The Bowdoin Orient

The 19 candidates running for seven officer spots for next year's Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) Assembly will head straight from the relaxed atmosphere of Ivies weekend to full-on campaigning in preparation for next week's election.

Two years ago, three new deans took office: Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster, Dean for Academic Affairs Cristle Collins Judd, and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William Shain. After two years on the job, Foster, Judd, and Shain reflect on their positions, lay out top priorities, and make projections about where they would like to see their offices headed in the future.

A pants-less student skateboarding behind a car? Another getting stuck in a tree? While these may be anomalies on a normal weekend, on Ivies, they're not out of the question.

Though the winning candidate will not occupy a real political office, the candidates in the May 7 mock congressional election still hope to have a higher turnout than Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) elections and exceed the national percentage of voters who cast a ballot.

A funding request for next weekend's "Block Party" generated enough controversy at Wednesday's Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) meeting to send the assembly into an hour-and-a-half long executive session, during which all non-voting members were required to leave the meeting. In addition, several BSG members showed up to the meeting visibly intoxicated, some with red Solo cups in hand.

For the second time in two years, a referendum that would allow students without prior experience on Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) to run for the office of BSG president failed. Although a slim majority of voters supported the constitutional amendment, according to results released by BSG yesterday, the referendum did not receive the two-thirds support required to amend the constitution. Only 142 voters favored the changing eligibility requirements, while 134 students opposed amending the constitution.

Bowdoin's geography makes the end of April an extraordinary time for the campus and its students. While many other campuses around the country have settled comfortably into the new season, Bowdoin students are only now beginning to shed their winter coats for T-shirts and their boots and sneakers for sandals and flip-flops.

As it often does, the advent of warm weather this year coincides with the arrival of Ivies Weekend, Bowdoin's annual end-of-April catharsis. The enthusiasm that results from this confluence of events has been palpable all week, and will culminate this weekend as students enjoy a well-deserved vacation from the pressures of academia to celebrate the real beginning of spring.

Traditionally, Ivies weekend has been fueled by a spirit of indulgence specifically with regard to the consumption of alcohol. As a result, Security has once again stepped up its presence this weekend. While students might feel instinctively bothered by this increased presence, they should not be. While they remain committed to maintaining order on campus, Security does not have any interest in spoiling the festivities for students. In recent years, under the direction of Randy Nichols, Security has taken a mature, accommodating approach to Ivies Weekend, prioritizing preserving safety over taking the opportunity to slap students with frivolous citations.

Though there may be a nearly campus-wide hiatus from studying this weekend, we all know what is looming on the other side: the infamous "final stretch." But unfortunately for many students, the last week of scheduled classes is more of a "finals" stretch.

Last weekend, Bowdoin students performed Amiri Baraka's play, "Dutchman." "Dutchman" focuses on a disturbed white girl, Lula, who, with the provocation of her body and lascivious speech, prepares to kill a stranger she has picked up on the subway. The stranger, Clay, is a young, na?ve, black man. Lula mocks Clay for wearing the clothes and employing the voice and manners of the conventional white intellectual.

Every time I log on the our student gateway page, it strikes me as comical that the rotating slideshow of Bowdoin "snapshots," meant to remind students of the warm atmosphere and academic stateliness of our alma mater, are all taken of Ivies Weekend two years ago.

To the Editors: The article "BSG announces Arabic classes, talks sexuality, Ivies" (April 18, 2008) included concerns among two Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) members regarding a resolution to eliminate the Residential Life policy that requires roommates to be of the same sex.

To the Editors: Brian Lockhart's op-ed ("Responding to Hitchens: Morality can, but need not, come from religion," April 18, 2008) claims that for my previous argument ("Religion not the root of moral reasoning," April 11, 2008), that religion poisons politics through its effects on individuals, to be correct, all Christians would have to agree about politics and "atheists would need to be free of bias in the political arena."

To the Editors: In the April 18, 2008 piece, "Responding to Hitchens: Morality can, but need not, come from religion," Brian Lockhart goes beyond opinion in the attempt to defend religion against attack.

To the Editors: I applaud Lockhart's attempt to tackle some serious questions; however, in his piece last week ("Responding to Hitchens: Morality can, but need not, come from religion," April 18, 2008), he makes several philosophical missteps.

To the Editors: It was with some confusion that we read your latest editorial, "The Housing Lottery" (April 18, 2008). This talk of the "stormiest of all seasons" seems to describe anything but the housing lottery, always a time for relaxation and anticipation.

To the Editors: On Thursday, April 24, I was the recipient of kindness from a Bowdoin student. I was attempting to purchase a sandwich and beverage in the Student Union and the cashier could not accept either my credit card or a $100 bill.

Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols was fielding students' questions about Ivies Weekend on Monday night when he was interrupted by an off-topic inquiry asking whether he'd like to be the Outing Club's guest of honor on an upcoming whitewater rafting trip.

This summer, winners of the Bowdoin Career Planning Center's funded internships and the Thomas McKinley Grant will pursue opportunities outside the sphere of their usual academic learning at Bowdoin.

Have you ever wondered how that girl gets all the guys' attention or how that guy somehow manages to attract all the girls? If you're a part of this generation, then you are in one way or another familiar with "the game".

