The Bowdoin Orient

The dialogue about difference and bias at Bowdoin will continue on Sunday, and students and administrators are hard at work to ensure the conversation is not silenced by the end of the school year. "I Am Bowdoin" leaders have organized a nighttime walk around campus and into town entitled "Belonging in Brunswick," and they are hoping for a strong turnout.

As the campus recuperates from another Ivies, students and administrators alike are reflecting on the highs and lows of the weekend. From Thursday's Racer X concert to Pinestock on Saturday, many agree that this year's springtime celebration went off without a major hitch. The weekend's events were a culmination of planning and coordination by the Entertainment Board (E-Board), Dining Service, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) and the Office of Safety and Security.

The comprehensive fee to attend Bowdoin will be going up. Just how much, however, remains to be seen. When the Board of Trustees meets next weekend, voting on and accepting a comprehensive fee for fiscal year (FY) 2012 will be one of the major tasks on its itinerary.

For a generation growing up in the shadow of September 11, the death of Osama Bin Laden is a watershed moment—the figure so often portrayed as the epitome of evil is no more. Though many American students felt closure and celebrated the death of Bin Laden, many others felt deep ambivalence about the event and its potential consequences.

After a year of work, Information Technology (IT) and the Student Web Advisory Team (SWAT) have officially launched the redesigned student digest, the Bowdoin Orbit. Although still in its trial period, the Bowdoin Orbit will eventually phase out the Student Digest. It will be married with a gateway that boasts discussion boards and a newsfeed compilation from student blogs and websites.

Toby Zitsman '13 decided to spend Tuesday night on a couch in Moulton Union's lobby in hopes of being the first in line for Wednesday's Phase II course registration, which began at 7:30 a.m. As it happened, his desperate efforts were unnecessary. "I slept over on one of the couches, but I didn't really need to," said Zitsman, who turned out to be the only person to camp out in a break with the tradition of recent years, when numerous students elected to sleep in Moulton Union on the night before Phase II registration.

Community service and civic participation are deeply ingrained in the Bowdoin ethos. In a testament to these principles, Samantha Collins '11, Sarah Pritzker '11 and Associate Professor of Education Charles Dorn were recently honored by the Maine Campus Compact (MCC) for their ongoing commitment to these pillars of the College.

Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) convened on Wednesday for its final meeting of the 2010-2011 academic year. BSG dealt with a proposed name change to the "Vice President for Facilities" position. The proposal would change the name to "Vice President for Facilities and Sustainability," reaffirming the College's stance on reducing its environmental footprint.

The campus came alive with the sound of music last Saturday night with an unexpected recital of the Chapel bells. In what appears to be an Ivies prank, an unidentified person entered the Chapel and set off the bells at approximately 1:30 a.m., causing them to ring for roughly 30 minutes until 2 a.m.

Concussion expert Chris Nowinski of the Sports Legacy Institute (SLI) will speak on the treatment, prevention and subject of head injuries on Friday, May 13 in Pickard Theater. Nowinski, author of "Head Games: Football's Concussion Crisis," is co-director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at the Boston University School of Medicine and was an All-Ivy football player during his time at Harvard.

To the chagrin of many seniors, graduation approaches with haste. For many of us, this is a bittersweet time—we are eagerly looking to the future while also reflecting on the four years we have spent here. Bowdoin has been our home, and it is hard to part ways.

Just over two years into his term in office, President Obama is finally having his moment. He circumvented the state laws in Hawaii last week to release his long-form birth certificate, a major coup against the birther contingent that had been gaining momentum again through the inane ramblings of Donald Trump. A trump card indeed.

To the Editors: I would like to take this opportunity to ask all my friends and supporters to call off the wildly successful boycott of the Brunswick community I proposed in my hugely popular November 5 letter, "Brunswick community intolerant of students." Though we will never be certain our point has been made, at this point the human toll has simply become too much for me to ask you to continue. We've had a good run.

Summer just is not what it used to be. The relaxing days at the beach are, for many of us, traded in for khakis and a water cooler. Though we are still weeks away from temperatures above 70 degrees, the scramble for a summer job, internship or activity is underway in full force.

In "A Golf Story," which appeared recently in the Claremont Review of Books, I questioned whether President Barry Mills is serious about wanting more intellectual diversity at Bowdoin. The essay generated mostly smoke, but amid the smoke there lie important questions.

How intellectually diverse is Bowdoin today? Not very, if political party affiliation is any indication. Only Professor of Social Sciences Jean Yarbrough in her April 22 op-ed "Bowdoin should examine its lack of diversity" challenged my claim that no more than 4 percent of the Bowdoin faculty is Republican. She thinks my figure is probably too high.

But perhaps there is no need to count Republican noses, for, as a number of my critics pointed out, party affiliation may not be the best measure of what I am calling "intellectual diversity." OK. So what then do we mean by the term and how might it be measured?

While election season seems far off, possible Republican challengers to President Barack Obama have already begun posturing for the 2012 election. President Obama's term in office has been disastrous for the economy. His administration has not effectively lowered unemployment and has contributed to the explosion of the national deficit. The stimulus bill and Obamacare have both been tremendous failures, costing far too much and distancing America from its core free market principles. At this point, I have found it essentially impossible to disagree with the Republicans on these points. It's indisputable; Obama needs to go.

To the Editors: How does Professor of Social Sciences Jean Yarbrough conclude that the college lacks "intellectual and political" diversity ("Bowdoin should examine its lack of diversity," April 22, 2011)?

As the summer approaches and edges closer to next year's presidential campaign, the opportunity to charter a new course for the party has arisen. Thus far, polls consistently show Republicans thoroughly unhappy, unimpressed and unengaged with the list of likely, and even far-fetched, candidates for the party's nomination. Each of them has been trying to lay claim to the Reagan-mantle of conservatism, one that embraces social, fiscal and foreign policy conservatism.

