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Ari Bersch
Staff Writer — Class of 2025
Number of articles: 35
First Article: October 1, 2021
Latest Article: April 27, 2023
5 photos by Ari Bersch
Ari BerschA HEATED DEBATE: Students and administrators clashed at Wednesday’s BSG meeting over the changes made to Ivies for this spring.
Ari BerschPATRIOTISM TODAY: In his talk Alfred Cowles Professor of Political Science and Professor of Philosophy at Yale University Steven B. Smith discussed the connections between patriotism, loyalty and resistance.
Ari BerschMUSIC AND MENTAL HEALTH: Professional mental health speaker and recording artist Kai Roberts discussed his experiences with anxiety and how he has used music in his mental health journey.
Ari BerschTESTS ON TIRES: An inconspicuous General Courier vehicle prepares to depart the College for Cabridge, Mass. Members of the Bowdoin administrators detail the College’s history and ongoing relationship with the courier service.
Ari BerschFESTIVE FABLES: With his dog Marle at his side, Randy Nichols speaks to students using a retro microphone. Nichols visited Howell House on Friday night to read holiday classics aloud and tell some tales of his own.
On Wednesday, April 26, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) convened in the Main Lounge for its final meeting before the transfer of power to the new executive council elected over the weekend.
Sam Thomson ’24 discussed the laundry sheets program.
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In the spring of 2019, attacker Fiona Bundy ’22 first laced up her boots on Ryan Field as a Polar Bear. More than four years later, she now is the captain of the women’s lacrosse team (4–8; 2–6 NESCAC) and is an offensive leader, having scored ten goals in the team’s last three games.
The College will award honorary degrees to five distinguished individuals at its 218th Commencement on May 27.
Stephen F. Gormley ’72, P’06, P’09, P’11 is one of this year’s five recipients. Gormley was a member of the Board of Trustees from 2001 to 2021 and chair from 2010 to 2013.
Angelina Mayers ’23 is making the most of her final softball season at Bowdoin and currently leads the Polar Bears with a .443 batting average and .934 slugging percentage through her first 18 games of the season.
MEN’S LACROSSE
2022 record: 18–3 (9–1 NESCAC)
The men’s lacrosse team enters 2023 with high expectations after its most successful season in recent history last year. Bowdoin advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament and fell to the Rochester Institute of Technology, the eventual national champions.
At last weekend’s men’s NESCAC Swimming and Diving Championships, Alex Grand’Pierre ’25 set three new records: the fastest time for a Bowdoin swimmer in the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke and the fastest time for the 50-yard breaststroke in NESCAC history.
Extreme cold temperatures last weekend were not only record-breaking, but also pipe-breaking, as flooding in Coles Tower, Memorial Hall and Hawthorne-Longfellow (H-L) Library forced evacuations and damaged building infrastructure.
Just after 1 a.m. on Sunday morning, a burst pipe on the second floor of Coles Tower created a ruckus and set off the fire alarm in the building.
Yesterday, Associate Professor of Government Henry Laurence launched his book, “The Politics of Public Broadcasting in Britain and Japan: The BBC and NHK Compared.” At an event in Hawthorne-Longfellow Library’s Nixon Lounge, Laurence described the structures of the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) and Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK), compared their roles in their respective countries and highlighted key moments in their histories.
The Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) has major plans for this semester, as it works to focus on student priorities and rebuild the sense of community on campus after more than two years of pandemic-related restrictions.
BSG President Susu Gharib ’23 said that she hopes her administration can create a more welcoming and inclusive campus culture this year.
Editor’s Note, September 9, 2022 at 12 p.m.: A previous version of this article misspelled the name of the band. The correct spelling is Night Hawk, not Nighthawk.
While most Bowdoin students returned to a campus marked by pre-pandemic normalcy this fall, Colter Adams ’24 and Peyton Semjen ’24 took the semester off to explore their musical passions with their new band, Night Hawk.
On Wednesday, August 24, the College announced that Toshi Reagon would be the Joseph McKeen Visiting Fellow for the 2022-23 academic year. Reagon was appointed after consultation with faculty and will engage with the greater Bowdoin and Maine communities through course material and various events.
Last Friday, the Presidential Search Committee published a position specification document for Bowdoin’s 16th president. In an email to the campus community, committee co-chairs Sydney Asbury ’03 and Bertrand Garcia-Moreno ’81 P’17 wrote that the committee has met with faculty, staff, students, parents, trustees and alumni since its formation in May, and the document it has produced will introduce both the College and the position of president to prospective candidates.
On Monday afternoon, President Clayton Rose announced the College’s “Sustainable Bowdoin 2042” plan in a message to the campus community. The plan aims to transition the College to entirely clean energy over the next two decades.
Throughout the first two weeks of May, the Bowdoin Stu- dent Government (BSG) filled vacancies on its executive council and held elections for class councils.
In the Class of 2025 council elections, Khalil Kilani ’25 ran for president unopposed and won with 165 votes.
