The Bowdoin Orient

After two years at the helm of Bowdoin admissions, William Shain has left the College. Shain's departure was announced in an e-mail on June 5 by President Barry Mills to faculty, staff, Trustees, and members of the Alumni Council. In the statement, Mills explained that Shain, who had admitted the Classes of 2011 and 2012 in his post as dean of admissions and financial aid, was leaving the College on June 30.

President Barry Mills has declined to sign the Amethyst Initiative, a national petition of college and university presidents that aims to invigorate discussion about changing the legal drinking age.

After serving as director of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art for almost exactly 10 years, Katy Kline will step down from the position in October.

Former Bowdoin student Ryan McDonough '08 was arrested twice this summer and has been banned from Bowdoin property.

This fall, there are 46 new faculty members, several of whom hold newly created leadership positions. Recently added positions include a director of the Africana Studies Program, a director of the Environmental Studies Program, and a full-time director of the Bowdoin Scientific Station on Kent Island. There is also a lecturer in Arabic for the first time and a new chair for the Theater and Dance Department.

Over the summer, a College-hired security firm concluded its investigation of a data breach first reported by the Orient in April.

Last week, Massachusetts Hall was closed to students and faculty due to a flea infestation and subsequent treatment. When Housekeeping discovered the pests on Saturday, a local pest control service performed a treatment later in the day.

Since it was drafted in July, more than 120 college and university presidents have signed the Amethyst Initiative, a statement that calls for a public discussion about the 21-year-old drinking age. College presidents who have signed the statement are not asking for a specific change in policy; instead, they hope to stimulate "an informed and dispassionate debate over the effects of the 21-year-old drinking age." The signatories represent schools ranging from Ohio State University to Hamilton College?but Bowdoin is absent from the list.

"What do you think about Sarah Palin?" I first heard this question a week and a half ago after returning from a pre-orientation backpacking trip. Having missed John McCain's announcement of Sarah Palin as his running mate, I was utterly baffled as to why anyone would care about my governor.

A couple weeks ago, I pressed my nose up against the small square of Plexiglas next to my seat as JetBlue Flight 606 hovered over Portland. I've made the same descent countless times during my time at Bowdoin, but I still can't help feeling a little awe-inspired by the scattered lakes and bewildering forests of Maine's landscape. Born and raised in the Midwest, New England still has an exotic draw for me; the curious charm of lobster boats, in fact, eliminated any need I ever felt to study overseas. Land's End would suffice.

Shortly after Kansas became the first state in the union to outlaw alcoholic beverages in 1881, a woman by the name of Carrie Nation set about personally enforcing the new state law. Considering herself "a bulldog running along at the feet of Jesus, barking at what He doesn't like," Nation quickly became well known for storming into bars and saloons, reprimanding the patrons for their actions, and smashing any bottles of liquor with a hatchet.

After one full week of classes and over two weeks to settle into Bowdoin this fall, many of us may already feel our absorption into the Bowdoin bubble. And while our inboxes are flooded with reminders of meetings and parties, we are possibly forgetting to consider what is easily one of the largest events of this fall worldwide: the election taking place on November 4.

Scully '09 had no idea that a student digest post could change her life. Sandwiched between posts about lost ID cards and student activities was information about applying to the Japan America Student Conference (JASC), a prestigious cultural exchange program.

Going to school at a small, liberal arts college like Bowdoin means that friends are always close by. It's almost impossible not to run into them on your way to class, at the gym, or in the dining hall.

Every community has its own universal icebreakers. You know, rhetorical questions or passing comments that one awkward partygoer can remark to another, silently hoping that the response will be "no hablo ingles."

The literature that has emerged from the events of 9/11 is astounding. For better or worse things of beauty are born from ashes, and in this post 9/11 era, many of the literary phoenixes are superb.

Every day in the Bowdoin College Museum of Art rotunda, visitors hear a dull, roar-like snoring sound. It is the sound of the machine maintaining the air pressure of an inflatable Buddha.

While many Bowdoin students have grown up in an age where Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda are household names, the new photography exhibit at Frontier Café will paint a much different picture of a war-torn country.

Searching "microbreweries" on Wikipedia reveals that Maine has over 20 craft breweries per million people. Seven of these breweries can be found in Portland alone, including Shipyard, DL Geary Brewing, Gritty McDuff's, Allagash, Sebago, Casco Bay, and the late Stone Coast Portland branch.

With four season wins and only one loss, the women's volleyball team is back with a bang this fall, rebounding from their rocky 2007 season. With the team's home court in Morrell Gym under construction, the Farley Field House courts could be the trick to this season's success. On Wednesday, the Polar Bears (4-1) cruised to a 3-0 sweep over the University of New England (1-6) in a non-conference match hosted at Farley.

The Mafia assassinated Kennedy. I've seen Bigfoot myself on three separate occasions. And I'm positive Tom Brady will be on the field this Sunday for his 129th consecutive start at quarterback for the New England Patriots. At this point, I'm close to hysterics, and I'll believe anything but the truth. Come Sunday, there is no way Matt Cassel will be under center for his first meaningful start since high school. I've convinced myself that Barry Bonds is innocent and Marion Jones is a saint. I know for a fact that Rosie Ruiz is just really fast.