The Bowdoin Orient

President Barry Mills announced on Monday a new committee that will look into the College's finances and make cost-cutting recommendations for next year's operating budget. The announcement, first made by Mills at Monday's faculty meeting, was sent via e-mail on Tuesday afternoon to all students, employees and Trustees of the College.

With Phase II of spring course registration ending Thursday, students have finalized their schedules for next semester. However, some students have expressed confusion about why certain courses do not count toward the distribution requirements that they might expect them to.

Armed with sleeping bags and course catalogues, about 25 students spent the night in Moulton Union on Monday to get the choice spots in line for Tuesday's 7:30 a.m. Phase II registration. "There were about 25 students who brought blankets and pillows and slept here so they'd be first in line for Phase II," said Registrar Christine Cote.

Geoffrey Canada '74, President and CEO of the Harlem's Children Zone, will appear on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" on Monday.

Under the current system of distribution requirements, implemented in 2006, already busy professors must take on an additional burden: submitting an online form if they want their course to be considered for a distribution requirement. Applying for such approval takes time and energy?professors told the Orient that the process is "lengthy" and "more complicated than one would expect." This system has been problematic not only for professors, but for students as well.

This just in: We are in a recession. Shocking, I know, but the government says it is official now and this announcement has coincided with the equally startling revelation that Obama is a closet conservative. By concealing his true political orientation Obama was able to infiltrate the Democratic Party and earn the support of powerful leftists.

Recently, some Bowdoin Republicans have asked for "intelligent criticism" in the national political debate. I couldn't agree more. So why not start with some intelligent criticism of the Republicans?

The sweeping snowstorm that clogged airport schedules and kept college students across the nation waiting for release until the wee hours of the morning made a fitting inauguration for the terrifying pre-finals weeks at Bowdoin.

In the November 21 issue of the Orient, the Bowdoin community was asked to respond to the question, "Moulton or Thorne?" The following replies were submitted.

Steve Robinson's op-ed ("Republicans need to be resilient," November 21), presented the recent election of Barack Obama in an unfair manner. Robinson talked of "hero-worship," implying that Obama was elected because "the average voter's political knowledge is little more than the regurgitation of 30-second ads." For Robinson to suggest that the election of Obama was the result of distorted reason is narrow-minded and unmerited.

Cheers to Dewey Crowley for his eye-opening op-ed on bottled water ("Bottled water should remain available to students," November 21). His piece should be mandatory reading for students on campuses around the nations where bottled water is being essentially banned.

For more than two years, Bowdoin alumna Meredith Segal '08 has worked alongside President-elect Barack Obama to inspire millions of Americans to believe that yes, they can.

Out there in the world, the economic crisis looms bleaker every day. Both Wall Street and Maine Street are feeling the effects of our Titanic-esque economy. Even Bowdoin is beginning to bend under the pressure: our foundation of a fitness center is suddenly short on funds and athletic teams can't have overnight stays anymore. There's one thing that hasn't changed, however: condoms are still free.

For some reason, the weather has been pretty good since returning from break. Having come back to a snowy, watery, slushy campus in the past, I expect the worst of Maine weather. Recently, however, I have been pleasantly surprised by temperatures reaching well into the 40s. So much for Bowdoin and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Season. But the weather forecast seems to think that this shift toward uncomfortable will occur sometime in the next few days, and what that forecast means besides the crippling realization that warmth will not come back until May (and the ensuing Seasonal Affective Disorder), is that wardrobes will shift from light summer/autumn clothes to heavier winter clothing.

Are pictures really worth a thousand words? In the Becker Gallery at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, where professors curate shows in conjunction with their classes to expand on certain issues, the answer is yes. Currently in the Becker Gallery is the exhibit "Hogarth's Women: Virtue and Vice in Eighteenth Century England," a show curated by Associate Professor of English Ann Kibbie in conjunction with her class, "Women and the 18th Century Novel." With the help of Bowdoin's Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial Fellow, Diana Tuite, Kibbie selected prints of the major 18th-century English artist William Hogarth. Hogarth, a painter, printmaker, satirist and social critic, created many series of prints that questioned and explored issues of modern morality.

