The Bowdoin Orient

The Office of Safety and Security discovered evidence of a break-in at MacMillan House around 7 a.m. on January 6 when an electrician doing work on the house reported evidence of damage. Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols reported that he believes the break-in occurred around 4 a.m. on December 28, as door access records from MacMillan House indicate the door was forced at about that time. Six rooms on the second floor were broken into after the perpetrator reportedly kicked in the doors.

Though the new printing system has been the subject of controversy this year, Information Technology's (IT) mid-year results prove that it has lived up to its promise. The printing system decreased the amount of paper consumed while accommodating 94 percent of student demand.

It's official: the College is getting bigger—259 acres bigger, to be exact. On December 13, the College received final approval from the Department of Education (DOE) to acquire three parcels of land after Naval Air Station Brunswick (NASB) closes this year.

Former Bowdoin student Adam Wheeler plead guilty to "larceny, identity theft, falsifying an endorsement and pretending to hold a degree," according to a December 16 press release from Middlesex District (Mass.) Attorney Gerry Leone. Wheeler's deceitful actions in applying to Harvard University and subsequent academic dishonesty while a student at the school have gained national notoriety.

The Office of Admissions received a total of 6,503 applications for admittance to the Class of 2015, an 8 percent increase from last year's applicant pool and an all-time record for the College. Of the 568 Early Decision I (ED I) applications—up 11 percent from last year—189 students were accepted.

Starting this year, JSTOR will begin offering more multimedia services and expand its current journal content to include smaller publications. With a mission rooted in preserving and archiving journals electronically, JSTOR is seeking to expand its services and offer students more access to academic journals. The new JSTOR features are part of its Current Scholarship Program and will include audio files, video and e-mail alerts. Instead of only archiving back issues of select journals, JSTOR will add 19 new publishers and more than 174 up-to-date journals.

Edwin M. Lee '74 was sworn in as the 43rd mayor of San Francisco on January 11, filling the position vacated by the new Lieutenant Governor of California, Gavin Newsom. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors elected Lee, previously the city administrator, as the new mayor. Lee's ascension in San Francisco has gained national significance as he will become the city's first Asian-American mayor.

The Entertainment Board (E-Board) will present its annual winter concert in Pickard Theater next Saturday, January 29. Louis Weeks '11 will open for currently touring bands The Low Anthem and Jukebox the Ghost.

With campus vacated by much of the student body over the long winter break, College administrators continued negotiations with the Town of Brunswick regarding the Longfellow Elementary School property.

A few clamoring students stood outside Hawthorne and Longfellow Library—unable to get in—the Saturday morning during last semester's finals period. These students, some of whom had final exams at 9 a.m., were left out in the cold because the library was operating on its weekend hours, and would not open until 10 a.m.

Although I tend to doubt that anyone reads this column, I would imagine that if you are reading this article you probably have uttered an impetuous word or two in your life that you regret. You might even have taken a few actions that you would rescind if possible. My apologies for the inane rhetorical commentary, but my point is that human beings tend to get caught up. Sometimes, we lose control. In those instances, our emotions overwhelm our rational thinking.

One of democracy's shortcomings could arguably be its greatest strength: the protection it gives people to say practically whatever they want, whenever they want. It essentially gives people the right to complain or be negative, since opinions everyone agrees on don't need the protection democracy affords them.

An island amid a sea of globalization: Puttalam, Sri Lanka is the largest center for IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) of Muslim background in Sri Lanka. During the initial years of the civil war, in 1990, Muslims living in the Northern province of Sri Lanka—considered by Tamil nationalists to be their cultural homeland—were evicted by Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam soldiers in an attempt at ethnic purification and unification.

After Bowdoin College wrenched the fraternities out of student hands in the 1990s, the administration hatched an innovative plan to convert the old fraternity houses into "Social Houses." The administration lauded their new housing system as "the center of housing policy and residential life," supposedly creating an inclusive campus environment and encouraging students to use alcohol safely, out in the open.

