The Bowdoin Orient

With five probable cases of swine flu in Maine, Bowdoin has revisited and updated its emergency response procedures. "We are taking steps to deal with a possible outbreak," said Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster in an e-mail to the Orient.

According to the Bowdoin Web site, the average Bowdoin student can expect to spend $350 for travel, $400 for fees, and $800 for books each year. An extra $825 to cover parking tickets is not listed, though it will be on sophomore Jane Pierce's bill.

Of the 20 graduating Bowdoin seniors and alumni who applied for the Fulbright Program this year, six have been granted a fellowship and one student has been listed as an alternate.

While peer schools have recently snagged big names like Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, and Brian Williams for Commencement speeches, Bowdoin is sticking to its longtime tradition of keeping the focus on the students.

Despite expected salary freezes, Bowdoin's faculty and staff have not experienced the layoffs and hiring hiatuses that some institutions have resorted to as a result of the economic downturn.

At its final Wednesday meeting of the semester, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) voted down two proposed changes to the Student Affairs Finance Committee (SAFC) Blue Book. The first change would have increased regulation of student organizations that pay their members stipends, while the second would have adjusted fuel reimbursement rates for student vehicles.

President Barry Mills sent Professor of Economics Jonathan Goldstein a six-page letter of censure this week, effectively ending the eight-month-long dispute between Goldstein and College officials over a 2008 paper the professor began disseminating last August.

For those of us who are graduating in three weeks and stumbling out into the cold, hard, jobless world, now seems like a pretty good time to reflect upon how lucky we are to have been in college for the last year. While others have been stuck in a cubicle watching their 401k evaporate, or worse, been faced with the terrifying threat of unemployment, we've remained relatively insulated.

Since the publication of Zoe Lescaze's article on Teach for America ("Rise in TFA applicants at Bowdoin, nationwide," March 27), a number of students have asked me why I hate TFA. Each time I emphatically respond that I don't hate Teach for America, but that I probably should. And here's why...

Though my hangover from Ivies has retreated, I have noticed that my Ivies mentality has not. I'm talking about that mentality which puts each one of us on a noble mission to pack as much fun into five days as possible. In my sadness, I began to wonder why it is that that this beautiful mentality is restricted to the period of April 21 to April 26. If we are able to outwardly embrace our internal thirst for pleasure on this one weekend, what is stopping us from reapplying that attitude as we choose?

This year's Ivies inspired me to solve the most difficult problem I've encountered at Bowdoin. Our utter lack of community tradition is a serious problem calling for a serious remedy. Without tradition, we are nothing. The way I see it, every weekend has the potential to be one of the most exciting weekends of the year. Why is it that when Ivies comes around everyone suddenly goes apeshit? Every year, Ivies proves to me that we students know how to have a good time together. We should prove this to each other more often.

A senior's parting words of wisdom are usually some intonation of the adage, "Take advantage of everything Bowdoin has to offer while you can." As with most adages, they are true and sincere words. Trying my best to abide by this rule, I've approached the vast majority of Bowdoin life with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. Generally, that excitement has come naturally.

The history of United States is a story of various struggles and the struggle against racism is, perhaps, most prominent in the minds of students at liberal arts colleges. In America, racism is largely characterized as a white behavior and rightly so. It was the whites who propagated slavery. It was the whites who instituted the Jim Crowe laws. It was the whites who passed the Chinese Exclusion act and it was the whites who forced over one-hundred thousand Japanese Americans into internment camps during WWII.

The political world is abuzz this week with the news of Arlen Specter's defection to the Democratic party. It has come so quickly that we do not yet fully know what it means, but the GOP certainly cannot feel good about it. Specter's votes will probably not differ that much, and this will probably keep a more liberal Democrat out of the Senate in 2010 (PA was poised to go blue with Specter looking weak against primary opponent Pat Toomey). Still, this is not much of a silver lining for Republicans, as what was left of any "big tent" they could claim to have once had is quickly collapsing.

Last Wednesday, April 29, marked 100 days since that historic day when a man born to a white mother from Kansas and a black father from Kenya became the 44th President of the United States of America. In that time, we have seen our new president implement an ambitious (and expensive) economic plan to prevent Americans from feeling the brunt of a serious economic downturn while setting up the infrastructure America will need to continue leading in the increasingly competitive 21st century.

Many people think of Harlem not only as New York City's most famous neighborhood, but also Black America's most famous neighborhood. Others simply look at Harlem as another black and Latino ghetto. During the Harlem Renaissance, a black middle class was established, but more important was the introduction of black arts, which included jazz music, poetry, books and short stories, and other art that allowed a black consciousness to transpire.

