Blue Monreal

Orient contributor M. Gordon was doing some field work recently at another small liberal arts college. While he came back with a lot of thoughts, some of the thoughts were too hot for print media. And, as always, it pretty quickly came back to important Bowdoin-centered discourse. Enjoy.

BA: What was so sick about visiting another school this weekend?

MG: Besides just having an excuse to hang out with friends I haven’t seen in a while, it gave me a little perspective on the things that make Bowdoin unique, for better or for worse. While the school I visited certainly had a larger off-campus scene, the parties felt pretty similar to Bowdoin, but maybe a little looser, and, honestly, it seemed like the people there were having more fun. Or rather, they were less uncomfortable to be partying and dancing in public, which we’ve talked about before. What fascinated me the most, though, was that apartments that were of pretty similar housing stock and makeup to Harps and Park felt much more active, and there were a lot of different seniors hosting in different apartments. I think on the walk to one party in a Park-like housing complex, I saw at least six separate parties happening. What do you make of this abundance of options?

BA: When I was a first year at Bowdoin, there were so many social opportunities. On a given night out, there were a few college house functions, a club sports party or two (not to mention athlete mixers), an a cappella concert, and I would go to a friend’s room to pregame, and then I just found out what was going on. Unfortunately, as a senior, it feels like I’ve come to realize that half of these events kinda suck, and I’m ultimately not super interested in going to mediocre events. It feels like once you know all the options, things are less exciting.

MG: I feel that. Part of me also wonders why there’s such a dearth of people hosting.

BA: I think it’s because people want to go to events rather than host. And that’s because hosting is a f—ing pain. You have to schedule it out days in advance, get checked off by Security, and register hosts. While it makes sense from a safety standpoint, I think people find it stifling, especially since they already know the night will end early.

MG: Yeah, word. Why do you think things wrap up so early, then?

BA: Everyone just wants to dip and get to Super Snack. I think supers doesn’t get enough hate on this campus. While there’s no denying the power of popcorn chicken, it really deflates a sense of adventure in the night. People aren’t creative about their nights when they know, whatever happens, they can just trudge to Thorne. All my best nights happened after I chose not to go to supers and instead tried to think of something fun to do. There’s a lot of spontaneity there.

MG: I think you’re totally on the money there. I think another aspect is that the Brunswick community may have gotten a little too used to the peace and quiet that COVID brought when campus was shut down. One of my housemates recently was in a Bowdoin shuttle, and the driver was telling him ostensibly that this was true—things are simply getting shut down earlier than they used to, and as a result, from a shuttle standpoint at least, there have been fewer places, events and functions people are hosting and going to.

BA: Facts. One thing I’ve been thinking about—particularly after the election—is why people at Bowdoin want to party. A conclusion I’ve been coming to is that people are so stressed that they want to get uncontrollably inebriated in order to escape the pressures of daily life here. While I think partying should be a way for everyone to loosen up and blow off steam, we need to make sure we have other reasons to freak it.

MG: A party doesn’t always have to be a dancing affair. I think one way to inject an otherwise stagnant scene could be for the greater population to start hosting weird events or to invite characters you’ve never invited before. Host a mixer with your classes! Host a 100-meter dash party! Host a murder mystery party! Pregame streaking the quad. I don’t know. Do something. It’s the economy, stupid.

BA and MG: Next week we’re doing some investigative journalism. We are saying this publicly so that we are held accountable. Tune in, Divine Pod.