Latest
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today
Former Athletic Director went beyond coaching for 14 years
As the Fall athletic season builds momentum, the Bowdoin community adjusts to the departure of Jeff Ward—Bowdoin’s athletic director since 1998—who announced in early June that he would not return this fall.
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today
Obituary Remembering Leslie Shaw, professor of anthropology
Visiting Assistant Professor Leslie Shaw, who taught anthropology at the College since 1998, died unexpectedly on the evening of August 29 following complications from surgery. She was 57 years old.Shaw will be remembered for her tremendous spirit, influential work, and role as a mentor, colleague, and friend.
“Leslie quietly set a high bar for service, excellence and collegiality, qualities that we each hope to achieve with some measure of grace but which she embraced with seeming ease,” Christle Collins Judd, dean for academic affairs, wrote in an email to the Orient.
Shaw demonstrated a clear passion for her work that was evident to students and colleagues alike. Professor Susan Kaplan, chair of the sociology and anthropology departments, said Shaw brought quiet, but palpable energy to the departments.“She’d come into a room and she’d be a powerful presence,” Kaplan said. “Very quietly, not grandstanding.”
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today
Editorial The Offer of Bowdoin.edu
Anyone who wants anything has a choice: build or buy. Do it yourself, or have someone do it for you. In the field of web development, the choice can be particularly difficult. This week, the College and the Orient are launching new websites. Independently, we have both chosen to build.
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today
Under new head coach, women’s soccer starts season off strong with 4-0 victory
After finishing the 2011 season with a painful overtime loss to top-seeded Amherst for the second year in a row, the women’s soccer team is looking for redemption in 2012. Last Fall, the Polar Bears ended their season with a conference record of 2-5-3.
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today
New system to change College House affiliation
On Wednesday, Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster announced that the current system of affiliation between first-year bricks and College Houses will come to an end next fall, when each College House will instead be affiliated with floors from various first year bricks.
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today
Women’s volleyball hopes to make up for loss of star seniors with six promising first years
The women’s volleyball team hits the road this weekend to begin its 2012 season with a non-conference tournament at Endicott College.
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today
‘Century bond’ sale raises $128.5 million
Bowdoin took steps to secure its financial stability over the next century when it sold $128.5 million worth of taxable bonds this past summer. The College will repay these bonds at a historically low interest rate of 4.69 percent, and the payment is due on July 1, 2112.
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today
Football team prepares for season action
In the first three games of last season, the Polar Bears’ starting quarterback Grant White ’14 threw 436 yards and 2 touchdowns at a 62.7 completion percentage. In the fourth game against NESCAC rival Hamilton, White injured his shoulder, leaving the reins of the team to backup Mac Caputi ’15.
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today
Redesigned website caters to viewers outside the College
Yesterday morning, the College launched the redesigned version of Bowdoin.edu, the first overhaul of the site in nine years. The homepage now has a completely different appearance, featuring “The Offer of the College” superimposed over the image of a tree on the Quad. Associate Vice President of Interactive Marketing Robert Kerr has been working to improve the interface and user-friendliness of the site, which was developed internally.
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today
Cornell du Houx ’06 will not return to Maine state legislature
Alex Cornell du Houx ’06, Brunswick’s representative in the state legislature, announced that he would not seek re-election on June 29. Cornell du Houx’s re-election bid had been mired by allegations from his former fiancé, Representative Erin Herbig of Belfast, who claimed that he had stalked and threatened her in a temporary protection from abuse order.
Volume 142News
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today
Obituary: Remembering Leslie Shaw, professor of anthropology
Visiting Assistant Professor Leslie Shaw, who taught anthropology at the College since 1998, died unexpectedly on the evening of August 29 following complications from surgery. She was 57 years old.Shaw will be remembered for her tremendous spirit, influential work, and role as a mentor, colleague, and friend.
“Leslie quietly set a high bar for service, excellence and collegiality, qualities that we each hope to achieve with some measure of grace but which she embraced with seeming ease,” Christle Collins Judd, dean for academic affairs, wrote in an email to the Orient.
Shaw demonstrated a clear passion for her work that was evident to students and colleagues alike. Professor Susan Kaplan, chair of the sociology and anthropology departments, said Shaw brought quiet, but palpable energy to the departments.“She’d come into a room and she’d be a powerful presence,” Kaplan said. “Very quietly, not grandstanding.”
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today
New system to change College House affiliation
On Wednesday, Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster announced that the current system of affiliation between first-year bricks and College Houses will come to an end next fall, when each College House will instead be affiliated with floors from various first year bricks.
-
today
‘Century bond’ sale raises $128.5 million
Bowdoin took steps to secure its financial stability over the next century when it sold $128.5 million worth of taxable bonds this past summer. The College will repay these bonds at a historically low interest rate of 4.69 percent, and the payment is due on July 1, 2112.
