The Bowdoin Orient

The H1N1 virus continued its rampant spread across campus this week, bringing the total number of suspected cases among students to 116 as of Thursday afternoon. When the Orient spoke to Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster on Tuesday morning, 55 students had fallen ill with flu-like symptoms. By Thursday afternoon, that number had more than doubled.

The Peter Buck Center for Health and Fitness will open its doors at 6:30 a.m. next Tuesday, bringing 44,659 square feet of space dedicated to the wellness of the Bowdoin community to the center of campus. The Buck Center will allow "an opportunity for members of the community to pursue their health and fitness ambitions," said Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster. The fitness center will occupy the ground level and first floor of the building, the second floor will house the athletic department offices and a multipurpose space capable of seating 40 people, and Student Health Services and flexible multipurpose spaces will be located on the third floor.

Responding to an evident desire of Bowdoin students to go into teaching, this semester the education department is debuting Bowdoin Teacher Scholars (BTS), a new teaching certification program. According the Career Planning Center, 18.2 percent of seniors from 2000 to 2007 entered the field of education. Despite the apparent popularity of the teaching profession, the previous teaching accreditation system was not always easy to navigate.

The prospect of life beyond the Bowdoin bubble is slowly encroaching on this year's seniors through an onslaught of emails and notices from Bowdoin's Career Planning Center (CPC). This year, the CPC is making concerted efforts to better prepare students for the tough job market by offering workshops, interactive online networking tools, and more accessible career info.

After getting stuck in an economic rut, the Wheels program, which will bring buses to Brunswick and Topsham, is back on the road. Director of Transit Operations for the Maine Transportation Department Barbara Donovan has said that all necessary funds have been collected. An announcement will be made as soon as this December confirming when services will start. The December announcement will come nearly a year and a half after the program was originally scheduled to begin.

Living up to its pandemic status, the H1N1 virus has affected Bowdoin students studying abroad this semester from Buenos Aires to Cape Town. As swine flu grew more prevalent this summer, some study abroad programs communicated with students prior to departure dates, alerting them to expect the unfamiliar while traveling. "They told us we might be stopped at customs to check our health," said Emily Balaban-Garber '11, who is studying in Salamanca, Spain. "If we exhibited signs of the flu, they told us we might not be let into the country."

It was a college student's dream come true last weekend when Papa John's showed up outside several College House parties to give out free pizza slices to hoards of hungry students. Students rushed for the individually boxed slices. Best of all, there was no catch. The students grabbed a few slices and went on their merry way. General Manager of the Brunswick branch of Papa John's Denise Whitmore said that this is all part of the store's new promotion targeting Bowdoin College students.

The "2008 Collegeprowler.com No. 1 College" plaque is lying, nearly forgotten, on a bookshelf in Interim Dean of Admission Scott Meiklejohn's office. As Bowdoin is the first recipient of the award, "we haven't really figured out what to do with it yet," said Meiklejohn. The College may not know what to do with this award, but most students, current and prospective, would give the distinction more consideration.

Bowdoin has seen a lot of change recently.
Despite talk about tough times and harsh economic realities, we've seen large-scale projects involving first year bricks, the Museum of Art, Studzinski Recital Hall, Watson and Dayton Arena, and most recently, the Peter Buck Center for Health and Wellness.

With swine flu infecting students at an increasingly ferocious pace, the virus is no longer novelty?rather, it is a routine inconvenience. On late Thursday, 116 students had presented flu-like symptoms, and though the number is large in comparison to peer schools, it still represents less than 10 percent of the student body. Given that national predictions claim infection rates of up to 50 percent on college campuses, it is likely that Bowdoin is not done with the swine flu.

Sometimes I still don't believe it ever really happened. It was a day that started off as innocently as any other; a beautiful, cloudless morning decorated with the graceful songs of the morning birds and a bright, warm sunshine that could bring a smile to even the greatest cynic's face. I was busy daydreaming and gazing longingly out the window hoping my teacher would allow her class to enjoy a quick game of kick ball when my thoughts were interrupted by the sudden, strangely-timed announcement on the PA system.

