The Bowdoin Orient

Bowdoin's Arabic teacher spends two hours a week teaching the alphabet, pronunciation, and simple word combinations to a class of some 15 students on Friday afternoons. Although he often stays after class to help beginners with questions, he does not get paid overtime?in fact, he does not get paid for teaching at all. That's because Bowdoin's Arabic teacher is a student.

Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) approved three funding allocations during its Wednesday night meeting, including a $3,500 "Block Party" on May 2. The group also approved a $100 allocation supporting the upcoming "Exposure" art show and a Facilities Committee request for $600 to bring new television stations to campus.

A new committee that will analyze the Inter House Council (IHC) Constitution and make necessary changes is slated to convene next week for the first of five meetings. IHC President Lindsey Bruett '09, who led the search for committee members, said she realized the constitution was outdated last year.

A bomb scare forced the evacuation and closure of Brunswick's 24-hour Wal-Mart for hours on Sunday morning. The Brunswick Police Department (BPD) received a report at 7:15 a.m. that "a bomb threat had been discovered," according to a BPD press release.

A group of students from the Bowdoin Christian Fellowship has begun offering a Sunday Protestant service in the Chapel. The weekly services are geared toward Protestant students who have not yet found a church to attend in the area, according to Campus Staff Member of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship Sim Gregory.

Students participating in Bowdoin's Alternative Spring Break (ASB) trip to New York City are collecting books for the construction of a new library at the Harlem Children's Zone (HCZ). HCZ, directed by Bowdoin alumnus Geoffrey Canada '74, serves children and their families in central Harlem through a variety of educational and social service initiatives. HCZ's 15 centers serve more than 13,000 children and adults.

Previous service on Bowdoin Student Government should not be a prerequisite for serving as BSG president, according to recommendations of the Election Reform Commission. ERC chair Will Hales '08 reported the commission's findings at Wednesday's BSG meeting.

Over the past year, the lack of Arabic language instruction and the scarcity of Middle Eastern studies courses at Bowdoin has been a concern of this page, Bowdoin Student Government, and the campus at large. We were pleased this week to learn that the College has taken concrete steps toward addressing this deficiency.

Watson Fitness Center has an unsettling effect on me. My perspective on the gym is, granted, a little different; I usually conduct my exercise mat naps and two-pound weight bicep curls at Farley Field House, so taking these rituals to foreign territory makes me a little uncertain of myself.

I consider myself to be a progressive on matters of gender politics. I am a strong proponent of reproductive rights for women and marriage equality for homosexuals. Above all, I feel confident in my unequivocal support for efforts to end sexual violence and assist survivors in their recovery. But I hated "The Vagina Monologues."

To The Editors: Greg Howard ("Reconsider reason, blame for caucus 'chaos,'" Feb. 22, 2008) criticizes the Orient for "using 437 words to excoriate our volunteers and town officials who worked so hard to protect its readers' rights to participate," and notes that the Orient's editorial "demeaned their outstanding effort." This is wrong.

To the Editors: It has been a long time since we've spoken. I have seen your lawlessness, your nudity and profanity. I have tasted your bitter grain alcohol and seen your unclothed students run through the promenade in a manner much similarly to Paul Revere's ride but with no diplomatic purpose.

This week, the Election Reform Commission recommended to Bowdoin Student Government that eligibility for BSG president be expanded to include students who have not previously served in the body. Although BSG could easily kill a motion to send this question to referendum, we believe the student body, not the existing representatives, ought to decide who should be eligible to run for president.

It seemed odd that the Orient would refer to the 2008 Brunswick Democratic caucuses as a "disappointing day for democracy" ("The caucus system," Feb. 15, 2008), as an all-time record number of participants in a democratic process is typically deemed to be a success.

2004. Concord High School is the ideal place to be for a teenager interested in politics. As the public high school of the state capital where the first primary takes place, a lot of the presidential candidates come to speak. As Concord tends to be one of New Hampshire's liberal hubs, the "student center" (dirty cafeteria) and auditorium tend to hold talks and rallies, particularly for the Democrats.

"These are the best years of your life." Chances are, you've heard these words a thousand times?from your college counselor, your parents, or your roommate from across the beirut table. Somehow, they always seem to suit the occasion, possibly even encouraging you to slow down and enjoy the moment and dwell on the bliss of being young.

Having spent the last semester abroad, I find myself readjusting to many facets of life at Bowdoin. One element of Bowdoin life, however, that seems to have changed more than I have is the philosophy of Bowdoin College's Department of Safety and Security. While explicit, procedural policies have not been altered, it has become apparent to many (myself included) that Security is engaging in a refocused effort to "bust parties."

Miami, Beijing, Amsterdam, Puerto Rico, Paris, and San Francisco?these are just a few of the milieu that many young globetrotters will flock to this spring.