-
today
Redesigned website caters to viewers outside the College
Yesterday morning, the College launched the redesigned version of Bowdoin.edu, the first overhaul of the site in nine years. The homepage now has a completely different appearance, featuring “The Offer of the College” superimposed over the image of a tree on the Quad. Associate Vice President of Interactive Marketing Robert Kerr has been working to improve the interface and user-friendliness of the site, which was developed internally.
-
today
Cornell du Houx ’06 will not return to Maine state legislature
Alex Cornell du Houx ’06, Brunswick’s representative in the state legislature, announced that he would not seek re-election on June 29. Cornell du Houx’s re-election bid had been mired by allegations from his former fiancé, Representative Erin Herbig of Belfast, who claimed that he had stalked and threatened her in a temporary protection from abuse order.
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today
Karen Mills delivers speech at Democratic National Convention
One day after Michelle Obama spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC, Bowdoin’s own First Lady, Karen Mills, made her debut on the convention stage. Mills addressed the convention in her capacity as a member of the Small Business Association and a cabinet member in the Obama White House.
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today
Parking overhaul among new sustainable measures
A new parking system that promotes a “park once” approach took effect at the College on August 27, one of many changes which greeted students arriving on campus this fall. Developed according to the recommendations of a hired parking consultant, the policy encourages students to leave their vehicles in one place and walk or bike around campus for the day.
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today
Closures shake up Brunswick dining scene
Lilee’s Public House and Back Street Bistro closed their doors this summer, altering the restaurant landscape on Maine Street and making room for the arrival of new businesses.
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today
Required Orientation trips considered success by College
The arrival of the 492 students in the Class of 2016 on August 21 marked the first time in recent memory when new students were allowed a simple privilege—they got to unpack. All members of the first year class were expected to participate in Orientation Trips this year. As such, administrators saw no harm in letting them move into their new rooms before leaving campus.
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August 31
Trustee Bob White ’77 speaks for Romney at Republican National Convention
White seen as Romney’s most trusted friend and adviser
An hour before Clint Eastwood took the stage, Bowdoin trustee, alumnus and parent Bob White ’77 spoke at the Republican National Convention yesterday. Currently Chairman of Romney for President, Inc., White recounted his long experience with Romney's character and business acumen.
"For 30 years, I have been at Mitt Romney's side when he did extraordinary things," said White. "As Mitt says, I'm his wingman."
Opinion
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today
Editorial: The Offer of Bowdoin.edu
Anyone who wants anything has a choice: build or buy. Do it yourself, or have someone do it for you. In the field of web development, the choice can be particularly difficult. This week, the College and the Orient are launching new websites. Independently, we have both chosen to build.
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today
Romney’s campaign to court female voters is all about making appearances
Here’s the thing: while it’s impossible to deeply engage in women’s issues without a woman present, it’s entirely possible to have a woman present and still lack meaningful engagement with women’s issues.
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today
J-Board breaches honor and social codes
I hold that the members of the Bowdoin administration and of the Judicial Board are guilty of breaching the College’s Academic Honor and Social Code. Their crime is one of coercion. They use the implied threat of dismissal from the College to force students into signing an agreement and—by making them sign in groups—to use social pressure to prevent dissent.
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1 days ago
Half-Assed: Bookending Bowdoin: first years and seniors reign on campus
If you see a terrified person walking around the Bowdoin campus, it’s probably a first year or a senior. The first years have no idea what they’re going to do in this place; the seniors have no idea what they’re going to do once they leave.
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August 27
Editorial: A message to the Class of 2016
Orientation is dizzying and overwhelming—the days are long and laden with programming, you encounter a wide variety of people and remember very few names, and you travel constantly with your floor. It's a marathon meet-and-greet that will make the first few days of classes seem simple in comparison.
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May 4
Editorial: Staring at the Sun
The Bowdoin Daily Sun’s trivial posts reflect poorly on the College
On Tuesday, the Bowdoin Daily Sun posted an article lauding three Bowdoin students who secured internships at Goldman Sachs this summer. On Wednesday, the post was deleted from the site after drawing criticism for distastefully trumpeting the well-known fact that Bowdoin students often land prestigious internships, glorifying the financial industry, and neglecting to acknowledge two other students also interning at the bank.
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May 4
The Cold, Hardt, Truth: Final reflections on four great years
When I look back on the four years I spent as a student at Bowdoin, I will remember them fondly. I arrived here as a seventeen-year-old student who had not been to school in America since fourth grade.
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May 4
As I Please: College athletics are important, but academics are paramount
Division I collegiate sports are a major source of entertainment for many Americans, myself included. D-I football and basketball are leagues in their own right, with viewership comparable to the top professional leagues in the United States.