When I first got here three years ago I received a bookmark that said the now-familiar, "To be at home in all lands and all ages; to count Nature a familiar acquaintance..." If you are a first year, the only land you are going to be easily acquainted with this year is the land you can ride your bike to. First-year students can no longer keep cars on campus, and the old Stanwood Street parking lot now looks like a motocross course. I have no problem with the campus becoming "greener," and I always give the lazy kid who drives to Thorne for dinner the evil eye

Recently, Der Spiegel, one of the world's most-read magazines, bore on its cover the message "The Red Light of Morning: How Left are We Headed?" Yet when one flips open its pages, there is nary a mention of Obamacare, town hall meetings, or even the Obama administration itself. Instead, inscribed in dense, heavily-umlauted text, lies an account of how the Left Party, a remnant of the old East German communist party, has been taking elections in Europe's economic heart by storm. At first glance, both these resurgences of welfare liberalism appear to be identical symptoms of the omnipresent global depression. When one digs down and examines the true shifts in power, however, it becomes apparent how shallow and confused the uproar over creeping socialism is, at least in the United States.

In the past week, students have been confronted by the unfamiliar: quarantine units scattered across campus, students emerging from the health center wearing face masks and rumors about the latest person deemed sick. Despite uncommonly accurate predictions that swine flu would descend on college campuses with a fury this fall, the virus's arrival has been greeted with entirely negative connotations and social outcast.

As the August recess comes to a close on Capitol Hill, most political speculation concerns what will happen next to health care reform. With angry constituents at volatile town halls as one of the most well covered news stories of the last month, Congress is filled with anxiety about what the next steps might be.

Summer of 2009 was a political battlefield. Most certainly, the theatre that is American politics tossed up some delightful amusements to rouse your sleeping intellectual and political passions. Here's the scoop any informed college student should have.

Vitriol, passion and the raised voices of the extreme conservatives have dominated the recent health care debate and the headlines on America's (dwindling population of) print newspapers.

When an incoming member of the first-year class indicated on his housing preference form that he did not want to live with a gay roommate, the Office of Residential Life knew just what to do. "We placed [him] in a building with a proctor who we knew to be out and would be comfortable...educating this person," said Associate Director of Housing Operations Lisa Rendall. Though it's too early to tell how this experiment is panning out, conscientious efforts to promote tolerance through living arrangements are not uncommon.

This summer, Bowdoin students traveled to destinations at home and abroad to participate in nonprofit organizations, broaden their fields of interest and gain hands-on experience.

From our first health classes in elementary school, we've been told about the problems, pregnancies and possible persecutions that come along with sex. Aside from the idealized version of sex forced down our throats by popular culture, we rarely see sex cast in a realistic and rewarding light.

What happens when you take one-part Barry Mills's nephew, one-part former Miscellania member, and a crowd of aurally curious Bowdoin students? With this evening's "Shameless Plugs" concert featuring Dan Mills and Samantha Farrell '05, the Entertainment Board (E-board), is hoping for a hit. Co-President of the E-Board Chris Omachi said the "Shameless Plugs" project aims to showcase Bowdoin-related talent. The brainchild of Megan Brunmier '08, student activities advisor to the E-board. Tonight's show will be the first in what the E-board intends to make into an annual showcase.

If you have ever heard the music of Senegalese pop music star Youssou N'Dour, then it is easy to imagine how any film in which he is the subject could be electrifying, enlightening and unifying all at once. "I Bring What I Love," a documentary film directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, chronicles N'Dour's rise to national and international stardom in the 1970s and '80s, as well as his more recent and more controversial album, "Egypt."

