The Bowdoin Orient

Though applications for the Class of 2012 inched up only one percent this year, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William Shain isn't worried. Shain sees the small increase as a retention of last year's 10.4 percent jump, rather than a sluggish admissions cycle. "If we only went up one percent next year, I'd be disappointed," Shain said. "But I don't think that this year's small increase is an issue."

A unanimous decision by faculty to restructure committees at Bowdoin will combine and cut some existing committees, as well as establish temporary working groups to target specific issues at the College. The change, initially proposed by the Committee on Governance (COG) and voted on at the February 4 faculty meeting, seeks to more efficiently utilize committees at the College.

Students and staff attempting to call Security from a cell phone on Wednesday night were unable to reach the officers on duty due to a flaw in the College's new hi-tech phone system. Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols said he was not aware if Security missed any emergency calls during the three-hour period when the department's external lines were down.

Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) discussed plans to engage in regular conversations with faculty and administrators, as well as the role of the body's student affairs branch at its Wednesday meeting. BSG's plan to step up its engagement with faculty and administration begins today with a lunch discussion on distribution requirements. The lunch, which is scheduled to take place at 12:30 p.m. in Thorne's Daggett Lounge, will be organized as small group discussions.

The Board of Trustees met last weekend off-campus where it discussed the business of the College and then spent a day on a retreat, looking at questions relevant to the future of Bowdoin in a small-group setting. The College declared the retreat?the first time the Trustees have engaged in such a forum in at least the last decade?a success. "It was very, very useful and very productive," President Barry Mills said.

Though the College had a severe outbreak of pneumonia on campus this fall, the number of students diagnosed with the flu this winter has been consistent with years past, according to Interim Director of the Health Center Sandra Hayes. "I'd say it's on track for us," said Hayes, who added that since students returned from Winter Break in January, the Dudley Coe Health Center has seen between 15 and 20 cases of the flu.

Billy Bean, a former Major League outfielder who made national headlines in 1999 when he announced he was a homosexual, recounted his experiences in front of an audience in Moulton Union on Tuesday. Bean, who hails from a Catholic family, was a three-sport athlete in high school before attending Loyola Marymount University, where he was a two-time All American outfielder. Bean then pursued a professional baseball career, playing for the Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Diego Padres between 1987 to 1995.

Sunday was a disappointing day for democracy in Maine. Even for those pleased with the outcome of the Democratic caucus, the chaos and disorganization of the event left many voters frustrated.

Last year, I tried to run for the position of Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) president and was not allowed to appear on the ballot for a simple, but absurd, reason: I had not previously served on the BSG. Having already been aware of that fact, I attempted to change the BSG constitution and came very close to doing so.

When I took on the job of booking acts for Thursday nights at the pub, I knew already that my predecessor, a WBOR member and avid music-lover, had been struggling with the DJ vs. band conflict since he took the job, as did his predecessor.

It's February 15. That means that most of you are probably reading this in the midst of a spirit-draining post-Valentine's Day sugar crash. I personally have vowed not to eat another carbohydrate until Easter.

In an effort to separate out what exactly I am mourning the loss of this second semester of my senior year, I hesitate to say it's a place to party. Not even the first month back and I'm sure many seniors, not to mention underclassmen, would agree that Bowdoin is missing a certain sense of spirit.

Last week marked the kick-off of Recyclemania, a nationwide recycling competition among colleges. As the magnitude of our future environmental challenges becomes increasingly apparent, we should feel more compelled than ever to make changes. We have the power to make minor adjustments in our daily lives to reduce our impact on the environment.

February can be tough. With cold weather and slushy footpaths, no vacations, and accumulating schoolwork, the month can be a drag for many students. While spirits may not be at their highest this time of year on campus, the Dining Service puts in extra effort this month to keep things interesting. With themed dinners like "Just Like Home" and "Chinese New Year," the staff makes every effort spice things up when everything else seems bland.

Monday's faculty meeting was a frustrating experience. As we sat in Daggett Lounge and watched our professors overwhelmingly vote against the position on Credit/D/Fail that we had so aggressively pursued, we couldn't help but be disappointed.

As those who have been following the presidential race know, John Edwards recently made his exit. In his 2004 campaign, Edwards frequently talked about "two Americas," describing a country where the rich have everything and the poor have nothing.

To the Editors: I wish to thank, on behalf of New York Giants fans nationwide, Chris Adams-Wall, for picking the New England Patriots to win Super Bowl XLII. Once more, his remarkably consistent record of predictions held true.

"Using fur in 2008 just isn't cool or modern," proclaims New York-based designer, Charlotte Ronson.

