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Ayub Tahlil

Orient Staff — Class of 2022

Number of articles: 70

First Article: November 2, 2018

Latest Article: May 13, 2022

Faculty

Faculty gather to discuss Rose’s departure, new policies

Bowdoin faculty convened on Monday to discuss additions to half-credit course options, recommendations for pre-major advising and policy changes in Academic Affairs. Associate Professor of English Emma Maggie Solberg moderated the meeting in Daggett Lounge. After approving the minutes from the previous meeting, President Clayton Rose addressed the faculty for the first time since announcing his June 2023 departure from the College.

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Faculty

The Committee on Governance and Faculty Affairs reflects

The Committee on Governance and Faculty Affairs is composed of faculty members responsible for advising the President and Dean on faculty-related issues. The GFA is tasked with overseeing faculty governance with duties ranging from promoting faculty professional development to overseeing department budgets and leading departmental reviews.

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Faculty

Faculty meeting discusses institutional learning goals

College faculty gathered once again last Monday, April 4, in Daggett Lounge for its monthly faculty meeting. Since Associate Professor of English Emma Maggie Solberg was absent due to illness and could not moderate as usual, Professor of Physics and Chair of the Committee on Governance and Faculty Affairs (GFA) Mark Battle stepped in to conduct the meeting.

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News in Brief

College sees uptick in positive Covid cases in March

The College currently has a total of 50 active Covid-19 cases, with 42 from students and eight from employees, according to the Covid-19 dashboard. “Some told us they were positive. Many were actually part of teams that were traveling together over break,” Associate Dean for Academic Administration and Covid-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen said.

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BSG

BSG meeting focuses on Ivies weekend

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.

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News in Brief

Rapper IDK to headline spring concert this April

Rapper IDK will headline this year’s spring concert, along with a student band opener, according to the Entertainment Board (E-Board). The concert will take place on Friday, April 8. “We wanted to bring [IDK] for the fall concert, but the administration did not allow that, so we moved him to the Spring.

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Mail

Stamp of approval: uncovering the team behind Bowdoin’s mail center

Bowdoin students have all received that email sent from Bowdoin DBMail: “You have a(n) item(s) ready for pick up at the Bowdoin Mail Center.” From here, schedule permitting, students make their way over to Smith Union, wait in a meandering line, recite their ID number, flash their OneCard, smile at the mailroom worker as they grab their package et voilà: a parcel of the student’s own.

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Faculty

Faculty Meeting focuses on student support

On December 6, the faculty had its final meeting of the semester where, among other matters, they discussed how to empathetically hold students to high standards. The meeting was facilitated by Associate Professor of English Emma Maggie Solberg, a member of the Governance and Faculty Affairs Committee.

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Frank J. Wood bridge vehicle restrictions tighten

On Tuesday, November 23, the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) banned all commercial vehicles from crossing the Frank J. Wood Bridge. This follows an October 25 MDOT announcement banning school buses and fire trucks from crossing the bridge and lowering its weight limit to 10 tons from 25.

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Thanksgiving break extended

In an email to the student body on Thursday, President Clayton Rose announced that classes will be canceled the Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving break, extending the break to a full week. Thanksgiving break will now start on Friday, November 19, and classes will resume on Monday, November 29.

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Brunswick

Voter guide to 2021 Maine referendum election

The Maine Referendum Election will be held next Tuesday, November 2. There are three statewide questions on the ballot, as well as local elections for Town Council and School Board. Bowdoin Votes will be running shuttles to the polls—located at Brunswick Junior High School—every 15 minutes from 7 a.m.

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After 25 years of service, Scott Meiklejohn retires

Scott Meiklejohn, following 25 years in various high-profile roles at the College, is retiring from his position as special advisor to the president and focusing more on other aspects of life. Having worked under three administrations, Meiklejohn has worked in many different roles around the College.

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News in Brief

College to hold influenza vaccine clinic

On Monday and Tuesday, Health Services will hold an influenza vaccine clinic. Students will be given the shot after their usual PCR COVID-19 test at Farley Field House. Since all students are required to get the shot this year, Health Services has ordered more vaccines than they do during a typical year.

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COVID-19

College introduces app to assist contact tracing

In a September 9 email, Senior Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs Janet Lohmann introduced NAVICA, a mobile app to help the College’s effort in managing COVID-19 outbreaks on campus. After moving to Yellow status and extending the mask mandate in the past two weeks, this marks another step in the College’s effort to curb infection rates.

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COVID-19

Mask mandate implemented and extended

After lacking a masking requirement for the summer, on August 23 the College imposed an indoor mask mandate beginning on move-in day and requiring masks to be worn inside all public areas on campus. Although the College intended to reconsider the mandate on September 4, due to a flurry of positive tests the mandate was expanded to include student common spaces and extended indefinitely on Thursday.

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Museum

Museum of Art reopens its doors

On April 9, The Bowdoin College Museum of Art (BCMA) reopened with limited hours, allowing students living on campus and in residence an opportunity to explore the exhibitions on view. Up until this point in the semester, the Museum has only offered limited engagement opportunities for classes and individual research projects.

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Coronavirus

Moulton Union reopens following COVID-19 cases

Yesterday, Moulton Union re-opened for lunch for the first time since closing last week after six positive COVID-19 cases emerged among the dining hall’s staff beginning April 6. After the initial case, the College began administering rapid antigen tests to Moulton employees, which led to the identification of four more positive cases.

