The Bowdoin Orient

After receiving over 300 preliminary study abroad applications, the Office of Off-Campus Study (OCS) said that the sophomores wishing to study away during the 2010-2011 school year are equally distributed between the fall and spring semesters.

Bowdoin's many "A"s in sustainability continue to be plagued by a failing grade in endowment transparency, according to the 2010 College Sustainability Report Card. The College earned an overall "B." Following the report's release some administrators have suggested that the report is an inaccurate measure of Bowdoin's financial policies. Senior Vice President for Investments Paula Volent spoke about the unique way that Bowdoin invests its endowment money and the inaccurate reflection of those policies in the Sustainability Report Card, released annually by the Sustainable Endowments Institute.

The shelves of Hatch Science Library's third floor may be filled with test tubes rather than textbooks in years to come. "We applied in August for an NSF—National Science Foundation—Grant to renovate some space in Hatch for neuroscience and earth science," said Senior Vice President for Planning & Development and Secretary of the College Bill Torrey. The plans, however, are "very much up in the air," according to President Barry Mills,

In the 2008 fiscal year (FY), Senior Vice President for Investments Paula Volent remained the highest-paid employee of the College, despite receiving a significant decrease in salary from FY 2007. President Barry Mills's compensation ranked him eighth among the 11 NESCAC presidents, just above the president of Colby College, but well below the president of Bates College.

After great anticipation, a small supply of the H1N1 vaccine was delivered from the Maine CDC to campus this week. Though 100 doses of injectable H1N1 vaccine were delivered, only a quarter of the doses had been administered to students as of late Wednesday, according to Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster. Students were informed of the shipment through an e-mail on Tuesday.

Instead of working to improve student life, this week, the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) spent another meeting deliberating over the finer points of its own internal affairs and policies. Following up on an incident that happened nine weeks ago, the organization waffled over the possibility of allowing class council and BSG candidates to campaign on the Student Digest. This far into the semester, it's a shame that BSG hasn't moved on to tackling issues that affect a greater share of the student body.

American conservatism is dedicated to the proposition, etched in eternity by Thomas Jefferson, that all men are created equal and endowed by a Benevolent Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these rights are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers for the consent of the governed.

I was 12 and in 7th grade in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Falls Church, Virginia when the infamous sniper attacks—later discovered to have been masterminded by John Allen Muhammed with the help of his protégé Lee Boyd Malvo—struck the area and suspended day-to-day activity. I waited inside for my parents to pick me up from school, instead of sitting on a bench outside with friends in the fall weather.

As members of the next generation of physicians at Dartmouth Medical School, we believe fostering a partnership with our communities is important as we work together to refine our system, in order to improve both the quality of and access to health care.

Craig Hardt—you are a beautiful man. Thank you so much for writing about the appalling existence of standard time. Time has run out for advocates of standard time in the winter months in America.

"Why," Neil Hamburger used to joke, "does Britney Spears sell so many millions of albums?" Answer: "Because the public is horny and depressed."

This esteemed publication's editorial section has recently become the battleground for an intense squabble over the discourse of sex at Bowdoin. After several editions of the flirty and fun "Celebrating Sex" column, one concerned citizen demonstrated his discomfort in celebrating sex, expressing a wish for a frank—and frankly—boring column which "provokes our minds."

Rutledge Long's op-ed on the entertainment board was long overdue ("The Entertainment Board is defunct," November 6). Props, man! As an aging multi-genre music fan who has enjoyed hundreds of shows, including more than 50 with some or all of my now-adult children, I whole-heartedly agree with his message. Life is too short to waste time and money on live performances by spoiled, egocentric, unappreciative musicians.

Disgust. Disappointment. Blame. After news outlets reported early Wednesday morning that a majority of Mainers had voted "Yes" on Question 1, consequently vetoing the law allowing same-sex marriage, our own outlets of communication were flooded with emotional reactions to the news.

Two hundred and fifty-three students were honored as Sarah and James Bowdoin (SJB) scholars last weekend. Other than their superlative grades, these students have another similarity: none of them went abroad last year.

Last spring, Alison Bennie, the editor of Bowdoin Magazine, was faced with the task of creating a graphic symbol to represent the successful Bowdoin Campaign. Her final vision, photographs of Bowdoin students positioning their bodies into shapes of the cardinal numbers, embodies the idea that the $293 million raised by the five-year long fundraiser goes toward bettering the experience of the student body, according to Bennie. The student number photographs appear on the homepage of the Bowdoin Web site, broadcasting various statistics from the Bowdoin Campaign.

