The Bowdoin Orient

On Saturday, 468 students will participate in this year's Common Good Day in an effort to carry on the vision of former Bowdoin College President Joseph McKeen. In addition, 14 alumni in Maine and 196 alumni in eight other cities around country will volunteer in their local communities.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The debate about anthropogenic climate change can no longer focus on whether or not it is happening; this has been settled for some time now. As journalist and environmentalist Bill McKibben wrote in his July 19 Rolling Stone article, the U.S. “broke or tied 3,215 high-temperature records” in June.

Op-ed columns are usually just exercises in narcissism. So let’s cut through the bullshit. Today’s column is all about me. I’m a Bowdoin student and I’m important. I do things at Bowdoin and I’ll be doing things in the world one day.

As a fresh arrival to Bowdoin a year ago, I was struck by the passion exhibited for the case of Troy Davis, a man convicted of killing a police officer in Savannah, Ga. Davis was held on death row for 15 years and maintained his innocence throughout. Countless people across this country and around the world protested on his behalf, but all of these voices did not stop his execution, which went ahead on September 21, 2011.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Following deep runs into the NCAA tournament last year, both the men’s and women’s tennis teams hit the courts this past weekend for their first tournaments of the season.

In two weeks, the men’s tennis team will play in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Invitational at Williams College. The women's team’s next tournament is at the University of Pennsylvania September 21.

Bowdoin’s field hockey team handled NESCAC rival Wesleyan 3-1 in Saturday's season opener.

Bowdoin’s next matchup is against non-conference Wellesley College on Saturday at 1 p.m.

After a 2-0 loss to Wesleyan in Saturday's season opener, the men's soccer team rebounded on Monday with an 8-0 win against the University of Southern Maine.

Bowdoin will face the University of Maine–Farmington in a home match at noon this Saturday.

The Bowdoin women’s rugby team cleaned up at last weekend’s Beantown Rugby tournament at UMass-Amherst, beating Williams, Amherst and Smith Colleges with scores of 59-3, 12-0, and 19-0 respectively.

The Polar Bears are now two-time defending Beantown champions and have won six straight matches at the tournament since 2010.

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.

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.

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.