Joseph McKeen, Bowdoin's first President, who was famous for his inaugural address about the Common Good, would be proud if he heard about the $15,050 in grants recently awarded to non-profit organizations in the Midcoast area.

Some lucky first years might find that they have a little extra space in their dorm rooms next year.

When many fashionistas and garmentos, both worldwide and at Bowdoin, dream of the ideal shopping experience, Maine doesn't quite make the list.

In addition to the sunlight, sunglasses, and Nalgenes which are all staples of Ivies, live music plays an integral role in the celebrations. This year's Ivies concert features Talib Kweli, the well-known and critically acclaimed rapper.

They play contemporary classical scores that are influenced by rock, and jazz incorporate improvisation and electronic effects?no wonder they call themselves Flexible Music.

I couldn't sleep after I finished "Unaccustomed Earth" by Jhumpa Lahiri. It is her third book and second collection of short stories. Her first, "Interpreter of Maladies," won a Pulitzer. "Unaccustomed Earth" exceeds the standards she set in her earlier work. The collection is in every way wonderful and devastating. I was kept awake by my disappointment that the stories had ended and by a desire to remain linked to the clarity of her descriptions and to the struggles of her characters.

I can distinctly remember my first experience with the "Grand Theft Auto" series. A highly controversial game, "Grand Theft Auto III," was on store shelves. I remember listening to a friend claim that it had just been banned in Australia, and would soon be banned in America. A game that worried adults that much had to be worth my time, I reasoned. Due to that single enticing characteristic, the "Grand Theft Auto" series sucked me in. Now, on April 29, Rockstar Games returns us to the place where it all began: Liberty City.

Top five desert island albums? AC: The Dismemberment Plan's "Change," The Postal Service's "Give Up," Neutral Milk Hotel's "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea." CD: M83's "Dead Cities, Red Seas, & Lost Ghosts," Led Zeppelin's "Led Zeppelin IV," Radiohead's "Kid A," John Coltrane's "Blue Train," Tom Waits's "Swordfishtrombone." SB: Beirut's "The Flying Cup Club," Mazzy Star's "So Tonight That I might See," Pinback's "Summer in Abbadon," Idan Reichel's "Memamakeem," and I am really loving Radiohead's "In Rainbows."

At the end of their Bowdoin career, senior art majors arrange their own exhibitions and bid farewell to the College. Tomorrow, seniors Avery Forbes, Joanna Sese, Nora Meyer, and Doran Rivera will put up their joint exhibition, which showcases their diverse artistic abilities.

Bowdoin easily defended its Maine State Championship title at the Aloha relays, cruising to a 53-point victory over second place Colby, with USM in third, and Bates in fourth. Scoring points in every event a Polar Bear was in, Bowdoin's depth gave them the advantage. Bowdoin's success on the track started early in the first event of the day, the 10K.

Normally three wins for Trinity isn't good news for the Bowdoin Baseball Team. These, however, are not normal circumstances. With the Bears lying in third place in the NESCAC and needing to pass second place Tufts to make the playoffs, the Bantams sweep of the Jumbos is exactly what Bowdoin needed.

When Joan Benoit Samuelson '79 arrived at Bowdoin, there was just one other female runner. By the time she graduated, she had won the Boston Marathon and was well on her way to becoming one of the sport's most recognizable figures. Last Sunday, Samuelson ran what she said would be her last competitive marathon, which she finished in two hours and 49 minutes.

The women's lacrosse team dropped two games this week and as a result fell to the number six spot in the NESCAC with a record of 3-5. The Polar Bears stayed with Amherst through two overtimes over the weekend, but eventually lost 7-6. On Tuesday in Lewiston, Bowdoin could not penetrate the Bates defense, losing 11-8.

Pain is a funny thing in the sport of track. To the casual runner, it is a cramp in the leg, a stitch in the side, a gasp of the lungs. But any seasoned competitor knows that track is a sport of heart. Not of who's faster but of who can transcend the physical toil to embrace a level of emotional?even spiritual?desire that makes first place not only the best option but the only option, and second just a painful disappointment.

Despite a Clare Ronan '10 RBI triple in the top of the second and 2-0 lead, the softball team was unable to hold on in the first of three games against Colby. In the second inning, the Mules rallied and took the lead and never looked back. The loss drops the Bears, who are in third place, to 4-6 in the NESCAC. The Bears have been eliminated from NESCAC playoff contention.

The tennis teams had a full weekend of play, as they played host to their fourth annual tennis reunion weekend. Both teams struggled against NESCAC-leading Williams College but crushed both Colby and Hamilton the following day. The weekend brought together many alumni, friends, and family of the Bowdoin tennis team and was full of home-court action as the Polar Bears head into the NESCAC playoffs at Middlebury.

This week proved to be one of, if not the most challenging in my one-and-a-half year tenure as a columnist for the Orient; at least in terms of deliberating what to write about. The difficulty of my situation, however, lay not within the confines of a slow news week, but rather a week that brought with it too many storylines worth further exploration: The resurgence of exciting hockey, the Eastern Conference NBA Playoffs unfolding better than we ever might have imagined, the NFL Draft set to kickoff tomorrow afternoon, and how the D'Backs have become the best team in baseball, to name a few.