Nonexistent. When asked to describe the Bowdoin dating scene, most students we interviewed laughed and chose this word. Yet, as published in last week's edition of the Orient, 43 percent of respondents to the sex survey stated they were in monogamous, sexually active relationships. So while relationships and sex don't always coincide, for nearly half of Bowdoin students, they do. These contradictory results point to cognitive dissonance in the collective Bowdoin psyche: nearly half of us currently engage in relationships, but still we deny the reality of a dating scene.

Sick of Seventeen and Cosmopolitan magazines? Junior Joanna Buffum, along with the rest of the Her Campus staff, have just added another option to the pool—an online magazine aimed specifically at college females. After working as an intern for a blog, Zagat Buzz, Buffum was hired as a staff writer by Her Campus, an exclusively female and college-oriented online magazine.

Place: Twin Brooks Recreation Area, Cumberland, Maine. Distance from campus: 25 minutes. Date: Saturday, November 14 at 11 a.m. Number of companions: As many as possible. Necessary gear: Sneakers (a pair that you are willing to get muddy) and large amounts of Bowdoin pride. Cost: Free. In fact, you'll be offered cookies and sweets if you come... The leaves have begun to turn from bright oranges to dirty browns, and before we know it, our campus trees will be stripped of all foliage. The ground will soon be frozen sod. The air temperature will cool from invigorating to agonizing. We have to embrace the last days of autumn outdoors, and there is no better place to do it than on the trails of Twin Brooks. Next weekend, these trails will be the site of a competitive cross-country meet—an event that will bring the Northeast together for a performance of physical strength and mental toughness.

From a dramatic shooting outside Hatch Science Library to the rendition of several classic Disney songs to a guest appearance by Randy Nichols, the second annual 48 Hour Film Festival productions covered a range of subjects and cinematographic styles. An eager standing-room-only audience crowded into Sills Auditorium on November 7 to see the Bowdoin Film Society (BFS)-sponsored festival.

Figure painting was the pinnacle of fine art until the late 19th century. Since then, figurative art has diminished in popularity and prestige, and, according to visiting lecturer Michael Amy, today it is downright marginalized.

Today Bowdoin will embrace its cold climate through the arts when it hosts the seventh annual Maine Telemark Film Festival. This year's festival will feature four telemark films, raffle prizes and, of course, plenty of hot cocoa.

Some holiday celebrations transcend religion and culture.

So often these days you register that moment when your interlocutor believes he or she has sized you up and dismisses your argument with a punchy phrase: "I know where you're coming from." They know your theory, and they know your life's work. Everything is illuminated. Time-tested arguments sizzle out like a flash in a pan.

There's a scene at the end of "Lost in Translation" when Bill Murray chases down Scarlett Johansson on a crowded Tokyo street for a last goodbye. After Murray whispers something frustratingly indiscernible into her ear, a distinct drum pattern begins playing as the two walk away from each other forever.

Kate Herlihy '08, the current curatorial assistant at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, recognized her passion for art history midway through her academic career.

The Bowdoin field hockey team suffered its first NESCAC Tournament loss since 2004 on Saturday following late-game heroics from the Trinity College Bantams. The 2-1 semifinals loss put an end to the postseason for the Polar Bears and kept them out of the NCAA tournament for the first time in the past four seasons.

The sailing team competed in its final events of the fall season last weekend. The Polar Bears put up solid finishes and brought their season to a close on a promising note. After qualifying at the Nickerson Trophy last weekend, the team of Jimmy Rohman '13, Zac Fox '13, Katie Doble '13, and Isabel Low '13 headed back to Boston University for the Freshman Intersectional.

In the football team's final game of the season, the Polar Bears (2-5) will take on traditional rival Colby College (4-3). After being defeated by Bates for the first time since 2003, Bowdoin will look to finish the season on a high note by claiming a share of the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin (CBB) title.

On Friday, women's volleyball took the first set but lost in four to Williams. After beating the Polar Bears in the quarterfinals, the Ephs went on to win the championship title, while Bowdoin's loss marked the close to one of the most successful seasons in the program's history.

A wise man once said, "All's sure that's going sure." For no team did this statement hold truer than for the extravagantly lavish Real Madrid, who entered the 2009-10 La Liga campaign having splashed around some ?247 million (approximately $370 million) on six marquee players in the summer, ushering in the latest era of Galácticos.

After roaring ahead with a pair of wins, the Polar Bears are looking to break the ice this weekend when they go head to head with Williams tomorrow in the NESCAC Semifinals.