Reggie Poyau Invitational held at Brandeis University.

The men's basketball team opened NESCAC play with an impressive victory over the eighth-ranked Williams College Ephs last Friday in Morrell Gym.

When most of the student body left campus at the end of finals, the women's ice hockey team was struggling to find its rhythm. While most students were on the beach or the ski slopes, the Polar Bears went on a tear, with an undefeated record over their last four games and only two losses in their last nine.

Did anyone else happen to see that shadowy figure standing on the San Diego sidelines during Sunday's AFC title game? You know, the one that looked like Darth Vader's flamboyant cousin sporting a white helmet with yellow bolts atop a dark and mysterious skull-like frame?