My high school experience is probably relatable to many: I had a few teachers that were role models, many more that were completely average and a few that I hated. As students, our reasons for disliking teachers vary greatly. Perhaps it is because a teacher is notorious for harsh grading, appears to favor girls, or cannot lecture comprehensively without rambling on about her cat.

The tragic events in Arizona two weeks ago resulting in the death of six people have brought forward a constitutional issue that strikes the soul of many Americans. Westboro Baptist Church announced plans to picket the funerals of the victims in the Tucson shooting, and brought the question of whether America's most sacred doctrine of free speech was intended to support radical discourse intent on injuring those whom most of the American public hold in highest valor to the forefront of the American conscious.

Sitting out on my veranda overlooking the pool and the blue Caribbean Sea while taking in the warmth of another cloudless, sunny day in Barbados, a strange thought entered my head: "I can't wait to go back."

Walking into a quad in Moore, the door is ajar, the lights are off and three first year students holding laptops sit on the couch facing the TV. "You're looking at the way we've spent the past two weeks—except 'Dexter' was on the screen," said first year squash player Stephan Danyluk, who, along with his three teammates (and temporary roommates), has been on campus since January 2. "We watched the first three and a half seasons of 'Dexter' in two and a half weeks."

As I enjoyed my final Winter Break during my time at Bowdoin College, I experienced a real first in my relationship with my parents. When I found out I would be writing a column before classes resumed, I knew I would have to find something to try back at home, and thus I set out to hunt down some interesting brews. Upon leaving my house, my mom asked where I was going, to which I replied that I had to pick up a bunch of beer. This response was met with the corresponding, questioning glance —but I had the perfect alibi: "Don't worry mom," I shot back, "it's for school."

When classes began last Tuesday at the University of Southern Maine (USM), students were welcomed by an artistic addition to campus. In the entrance corridor just outside the Osher Map Library, a mural painted by Bowdoin Professor of Art Mark Wethli awaited their arrival.

In an age eve before VHS, people flocked in droves to hear Donald MacMillan speak about his experiences in the Arctic. "The Far North," a reconstructed film with restored footage from MacMillan's voyage to Greenland, will now bring MacMillan's story to a whole new audience. The film's audio track is a recovered transcript of a lecture MacMillan delivered at Boothbay Opera House in 1959, according to the Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum.

Elliott Schwartz will be celebrating his birthday in style next week with the Portland Symphony Orchestra (PSO).

Summer camp can be hit or miss. Sometimes homesickness prevails, turning what was meant to be a jovial, adventurous few months into a miserable countdown to mom and dad's return. For Tess Chardiet '13, however, camp was the exact opposite, influencing her life so much that it transformed her high school and college experiences into theatrically inclined endeavors.

Most Bowdoin students try to balance their academic and social lives; some students take on more. Hartley Brody '12 is one of the latter. As the creator of the websites freshoncampus.com and thecollegecartel.com, Brody balances schoolwork with entrepreneurship.

"I Am Not A Human Being" First on today's playlist is Lil Wayne's recent album "I Am Not a Human Being," which was released in physical copy in Oc tober. The album itself is clearly not Wayne's best work; it does not flow as well as some of his other albums and feels scattered. However, my aim is to highlight the greater significance of this slightly disappointing album.

Head field hockey coach Nicky Pearson rounded out a victorious season by adding another honor to her extensive list of accolades.

As the national buzz about the dangers of concussions has escalated in recent months, Bowdoin Athletics has faced an increase in the number of concussions among athletes this fall.

NESCAC athletics administrators confirmed long-standing rumors that the 2010-2011 season would be the end of the NESCAC-ECAC East interlock in men's ice hockey. The decision was released on January 6.

The men's indoor track team will travel to Boston on Saturday morning for the Greater Boston Track Club Invitational at Harvard, where it will compete against post-collegiate athletes as well as their usual peer opponents.

The women’s ice hockey team has spent much of Winter Break on campus, training for the season ahead and competing in matches against fellow NESCAC teams.