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BSG

BSG brings fire pits to campus to encourage outdoor socializing

With indoor gatherings limited by low occupancy limits in private residential common rooms, the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) recently partnered with Facilities to purchase outdoor fire pits as a means to give students another option to safely socialize—the most recent initiative to enhance the student social experience in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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BSG

BSG plans to release guidelines for student safety on campus

Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) has announced it is releasing its Student-Driven Behavioral Expectations—a document meant to help clarify how students can safely enjoy the spring semester. “We’ve already signed a community agreement form, and the purpose of this is to help explain how to live student life,” said BSG President Marcus Williams ’21 in a Zoom interview with the Orient.

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Coronavirus

15 students study abroad as countries close borders

In addition to transforming life on campus, COVID-19 has complicated the plans of students who were intending to study off campus during the 2020-21 school year. Only 15 of the 29 students who, as of this past fall, intended to study off-campus were able to, three of whom are studying with domestic programs while the rest are at various institutions in the United Kingdom.

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Brunswick

Voter Guide for 2020 Election in Maine

Ranked-Choice Voting Explained: Maine voters will use ranked-choice voting for the Presidential, U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives elections.  Maine absentee ballots must be returned to your municipal clerk by 8 p.m. on Election Day, November 3. 

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A Cappella

Singing over Zoom: a cappella auditions go virtual

In a normal academic year, Bowdoin’s six a cappella groups would have finished recruitment several weeks ago. The week-long process, which typically takes place in late September, consists of a first round of auditions, a second round of callbacks and the “draft,” where the A Cappella Council meets to express interest in singers and then issue bids to them.

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Anti-Racism

Museum of Art publishes anti racism action plan

The Bowdoin College Museum of Art (BCMA) has unanimously approved and released an Anti-Racism Action Plan with hopes of pushing the Museum towards greater equity and inclusion. “This statement represents a recommitment on the part of everybody who’s a member of the [BCMA] staff since everybody had an opportunity to read drafts and contribute recommendations,” said Frank Goodyear, co-director of the BCMA, in a Zoom interview with the Orient.

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Art History

BCMA exhibition illuminates Wyvern Collection

On Wednesday, Visiting Assistant Professor of Art History Kate Gerry gave two talks about her recent exhibition on the Wyvern Collection—one of the most important privately owned  medieval art collections in the world. The Bowdoin College Museum of Art (BCMA) secured a long-term loan of 100 of its objects through an anonymous lender.

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Anti-Racism

McKeen Center to hire student antiracism fellow

The Joseph McKeen Center for the Common Good is hiring a student antiracism fellow for the first time this year and re-evaluating their programming and leadership structures to incorporate more voices of people of color. Over the summer, McKeen Center staff created an antiracism subcommittee, composed of Sarah Seames, director of the McKeen Center, Andrew Lairde, associate director of service and leadership and Avery Friend, administrative coordinator, to reassess the Center as a whole.

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Anti-Racism

Museum webinar links visual art to anti-racist work

On Wednesday, the Bowdoin College Museum of Art (BCMA) hosted the first installment  of “Art Up Close”—a five-part series where students, staff and faculty come together to discuss art. The first webinar brought together 20 community members to discuss “Protest Art and Black Lives Matter.” Claire Traum ’21 and Lucy Siegel ’22, two members of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art Advisory Council, developed the idea after gaining experience with webinars during summer opportunities.

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COVID-19

Campus gathering prompts investigation and raises concerns about student behavior

During their first full weekend on campus, many first years and their Residential Life (ResLife) advisors found ways to connect and build community that complied with the College’s Residential Community Agreement. However, in an email to the campus community on Sunday, Senior Vice President and Dean for Student Affairs Janet Lohmann explained that some students had engaged in behavior that violated current College protocols.

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Alumni

Reider recalls his boy band days

In 2006, the midst of the 2000s mainstream pop-punk acts, The Friday Night Boys formed with Bowdoin junior Robert Reider ’07 as its bassist. Fourteen years later—after two albums, three EPs and multiple tours with names such as Boys Like Girls, All Time Low, We The Kings and Cute is What We Aim For—Reider is back at Bowdoin as the assistant director of annual giving at the College.

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Black student perspectives

Since its founding in 1969, the Black Student Union (BSU, formerly the African American Society), has played a prominent role in campus life. From organizing the annual Ebony Ball to inviting speakers to campus, including Amiri Baraka and Maya Angelou, BSU members actively contribute to intellectual and social life at Bowdoin.

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Three students involved in serious bike accidents

Three students have been involved in serious bicycle crashes on campus in recent weeks, Director of Safety and Security Randy Nichols wrote in an email to the campus on Tuesday. All three students received minor to moderate injuries and have returned to campus.

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Books

Creating change through ‘Power of Literature’

As contemporary interests drift away from physical books in favor of online media, people are beginning to doubt the power of literature. Yet, Wednesday night in the Beam Classroom, Dr. Alaa Al Aswany, world-renowned author and Egyptian reformer, reclaimed the agency of the written word in his lecture titled “Power of Literature.” Currently a visiting professor in Middle Eastern studies at Dartmouth College, Al Aswany is best known for his 2002 work, “The Yacoubian Building,” which offers a poignant dissection of modern Egyptian society under the facade of fiction.

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Events

‘Under Fire’ in a ‘more perfect union’: April Ryan talks White House reporting

When she took to the stage in Kresge Auditorium on Tuesday night, April Ryan faced a nicer crowd than she’s encountered at the White House lately. In front of a packed audience of students and community members in Kresge Auditorium, Ryan spoke about her experience covering the White House and the long quest for a “more perfect union.” The event, sponsored by the African-American Society, was the the final program of Black History Month and Beyond and the first of Herstory, a celebration of Women’s History Month.

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