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May 4
The kids aren’t alright: baby boomers, their kids, and technology
I forget which generation I belong to. I can google it at a moment's notice on one of my million devices and find out, so why bother remembering?
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May 4
Southpaw: GOP austerity measures hurt everyone, especially college grads
As New York Times columnist Paul Krugman pointed out in his April 29 op-ed "Wasting Our Minds," the unemployment rate among young Americans under 25 is low—16.5 percent—but only when compared with places like Ireland or Spain, where those same figures soar as high as thirty and fifty percent, respectively.
Features
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today
Record harvest means Maine lobstermen get raw deal
Maine’s seafood celebrity, the lobster, made national headlines this summer when fishermen across the state brought in record hauls of the crustacean, leading to low market prices and frustration in the lobstering community.
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today
‘Conning Harvard’: New book on Adam Wheeler will hit shelves this month
After filing a Freedom of Information Act request, sifting through hundreds of documents, conducting countless interviews and even spending a night at Bowdoin, Zauzmer sheds new light on how Wheeler was able to game the system.
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today
Beer and boys: My first college party at Bowdoin
This brings me to the first lesson I learned about college parties: if you actually want to party, being cool and fashionably late is not always the way to go.
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today
Talk of the Quad: Bike thieves and summer trees
The talk of the Quad is different in the summer, when the lines that separate Bowdoin and Brunswick, tourist and town resident, student and visiting scholar, become even more blurred.
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today
Talk of the Quad: Once upon a summer on Capitol Hill
There were scores of college-aged kids on the Metro with me every morning, doing their best to look like young professionals in their suits and ties, pencil skirts and heels—because even in the heat and humidity of July, Washington is a very formal city.
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August 27
Orientation: Under one roof
First Year Bricks and the College House system
“So are there fraternities at Bowdoin?” Get ready—people are going to ask you this question over and over in the next four years, and probably long after. There is no Greek life at Bowdoin, and the student handbook explicitly prohibits fraternities and sororities. Bowdoin phased out its co-ed fraternities in the 1990’s and the College Houses (or, as they’re more commonly called: social houses) were instituted to replace the Greek system.
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August 27
Orientation: Fifty things to do before you graduate
An updated list of essential traditions for every Bowdoin student
Streak the Quad, charter a club, write your name on the chapel bathroom door, visit Prof. Morgan's office, spend a night at Colby or Bates, “win” dinner, and be (mis)quoted in the Orient.
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August 27
Orientation: The insider’s guide to dining at Bowdoin
Bowdoin’s Dining Service is consistently ranked as one of the top dining services in the country—there’s no denying that it definitely helps to be well-fed when you’re working as tirelessly as the typical Bowdoin student. Five things to know as you begin your journey with Bowdoin Dining:
1) The timeless question: Moulton or Thorne?
2) Brunch is a thing here.
3) The food isn’t going anywhere.
4) Regarding Special Events and the Bowdoin log.
5) Other Dining terminology. -
August 27
Orientation: Course selection: a how-to guide
The Bowdoin experience extends well beyond academics, but a large part of college is unavoidably spent in the classroom—a Bowdoin student with four classes will spend on average 12 hours in class per week, and much more than that hitting the books in the Hawthorne-Longfellow or Hatch Libraries.
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August 27
Orientation: Christian Grey, Alfred Kinsey and ‘normal’ sex at Bowdoin
I promise that I only meant to hate-read Fifty Shades of Grey. To be clear: I left the book in my bathroom and mostly flipped through to the sex scenes. There are nine or ten of them, depending. But why should I criticize the unofficial summer read of the Class of 2016?
Arts & Entertainment
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today
“Hello Nature” shows Wegman beyond Weimaraners
Indeed, though there is nothing awe-inspiring about the scale of Wegman’s work, the exhibit is compelling in its ability to create a narrative that explains the artist’s lifelong fascination with nature. Wegman’s work is playful but incredibly sincere. There is a refreshing innocence to his exploration of nature; in its simplicity, his work captures a sense of childhood reverence for the wilderness.
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today
With profs. on sabbatical, Racer X tradition on hold
There was a notable absence in the line-up of bands during last year's Senior Week. Racer X, fronted by Bowdoin professors Vineet Shende and Aaron Kitch, was replaced by DJ Sex Ray Vision, leaving many students disappointed. Although the controversial change led to whisperings of money disputes and miscommunication amongst students, Shende attributes the band’s absence to simple miscommunication with a Senior Week coordinator.
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today
Boeding ’14 captures summer scenes
James Boeding ’14 spent this summer taking more photographs than most other students do in their lifetimes. As a recipient of the Visual Arts Department’s annual McKee Photography Grant, Boeding completed a series of photos entitled “The Weekender: Millerton to New York City.”