Dear Bowdoin College, Over the past few weeks, a fruitful controversy erupted surrounding my use of the word "pagan" to describe cultural currents I saw streaming through elements of Bowdoin's GLBTQ community. Through hours of conversation with professors, discussion with fellow students, and book browsing in the library, I came to see that there is a lively debate about the meaning of the word "pagan." So I should clarify—when I wrote it, I had just read the provocative 1994 essay, "A Pagan Theory of Sexuality" by Camille Paglia, who transfigures and glorifies paganism invoking the word as shorthand for our "Greco-Roman" inheritance as compared with the more traditional inheritance from what she calls the "Judeo-Christian moral tradition." In any case, after these discussions, and after Ivies weekend, it is clear to me I was in the wrong.

The 2008-2009 academic year at Bowdoin was both exciting and tumultuous. The College found itself coping with a national economic crisis, engaging in a highly-anticipated national election, and participating in other interesting and noteworthy events in academia, arts and athletics during the 207th academic year.

Sometimes I wonder how I got this job. What qualifies me to spout 800 words, loosely related to the topic of sex, for the Bowdoin community to read every other week? Because this is the last article I'll be writing for the Orient before I graduate this month, it seems to me like an ideal time to share with you my credentials as a sex columnist. If you want to know the truth, the idea for this column began as a joke that my friends and I hatched over lunch at Moulton early this past fall. I think the idea was that it would be really funny, or ironic, or something, if I wrote the sex column because of my particular situation with regard to sex.

As the recession continues to pound the nation, its blows are visible day by day in Brunswick. Whether it is a business closing its doors or an e-mail from President Barry Mills on the Blue Tarp Committee's plans to carry the College through the crisis, the Bowdoin community can see the signs of economic downturn. This week, the Orient asked the Economics and Government Departments to speak on the subject of the recession and share their views of the Obama Administration's efforts to end the recession as well as the recession's long and short-term effects on the government.

For most of the year, I've been hearing a familiar refrain regarding fashion: "The weather right now sucks. When it's nice at the end of the year, I'll be more likely to care about how I look. Until then," the refrain continues, "I just want to be comfortable." And while, for the whole year, I've been speaking of the merits of doing otherwise, I definitely appreciate the desire to dress comfortably. Clothes are meant to be lived in, not just looked at. However, I also know that it's not necessarily true that people start to care what they look like at the end of the year. Jeans and a sweatshirt no longer feel comfortable when the weather eclipses the 60-degree mark. Shorts and t-shirts (which generally come in brighter colors) just feel better in this weather. In short, it's probably not out of concern for image that people look happier and springier. Our dress reflects who we are, and most of us naturally seek comfort. At the end of the year, comfort just looks better. Again, I can appreciate that.

Sexual pleasure for men is considered to be less of a mystery than pleasure for women. Part of this might be because the part of male anatomy considered to be "most central" to sex, the penis, is pretty obvious. It might also be because men are assumed to start masturbating at a young age and are therefore considered orgasm experts by the time they might want to start teaching other people how they work. In reality, however, there is more to male sexual pleasure than the penis. Putting aside fantasies, preferences and emotions and focusing solely on anatomy, there are men who experience pleasure in their ears, nipples, fingers, inner thighs, balls and anus, to name a few locales. This doesn't mean that the penis isn't important, because it often is, but it does mean that the concept of foreplay can be just as enjoyable and important for him as it is considered to be for your average woman.

Some of the best and most recent art projects that Bowdoin students have to offer will be on display, starting next Friday, at Fort Andross in an opening of both the Advanced Studies In Visual Arts (Art 350) final projects and the senior visual arts major projects. While Art 350 is an independent course, both groups of projects will be intermixed in one show consisting of 31 total projects.

Some Bowdoin students have anticipated the rising temperatures by shedding their winter layers to participate in "Exhibition: The Naked Art Show." The show is an annual event that lets student artists explore the diversity of the human body and use familiar Brunswick locations as the settings for their individual projects. One of the artists and organizers of this years' show, Elsbeth Paige-Jeffers '10, used an interesting medium to examine the details of sex.

You would think that after Ivies, I would have had enough excitement to last me until the Fourth of July. While listening to Sean Kingston shout "Put your hands up!" over recordings of his songs was exhilarating, I found myself craving just a few more thrills before settling down to the grind of classes and homework. Thus, at precisely 6:55 p.m. on Sunday evening, my roommate and I decided to postpone our mountain of homework for another two hours and go see the 7 o'clock showing of "State of Play" instead. The movie, starring Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck, proved to be thrilling enough to make up for Sean Kingston's performance.