In the days leading up to Ivies, some of my less party-oriented friends have started to grumble about the perceived waste of resources that is Ivies. The complaints usually go something like: "Why should we be paying for these bands to come, and why should Bowdoin allow students to use their land and money so they can blackout all weekend?"

The 2010-2011 academic year had the usual ups and downs—transports, thefts, a national championship, Meatless Monday, a salary thaw, a notable bias incident and nice weather for Ivies. These stories, along with many others, are chronicled in this summary of a year of Orient articles.

Scholarly excellence can be rewarded in a variety of ways. If you are a chemistry major, your possible prizes range from a certificate to a Merck Index. On the other hand, if you are majoring in government and legal studies, you can apply for the Philo Sherman Bennett Prize Fund and, if successful, could walk away with close to $200. "There is no 'one size fits all' for departmental prizes," said Senior Vice President for Administration and Treasurer Katy Longley. "First, the terms of the prize may vary; one fund may designate the size of the prize, and another may leave the size of the prize to the discretion of the department. Second, some prizes, such as certain book awards, carry no monetary value."

I am the leader of a large campus organization. We are often asked to support or co-sponsor events organized by other organizations and individuals. We were recently asked to support an interesting event which, in my opinion, was not going to be popular. It was clear that no one would come. I, for one, would rather have spent my Friday night elsewhere. Was it wrong to agree to support the event if I didn't think it would be well-received?

As your humble columnist, I feel as though I've tried my best to steer all those who read my article towards beer bliss. Even in my piece discussing the finer points of malt liquor, I made an honest attempt to distinguish those brews that rose above the swill and reached some sort of relatively elevated status.

Because online shopping is my source of inspiration for this column—though this time I was shopping for Mother's Day gifts, I swear—I happily landed upon the Free People website (freepeople.com). The home page has the title "Shop by Girl," and shows five different girls underneath with whom you can identify. Ginger is "confident, sensual, and a flirt," and Sandy is the "beach girl, easy-going and effortless," while Meadow is "bohemian, a free-spirit and creative." Candy is the "romantic, sweet and girly" one and then there's Lou, the "tomboy, adventurous and fearless." What I find ironic about trying to categorize Free People shoppers into these separate identities is that the brand itself is a total convergence of all of these personalities. The lines between these girls are blurred by the brand itself, as Free People serves someone who believes that she could be all of these attributes.

The question, "when are you free?" never seems to have a quick and easy answer. Seniors Ben Johnson, Nathan Merritt and Houston Kraft may have found a solution to this problem, however, with their new iPhone app, Free Time. "It basically looks at your calendar from a new perspective," said Kraft. "It imports the calendar from your phone, and shows the blocks of free time when you are available, and you can quickly share those with people."

In my last installment of the year, I'm going to talk about something I am sure none of you were expecting: Ivies. Surprised? I think not. But there may be a bit of health confusion on the topic. We are all receiving mixed messages about our health, safety and school rules at this time. Ivies can be a lot of fun, but it can also end up not being that fun if you are having trouble navigating the surreal quality of the event and walking the line of how much is too much.

Though Ivies has passed and the Whittier Field stage has been dismantled, the music isn't about to stop. Quadzilla, a music festival sponsored by Bowdoin Music Collective (BMC), will throw the spotlight on student performers tonight on the Brunswick Quad from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.

As part of her self-designed major, bridging the theater and film departments, Jillian Eddy '12 presented her honors project "Jackie and Johnny's Friday Night Fright Show" yesterday night. Combining film collages with live theatrics and music, Eddy brought together multiple art mediums for a truly unique performance.

As I ponder an appropriate farewell, I reflect on what my intentions were when I began this musical column. One goal was to provide readers with comprehensive and thoughtful reviews of recent albums from hip-hop moguls and veterans. I also hoped to suggest new music from up-and-comers that were less well known.

What is your favorite song lyric, and from what song? Tucker Colvin: “This may not be the moment to tell you face to face, but I could wait forever for the perfect time and place” from “Elaborate Lives” by Aida. James Henry: “Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow, don’t worry ’bout what you don’t know, life’s a dance you learn as you go” from “Life’s a Dance” by John Michael Montgomery.

Cellist Maren Askins '12 will perform a classical concert on Sunday, the culmination of her advanced lessons this semester.

In her recital next Saturday, Katarina Holmgren '13 will sing selections that range from opera to musical theater pieces.

Music from the southern-Pacific region of Colombia filled Studzinki Recital Hall on Wednesday when the Afro-Colombian Music Ensemble played marimba under the direction of Professor Michael Birenbaum Quintero.

The men's tennis team finished its regular season in style, with two wins over rivals Trinity and Colby last weekend. On Friday, the 14th-ranked Polar Bears defeated the 15th-ranked Bantams 7-2 at Harvard.

It makes all those mornings of getting up early worthwhile. Last weekend, the crew team cleaned up last weekend in Worchester, Mass. at the at the New England Rowing Championship, which hosts approximately 1,200 athletes representing 36 schools.

The softball team ended its season on a strong note with a 1-0 victory over Bates on Sunday. The game was the last of the season for both teams, who were both eliminated prior to the NESCAC postseason tournament.

The men's track team traveled to Wesleyan last weekend to compete in the NESCAC Track and Field Championships, where the Polar Bears claimed sixth place.

The women's tennis team wrapped up a successful regular season with a commanding 9-0 victory over Wellesley College this past Saturday on the road.

The sailing team finished its spring season at the Morris Trophy, hosted by BU, with a squad composed entirely of underclassmen. Coach Frank Pizzo called the event "a preview of next year's team."