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today
Women’s Rugby sets sights on Nationals
After a 10-3 season last year, the women’s rugby team hopes to continue its success this season despite having graduated six seniors last spring.
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1 days ago
Alum turns from biology to New York art scene
When Ian Trask graduated from Bowdoin with a degree in biology, he was not the one to bet on to become an up-and-coming sculptor. He now regularly sells artwork around Brooklyn and Chelsea, and is preparing for his first solo show in New York this November.
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May 4
CMCA show honors Wethli, Bisbee
The works of two Bowdoin professors will be exhibited at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art (CMCA) in Rockport beginning May 19. The show, which will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the CMCA, will feature Professor of Art Mark Wethli and Lecturer in Art John Bisbee, along with three other Maine artists.
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May 4
Kong publication reads into ‘Tiananmen fictions’
When thinking of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, one might picture horrific images of ruthless soldiers bearing down on frightened students and battered bodies strewn across the public city square. But one can only imagine.
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May 4
The Hum and the Beat: Alabama Shakes’ ‘Boys and Girls’ gritty
With no body of work to compare it to, a debut album should define an artist's ambitions, and set some direction for their future by leaving the listener with a hum or a beat that sticks with him well after it has left his ears. No one is looking for perfection in a debut's material. We look for a quality that may come to define the band's sound—an element to build upon to form an improved second effort and, eventually, a balanced career.
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May 4
NES-thetics: Zombies tear Ebert apart in ‘Walking Dead’
Videogames licensed from other entertainment properties are widely considered the nadir of video game development, and with good reason.
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May 4
Facts on Fiction: Englander’s latest suffers lapses in authorial control
It's hard to say what exactly Nathan Englander's short story "Everything I Know About My Family on My Mother's Side" is all about. It's got something to do with hard cider, a woman fondly dubbed "Bean," the Freedom of Information Act, and a Jewish-Ukranian butcher who—one can only infer—gets smote by vengeful Old Testament God when he falls into a vat of boiling hams.
Sports
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today
Former Athletic Director went beyond coaching for 14 years
As the Fall athletic season builds momentum, the Bowdoin community adjusts to the departure of Jeff Ward—Bowdoin’s athletic director since 1998—who announced in early June that he would not return this fall.
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today
Under new head coach, women’s soccer starts season off strong with 4-0 victory
After finishing the 2011 season with a painful overtime loss to top-seeded Amherst for the second year in a row, the women’s soccer team is looking for redemption in 2012. Last Fall, the Polar Bears ended their season with a conference record of 2-5-3.
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today
Women’s volleyball hopes to make up for loss of star seniors with six promising first years
The women’s volleyball team hits the road this weekend to begin its 2012 season with a non-conference tournament at Endicott College.
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today
Football team prepares for season action
In the first three games of last season, the Polar Bears’ starting quarterback Grant White ’14 threw 436 yards and 2 touchdowns at a 62.7 completion percentage. In the fourth game against NESCAC rival Hamilton, White injured his shoulder, leaving the reins of the team to backup Mac Caputi ’15.
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today
Cross country welcomes new assistant coach and recruits
After placing third in the men’s regional final and eighth in the women’s last season, the cross country team will have to work hard this season to replicate last year’s success.
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today
Field Hockey seeks to rebound after Final Four
Last season, the Polar Bears won the NESCAC championship and posted a 19-1 record; the lone loss accrued during the NCAA Final Four against NESCAC foe Middlebury.
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today
Women’s ice hockey coach will also helm women’s golf
During ice hockey’s off-season, Head Coach Marissa O’Neil will help lead women’s golf
Head Coach of the women’s ice hockey team, Marissa O’Neil is taking the reins from the former Head Coach, Gerry Caron who ismoving to the position of assistant coach due to personal reasons.
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May 4
After sweeping two-time champ Tufts, baseball headed to playoffs
The baseball team swept the defending champion Tufts last weekend to clinch a spot in this year's NESCAC tournament. After previously dropping games to other NESCAC East opponents, the Polar Bears entered last weekend in a must-win scenario with a postseason tournament berth on the line.
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May 4
Millett leads track at NESCAC title meet
Track's spring success continued at the NESCAC Championship last weekend at Bates, with the women placing fourth out of 10 teams and the men coming in fifth of 11. Seven Bowdoin women were named to the All-Conference Team, while 10 men received the same honor. The recognition is bestowed to athletes who finish in the top three in at least one event.
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May 4
Softball beats Bates twice, clinches final playoff spot
The softball team clinched the last spot in the NESCAC championship by beating Bates twice last Sunday after losing the series opener the day before. "It was obviously a big series and a big accomplishment," said Head Coach Ryan Sullivan. "We knew we needed one game, and Bates is a good team."