Amateur but aspiring chefs can often be discouraged by the small pitfalls that occur in the kitchen: risotto that's too sticky, soups gone wrong, or realizing halfway through a "beer can chicken" that they have no idea what to do next. For cooks like these, Alison McConnell '04 has the answers.

When it comes to decorations, members of the Bowdoin Architecture and Design Club (BAD) agree that posters of Muhammad Ali, Jimi Hendrix, and Bob Marley are cliché fixtures in dorm rooms.

Do you want to travel to a foreign country and not learn the language or culture? Do you not want to help others? Do you want to spend six months sculpting the perfect beach body only to see it ruined in a matter of days?

In her introductory remarks, Professor of Sociology Susan Bell introduced "The Vagina Monologues" author Eve Ensler as a playwright and an activist. It was evident by the conclusion of Ensler's speech that these two roles had become inextricably intertwined.

In her film "Angels of Austria: The Church that Reached Out to Holocaust Survivors," Judy Faust captures the reconciliatory process between the Austrian people and Holocaust survivors.

When was the last time you bought a CD? Did you have braces? Don't feel guilty?you're normal.

There are so many reasons to drink good beer that exploring the reasons to avoid good beer or avoid drinking altogether would be far simpler. These reasons range from simple pecuniary concerns to more complex utility functions and, of course, unassailable yet arbitrary convictions of taste and assorted personal beliefs.

The elements are enveloping and constant in "Salt," Jeremy Page's first novel.

Top five desert island albums? JC: Reel Big Fish's "Our Live Album is Better than Your Live Album," Rancid's "And Out Come The Wolves," Ike Riley's "Salesman and Racists," The Mighty Mighty Bosstones's "Let's Face It," Streetlight Manifesto's "Keasbey Nights." SE: ZOX's "Take Me Home" Marcy Playground's "Marcy Playground," Streetlight Manifesto's "Somewhere in the Between," The Allman Brothers's "A Decade of Hits: 1969-1979," Raffi's "Bananaphone."

The glimmering clock in the middle of the brutally honest 29-22 scoreboard begins to count down the second half. The season seems to be slowly sliding beneath the icy waters of failure. This time they couldn't do it, couldn't repulse the surging Bobcats, couldn't continue the dynasty. Just 22 seconds into the half, junior Alexa Kaubris gets the ball from Katie Bergeron '11; Kaubris' eyes glint from passion and fury. The shot flies from her hands in a graceful arc, striking the basket and falling through. "Alexa Kaubris for three..." blurts out the jubilant announcer. The cliche holds forth, the crowd goes wild.

Bowdoin finished 13th in the nation at the College Squash Association Women's Team Squash Championships this weekend, a tournament that every team in the country, regardless of college size, attended. The Polar Bears had hoped for a repeat of their regular-season win over Bates when they faced the Bobcats in the first round of the tournament, but the rivals proved too strong this time around. The first four matches were divided evenly between Bowdoin and Bates.

At the New England Division III Championships, the Bowdoin Women's Track and Field Team tested itself against some of the toughest competition it has faced all season. Tufts outscored Williams for the win, while Bowdoin remained in the thick of the action, finishing seventh out of 25 teams.

The women's swimming and diving team held its own in a field of tough competition at the NESCAC championships last weekend at Wesleyan University. In what Head Coach Brad Burnham described as "one of the best meets I have ever been a part of," the Bowdoin women broke two school records over the course of the three-day competition. With a total of 737.5 points, the women placed seventh out of 11 teams.

After a series of smaller races at home, the men's track team took to the road as one of the 25 schools competing in the New England Championships last weekend. The Bears finished in ninth place in an impressive showing at the meet held at Tufts. Though running events dominate track meets, Bowdoin's greatest success came from the thrower's circle, where junior Luke Fairbanks hurled his third personal best.

The women's hockey team lost to No. 1-ranked Plattsburgh 5-0 last weekend. The game was the Bears' last of the regular season. The Polar Bears started the game, by giving up three goals in the first period. "I think we were a little intimidated going into the first period against the No. 1 ranked team in the country, which may have contributed to the three-goal deficit by the end of the first," Jill Campbell '11 said. After the first period, however, the Polar Bears were able to bounce back.

The men and women's nordic skiing teams performed well in this season's last carnivals Friday and Saturday at the Eastern Championships at Middlebury College's Rikert Touring Center. Walt Shepard '10 came in fifth in Friday's 10K skate race, achieving Bowdoin's highest individual finish since recording began in 2000 and leading his team to finish in fifth place in Friday's race.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Roger Clemens and I am a cheater." "Hello, Roger." OK, so the Congressional hearing for the seven-time Cy Young Award winner a few weeks ago on Capitol Hill wasn't exactly your typical congregation at Cheaters Anonymous. But it might as well have been. Between the numerous "misheards" and "misremembereds" Clemens dropped as he was pelted with questioning by endless House Representatives over his alleged steroids-usage, there was an overwhelming sentiment by the day's end that the Rocket was lying through his teeth.