For my last column of the semester, I generally compile a list of books for whatever vacation is just around the bend. But this time my last column of the semester is my last Orient column. I write it and then I graduate, the end. When I leave the land of the polar bears, I will leave having acquired a number of things during the last four years: friends, experience, knowledge, etc. And then there is my prodigious tower of books. Scanning my shelves full of hard and soft covered novels, I am confronted by with the one constant that has run through my college career; I always read.

I hate their name, but goddammit I like their music. I have been listening to Noah and the Whale's debut album "Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down" nonstop since I bought it in December. While I'm still struggling with my British accent, I think it's fair to say that I now speak whale. The members of Noah and the Whale are what we look for in our indie crooners: they aren't Americans, they play cute instruments that are littler than usual (ukulele, mandolin, glockenspiel, kazoo...), and are an adorable couple that may or may not be dating.

There will be a concert in Studzinski tonight, but the performers don't know what they're playing yet. The performers are students in Lecturer of Music Frank Mauceri's Improvisation 221 class, and they've spent this semester learning how to create music without traditional scores or guidelines. While Mauceri has taught jazz ensembles and lessons at Bowdoin for eight years, the class is the first of its kind. According to Mauceri, the class is an appropriate addition to the music department's curriculum.

The men's lacrosse team notched two huge wins last weekend and needs only two more for its first-ever NESCAC title. The second-seeded Polar Bears will travel to host Middlebury and play third-seeded Tufts in the conference semi-final tomorrow. With a win, Bowdoin will advance to the NESCAC finals for the second straight year and face the winner of Middlebury-Wesleyan. Though they'll face stiff competition, the team firmly believes it can win the title.

The men's track and field team was hard at work at the NESCAC Championship last Saturday. After running away with the state title last weekend, the Polar Bears said that they had a feeling that there would be much tighter competition this time. They were right. Bowdoin scored 108 points to place fourth, finishing only 8.5 points away from second place. Williams repeated as NESCAC champions by scoring 154.5 points, well ahead of second place Bates' 116.5, followed by Tufts and Bowdoin.

The women's track and field team envisions a top-three finish in the Division III New England Regional Championship this Saturday, a goal they set their sights on after last year's championship, when they took seventh overall. The Bears took fourth place at the NESCAC Championship this past weekend to Williams, Middlebury, and Tufts, putting a third-place finish at the New England Championships within striking range. With a number of breakthrough performances at NESCACs, however, the women remain optimistic about their chances of achieving the goal.

The Orient chooses the male and female "Athlete of the Season" based on his and her exemplary performance, leadership, and commitment to their respective programs. The winners are decided by the editors of the Orient. Stephen Sullivan '11 Stephen Sullivan didn't always love tennis this much. "I started playing when I was 12, my mom made me play," he said. "I didn't really like it, I preferred team sports." Then much more of a soccer player, the 12-year old Sullivan hardly expected tennis to be his sport of choice. In truth, he may not have realized it until his arrival at Bowdoin.

The final weekend series for the seven seniors on the softball team ended on a high note after losing to the Colby Mules on Senior Day last Friday. "I can't imagine playing without them out on the field with us, but they have left us with the motivation to play hard," said first year Hillary Smyth. In their first game of the weekend, the Polar Bears scored four runs in the third inning thanks to three errors committed by the Colby defense.

Once again, a head-to-head tiebreaker with Tufts University proved to be the deciding factor for this year's baseball team. Bowdoin did all it could this weekend, winning all three games against Bates. Unfortunately, Tufts didn't blink, matching all three games with a sweep of their own against Colby. In game one of the series, the Bears went down 3-0 early to the Bobcats, letting up a run in the first inning and two in the third. But after five scoreless innings for the team, a four-run explosion in the sixth proved to be the deciding factor in the game.

Heading into last Saturday's game at NESCAC-leading Tufts, the Polar Bears knew they needed to win if they hoped to prolong their up-and-down season. Behind early goals from first year Elizabeth Clegg and senior Lindsay McNamara, Bowdoin looked like a team that would not be denied as they jumped out to a 3-0 advantage. Tufts' Chrissie Attura scored a goal to cut the lead to 3-1 but Clegg quickly answered for the Polar Bears with a goal of her own assisted by McNamara.

This past Tuesday afternoon, Josep Guardiola paced back and forth in his office, contemplating the impending match that would take place later that evening. Only a few days prior, Guus Hiddink and his team stepped off of their plane and into Guardiola territory, the miracle worker himself contemplating Tuesday night's clash. On Wednesday, Sir Alex Ferguson popped a Chiclet or two into his mouth and naturally began to chew away violently at the hard-shelled gum, contemplating the impending match at his stadium that evening. And finally, in the opposing club's locker room, Arsene Wenger stood expectedly stoic in front of his team, a three-hour train ride from home, contemplating, too, a match that might define his squad's unusual season.