I partied in the rain at Pine Fest and weathered freezing temperatures on Halloween night in a bathrobe. I have trudged in the snow from Stowe Inn to Crackhouse at 1 a.m. just to see what was going on there. According to many of my peers, I have earned the title of an official party connoisseur at Bowdoin due to my dogged dedication to high fun levels and my keen acumen for predicting how a weekend will turn out here.

Top five desert island albums? AC: Coldplay's "Parachutes." Rogue Wave's "Descended Like Vultures." John Mayer's "Room for Squares." Wilco's "A Ghost Is Born." Dave Matthews Band's "Under the Table and Dreaming." AV: Weezer's "Blue Album." Michael Jackson's "HIStory: Past, Present and Future." Interpol's "Turn on the Bright Lights." Yeah Yeah Yeahs's "Fever to Tell." Jay-Z's "The Black Album."

After a less than stellar response to the last campus-wide concert, the Bowdoin Campus Activities Board has responded by bringing a more exciting artist to Bowdoin this week. Tonight at 7 p.m., the doors of Pickard Theater will open and folksy rock act Ben Kweller will take the stage.

"Cloverfield," directed by Matt Reeves and produced by J.J. Abrams (Lost, Alias), is an 85 minute, sensory roller-coaster ride worth experiencing. Filmed from the perspective of a hand-held video recorder, this sci-fi movie reels the audience into the pandemonium of a modern day Godzilla rampage through realistic camera angles and appropriate "HEEELP, everyone is going to die" auditory effects.

In 2007, a new hierarchy established itself in the video game industry. The Nintendo Wii remained a national phenomenon that was one of the must-have impulse buys of the year. The Xbox 360 consistently churned out hits and maintained the highest software attachment rate of any of the modern consoles despite falling behind the Wii in hardware sales. The Playstation 3 proved itself attractive to those types of people who do not like to have many games worth playing.

As the members women's basketball team prepare for their final road trip of the regular season, they once again sit atop the NESCAC and have high hopes for the postseason. The Polar Bears are 17-5 this season?the most losses in a season since 2001?and 6-1 in the NESCAC. But the women are on a solid four-game winning streak going into their away games at Tufts and Bates.Last Saturday, the team continued its strong showing in the conference by defeating Colby 62-48. The Mules could not get closer than five points in the closing 10 minutes of play as the surging Polar Bears put up solid performances once again.

After a solid win against Hamilton and an early lead over Amherst, things were looking good for the men's ice hockey team. Unfortunately, that was the peak of the weekend, as two third period goals ruined the chance for a victory on Saturday as well.

The best men's track teams in Maine slipped and sloshed their ways across the state to run and jump at last Saturday's Maine Indoor Championships, held at Farley Field House. After the previous week's lackluster showing, the Polar Bears took to the track with a vengeance, finishing in an impressive second place out of the four teams and falling only to first-place University of Southern Maine (USM). Although Bowdoin could not repeat last year's win, the team still left with a strong sense of triumph.

The Bowdoin Women's Hockey Team finished the weekend feeling unsatisfied, as they posted two tie games against Wesleyan and Hamilton. The score for both games was 2-2. According to the Polar Bears, the games were frustrating. "I think it was a little disappointing to everyone that we didn't come away from the weekend with two wins, especially because we were the stronger team in both games," Caroline Currie '08 said, "but sometimes the puck just doesn't bounce in your favor."

In one of the most closely contested women's state meets in over 10 years, Bowdoin finished third at last Friday's Maine State Championship at the University of Southern Maine (USM). Bowdoin defeated Colby and was just seven points behind second-place Bates and 12 points behind first-place USM.

Last Saturday, the Bowdoin Swimming and Diving Team traveled to Waterville to face the Colby Mules for its last dual meet of the season. Both the men and women's teams fell to a strong Colby squad, 162-126 and 163-99, respectively. Head Coach Brad Burnham, however, was not discouraged. "[The meet was] a great test just before heading into conference meets," he said.

The Bowdoin Nordic Skiing team had a strong showing at Dartmouth, with individual skiers achieving personal bests in both Friday and Saturday's races. On the men's side, the team finished a solid seventh in the 10K freestyle and eighth in the 20K classic races, while the women's team placed 10th and 11th in the 5K freestyle and 15K classic, respectively. There were 11 total teams at the carnival.

The last seven days marked the first week in my life as a sports columnist that I truly struggled to find something to write about. Don't get me wrong? there were lots of interesting topics out there such as the two "blown" calls in college basketball, the Roger Clemens saga, and the greatest all-star game there is: the Pro Bowl. But honestly, none of those proved to be very intriguing for me. Instead, I decided to give myself a challenge, while simultaneously setting the record straight for every basketball fan out there.