In a virtual event on the evening of April 28, Bowdoin Democrats hosted a panel of political scientists and strategists who discussed issues pertaining to the 2022 midterm elections. The topics included campaign finance reform, polling in an increasingly polarized climate and careers in politics.
This past weekend marked the first Ivies weekend at the College following two years of pandemic-related restrictions. Students came together for two Bowdoin-sponsored events as part of the weekend: Harpswell Quad Day on Friday and a Main Quad celebration on Saturday.
To mark Holocaust Remembrance Day, Bowdoin Hillel and the Departments of English and History co-hosted a lecture and discussion with Holocaust survivor Rudolph “Rudy” Horowitz on Thursday, April 28 in Lancaster Lounge.
During his lecture, Horowitz, 93, discussed his memoir, “Avoiding the Cracks,” which details his story of survival during World War II and his life after the Holocaust.
This past weekend, the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) held elections for its executive council.
In the presidential election, Susu Gharib ’23 won with 175 votes (51.9 percent). Her opponent, Luke Bartol ’23, received 153 votes (45.4 percent).
In early March, Arthur Brooks, a professor at Harvard Business School and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, spent three days on campus as the College’s Joseph McKeen Visiting Fellow for the second time. His visit brought an ongoing national debate surrounding freedom of speech on college campuses back to Bowdoin’s classrooms.
Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) is holding its annual executive elections this weekend, including those for president and vice president. A vote on the reformed BSG constitution will be held concurrently.
The race for president will be contested by Luke Bartol ’23 and Susu Gharib ’23.
Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) discussed an array of topics pertaining to Ivies weekend and internal matters at its two first meetings of the month.
BSG’s April 6 meeting began with a discussion of the changes made to Quad Day, a celebration traditionally held on the Brunswick Apartments Quad on the Friday of Ivies weekend.
Over spring break, facilities on campus underwent several notable upgrades, the most prominent of which were the introduction of OneCard-restricted access to Hubbard Hall and new signage in and on the exterior of the connecting Sargent Gymnasium and David Saul Smith Union.
On Wednesday evening, Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) held its weekly meeting with special guests Senior Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs Janet Lohmann, Director of Student Activities Nate Hintze, Dean of Students Kristina Bethea Odejimi, Associate Dean of Students Khoa Khuong and Associate Dean for Student Affairs Katie Toro-Ferrari to help answer student questions regarding changes to Ivies.
On Monday afternoon, Steven B. Smith, Alfred Cowles Professor of Political Science and Professor of Philosophy at Yale University, gave a virtual lecture hosted by the Eisenhower Forum, a student discussion group that attempts to promote conservative political thought at Bowdoin.
Recording artist and professional mental health speaker Kai Roberts led an interactive performance over Zoom sponsored by Active Minds at Bowdoin College on February 18. Active Minds is an organization with chapters at colleges and universities across the nation that focuses on mental health awareness and suicide prevention.
Since the College reopened to students in late August 2020, students, faculty and staff have undergone rigorous testing for Covid-19 twice or even three times each week. While walks to the testing center—once Morrell Gymnasium and now Farley Field House—are ingrained in the collective conscience of the College community, what happens to Covid samples after they are collected remains a mystery to most.
On Wednesday evening, the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) held the first monthly Joint BSG-Student Affairs Staff Mental Health Board meeting and discussed the work it hopes to continue throughout the semester.
The Mental Health board held its own meeting on Tuesday evening, which was attended by five students as well as Dean for Student Affairs Janet Lohmann, Dean of Students Kristina Bethea Odejimi and Director of Counseling and Wellness Services Roland Mendiola.
On Wednesday, the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) conducted its first meeting via Zoom. The meeting discussed the goals of various committees for the remainder of the academic year.
BSG President Ryan Britt ’22 opened the meeting by echoing the sentiments of many Bowdoin students during the return to a largely remote campus.
The holiday cheer was palpable last Friday night as Randy Nichols, executive director of the office of safety and security, paid Howell House a visit to tell holiday stories and spread the spirit of the season.
In the weeks before Thanksgiving break, students and faculty registered for classes for the Spring 2022 semester. For every student, the timing of next semester’s classes was a consideration. Some students grappled with interfering class times, while others chose carefully-curated schedules.
Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) held its first meeting since Thanksgiving break on Wednesday night. Topics covered included the successful extended Thanksgiving recess, or “Polar Pause,” as well as two surveys recently sent to the student body.
On Wednesday evening, the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) held its weekly meeting in Daggett Lounge. President Clayton Rose attended the meeting this week and discussed a wide array of topics ranging from the Board of Trustees to the current labor shortage at the College and beyond.
Women’s lacrosse will see a familiar face on its coaching staff as it prepares for its 2022 season. On September 29, the Athletic Department announced that Kara Finnerty ’20 has been hired as an assistant coach for the team.
In a press release last week, nonprofit informational technology (IT) association EDUCAUSE named Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer Michael Cato its 2021 Diversity, Education, and Inclusion (DEI) Award recipient. EDUCAUSE praised Cato for his exceptional leadership skills and outstanding contributions to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at Bowdoin and beyond.