Although now living and working in Atlanta, Georgia, architect Scott Ball '87 still points to his Bowdoin experience as one that was and incredibly formative. "As an architect and town planner, primarily what I'm looking at has all grown from trying to figure out how design works in people's lives," Ball said. "And this is an exploration that fundamentally began for me at Bowdoin."

I had planned to make my big Orient debut this week with a proper article of pop criticism, but all these plans derailed Tuesday afternoon. After I had thoroughly interrupted my morning class with fits of coughing and sneezing, I went to the bathroom, only to find that my nose had become oddly upturned. Around 1 p.m., I sprouted a pink, curly tail. By 2:15 p.m., the fine medical staff at Dudley Coe confirmed what I already suspected. Yes, I'm one of them. I'm a swine. I tried to fight through the fever and aches and write the article as planned, but my brain was coated in bacon grease, and the words simply wouldn't come. Then, swimming around the floor of my room in a feverish delirium, I had a moment of clarity.

VentiCordi—meaning wind and strings—comes to Bowdoin this Saturday to perform in Studzinski. The three-person ensemble was formed by accomplished chamber players Dean Stein, who was the violinist for the Dapointe Quartet, and Kathleen McNerney, former oboist for two woodwind quintets, Imbroglio Quintet and Calico Winds, and current Bowdoin oboe instructor.

The jewels of the Bowdoin art collection are now on public display in the Museum of Art's Shaw Rudduck Gallery as part of this semester's Art History 100 survey course. The installation is the product of the art history department's collaborative effort to curate an exhibit that truly reflects diverse cultures and periods, bringing together pieces of many mediums and origins.

Bowdoin's own Cassie Jones '01 is featured in a group art exhibit that opened last night in New York City. Running from September 17 until October 17 at Red Flagg gallery, the exhibit entitled "Chunky Monkey" features 15 artists—mostly painters—who incorporate a third dimension into their work, though that theme is defined and interpreted in different ways from artist to artist.

The women's volleyball team is off to a strong start this season after a tight win against Colby on Wednesday, and an undefeated run at last weekend's Endicott Invitational Tournament. The players' incorporation of a solid offense, stamina and teamwork has helped them to establish an impressive record of 4-0 so far this season.

Bowdoin girls got game. That's the only way to sum up the twin victories for the women's rugby team last Saturday. Focusing on speed and skill, the Polar Bears drove to a 27-0 victory over Colby, reminiscent of their 34-0 victory over the Mules last year. Although their opponents stiffened up and offered stauncher resistance in the second half, the team continued to dominate throughout the match.

After suffering its first loss to Amherst since 2003, the field hockey team rebounded with a dominating performance against the Blue Pride of Wellesley College to end the first week of the 2009 season with a record of 1-1. The Polar Bears showed no mercy in Tuesday's contest against the Blue Pride, launching an astounding 44 shots, resulting in seven goals and keeping Wellesley from putting anything up on the scoreboard.

The Lady Polar Bears had their opening match of the season this past weekend, hosting the third annual Bowdoin Blast at Brunswick Golf Club on a rainy Saturday afternoon. The tournament consisted of individual competitors from Bates, Bowdoin, St. Anselm, and Maine-Farmington, as well as a dual match between the Bowdoin and Bates teams. Unfortunately, the Polar Bears came up short in the dual match losing to the Bobcats (384) by a total of 30 shots. Despite the loss, young talent for the Polar Bears showed some promise for future tournaments as first year Chelsea Gross posted a 95 in Saturday's round.

Nine members of the coed sailing team traveled to Maine Maritime Academy in Castine this past weekend, where they competed at the Penobscot Bay Open (PBO) and the Harman Cup. Despite a tough weekend of regattas for Bowdoin Sailing, the team gained valuable experience for the upcoming season.

Amid holding auditions for the impending generation of Meddiebempsters Monday night, I received a text message from my mother that defied the natural order. The incredulous blurb that appeared on my enV2 (because I don't need an iPhone...yet) read something that sent a wave of instant gratification throughout my entire body: "Bills lead with 5 minutes left."