As the Bowdoin community emerges from its Thanksgiving food coma and the reality of finals sets in, two musical performances provide an opportunity to take a break from the stressful prospect of papers and tests this weekend. The Bowdoin Chorus, directed by Senior Lecturer Anthony Antolini '63, and the Bowdoin Jazz Ensemble and Polar Jazz Big Band, directed by Applied Music Instructor Frank Mauceri, will unleash their holiday spirit at the Studzinski Recital Hall this weekend and next week.

The Frontier Café is in the middle of its fall/winter international film program titled "Global Lens 2008," the most recent intstallment of which is the Argentinian film "El Custodio." Filmed in 2006 and directed by Rodrigo Moreno, "El Custodio" reveals the everyday life of a personal bodyguard, Ruben, as he spends his days shadowing his boss, the Minister of Planning in Argentina. While Ruben's life is shown to be monotonous, meaningless and repetitive, "El Custodio" is anything but. If this film is an indicator of the quality of the rest of the films in Global Lens, Bowdoin students should start heading to the Café for more than just scones and coffee.

Before I begin, I'd like to get something out of the way. I'm sure, if they exist, my readers will be curious about Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy." I will tell you what everyone else is saying: It's not bad, it's not good, it just is. It exists, and after 17 years and 13 million dollars, that's an accomplishment in and of itself. But amid the Axle anxiety, during the last three-week frenzy over the cornrow-comeback, another album made its quiet debut.

In a story, as in life, there is never a single element at work. The work of an author is to weave together all the aspects in play in a manner that does not feel contrived. The variety of dynamics operating in reality are indiscernible; this lends authenticity. But the writer has to work with the page upon which things gain permanence; the reader can perceive what is work all at once, and this is where battling formula becomes important. Hillary Jordan does so with incredible grace in her debut novel "Mudbound."

Successfully defending its title in double overtime, the Bowdoin Field Hockey Team became the fourth team in DIII history to win back-to-back national championships. The Polar Bears collided with Ursinus College on November 22 and then stepped up against Tufts University on November 23 on their path to victory. The Polar Bears' opponent in the NCAA championship game was a familiar one, facing Tufts for the third time this season.

The men's basketball team continued its torrid pace on Tuesday, defeating the University of Southern Maine Huskies 68-52. The win was its third in a row, bringing the team to a 5-1 record. The Bears' play was highlighted by 12 three-pointers and a bench that outscored that of the Huskies, 26-6.

Bowdoin Cross Country stars Annie Monjar '09 and Thompson Ogilvie '10 both finished in the top 20 at the NCAA Division III National Championships on Saturday, November 22 at Hanover College in Hanover, Ind . Both athletes surpassed their own expectations for their respective seasons and both runners were named All-Americans for their efforts.

Despite their best efforts, the MIT Engineers and the Babson Beavers were incapable of damming the speed of the Bowdoin Swim Teams last weekend. Last Saturday's tri-meet between MIT, Babson and Bowdoin set the Polar Bears on the right track, with the women sweeping the competition and the men coming home 1-1.

Just five games into its season, the women's basketball team has already had its fair share of ups and downs. The team stands at a 3-2 mark, but has lost one of its marquee players for the season. Senior forward Jill Anelauskas suffered ACL and MCL tears last week and will be unable to return to the court for her final season this year. Anelauskas became just the 11th player in Bowdoin history to score 1,000 points in a career in the team's opening win against Western Connecticut State. Her injury will be a tough one for the team to cope with.

The squash teams went into Thanksgiving Break after a split-decision weekend for the men and women. Both teams defeated Connecticut College before falling to host Dartmouth in Hanover, NH. On Saturday, the men faced the Camels at 2 p.m., securing a solid 6-3 victory. The Bears' lineup dominated the opponents at the no. 2 through 7 spots, with Andy Bernard '11, Rahul Madan-Mohan '11, Rob Stanley '10, Arun Makhija '10, Peter Cipriano '10 and Robert Lynn '09 all winning their matches.

In less than a month I'll celebrate my 22nd birthday on the streets of Boston, probably all-too-literally, with some friends. I don't know what Matt Forte will be up to next week when he turns 22, but I'm fairly sure that it'll be cooler than heading to the Brookline Applebee's with two guy friends who will each eat their own appetizer sampler.