Isa Cruz

Photo Editor — Class of 2027

Number of articles: 10

First Article: September 22, 2023

Latest Article: May 2, 2025

152 photos by Isa Cruz

**CONTEXTUALIZING THE CAMP:** Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern and North African Studies Nasser Abourahme poses with his new book in H-L. In his talk, Abourahme discussed the book’s focus on Palestinian refugee camps in relation to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

**BUILDING OUR BOWDOIN COMMUNITY:** Professor of Cinema Studies Tricia Welsch sits with her dog on the front steps of her house. After living within walking distance of campus for around 20 years, she reflects on the student connections fostered by her proximity to campus.

**POETRY IN MOTION:** Weatherspoon ’25 with Kanene Nwokeji ’26, one of the five poets in their week of curated student poetry performances at H-L Library. The other poets include Isa Cruz ’27, Kaitlin Weiss ’25, Ray Mitchell ’28 and Luisa Wolcott-Breen ’25.

**REPRESENTATION AND RECKONING:** Professor Angel Matos speaks in the Hawthorne-Longfellow Library’s Nixon Lounge. Matos discussed themes of queer representation in Young Adult media and the importance of critical interaction with media.

**DAY OF ACTION:** Associate Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and Cinema Studies Allison Cooper stands at the AAUP Bowdoin table in Smith Union. Professors tabled throughout the day to promote academic freedom on college campuses.

**PINING AWAY:** The Bowdoin Pines will be undergoing a new forest management plan this spring and summer. The plan is designed to protect the health of the forest while also preserving the important history of the eastern white pines.

**STRIKE A POSE:** Featuring members of the Chinese Student Association (CHSA), Japanese Student Association (JSA), Korean Students Association (KSA), Philippine Society of Bowdoin College (PSBC), South Asian Students Association (SASA) and Vietnamese Students Association (VSA), the AAPI Fashion Show featured students walking down the catwalk in fashion important to their cultures, as well as a series of unique dance performances.

**KRISTIE TAKES CAMPUS:** The inside of Kristie Freeman's signature shed is shown here. Freeman’s shed allows customers to purchase sweet treats 24 hours a day, a hit for many Bowdoin students.

**PLACE YOURSELF:** On Tuesday night, C.S. Giscombe, an essayist and poet whose work spans decades and who has been awarded several accolades, including an American Book Award for his 1998 poetry collection “Giscome Road,” read from his book “Negro Mountain.”

**HANDS OFF:** Protesters gather on Maine Street in Brunswick on Saturday afternoon. The rally, which drew over 1,200 participants, was part of a nationwide series of “Hands Off” demonstrations protesting the actions of the Trump administration, including cuts to federal funding programs, executive orders and tariffs.

**PLAY, PROTEST AND POLITICS:** Dr. Kristie Soares explores how Latinx media creators use joy as part of their activist practice, drawing from her book “Playful Protest: The Political Work ofJoy in Latinx Media.”

**STUDZINSKI SYNTHESIS:** The newly opened electronic music room in Studzinski Recital Hall allows students to work with computers for visuals and sound, speakers and microphones, projectors, soundproofing and a white dance floor.

**PRESIDENTIAL PLATFORMS:** The candidates for 2025 BSG president, Alex Kruse ’26 and Max Payne ’26, debate on stage in the Pub Wednesday night. Kruse and Payne discussed their platforms, experiences and hopes for change at Bowdoin next year.

**ON THE SAME PAGE:** Three-time National Book Critics Circle Award finalist Lauren Groff came to Bowdoin’s campus last Wednesday to talk about her process of writing fiction, which centers physicality and play.

**MASS HALL NOW:** Massachusetts Hall’s signature spiral staircase is shown from above. Today, the building is primarily home to English classes.

**TUNE IN:** From playing guitar for the student band Far From Juno to his theater performance in "The Sweet Science of Bruising" to his recent music release, “The One Who’s Happy,” Reynaldo Fuentez ’26 thrives on stage.

**IN THE LIMELIGHT:** Writer, director and actor John Cameron Mitchell was invited by the Theater and Cinema Studies departments Monday and Tuesday to lead a series of talks, screenings and workshops that gave students interested in musical theater a hands-on opportunity to learn from a professional in the industry.

**PAINTING A PICTURE:** Bowdoin College Professor of Art History Pamela Fletcher celebrates the publication of her new book, “The Victorian Painting of Modern Life," with a talk connecting it with the BCMA.

**IN THE WILD:** Tess Mooney ’26 and Caitlin Panicker ’26 present “Field (Art) Work,” which examines the relationship between art, science and nature from the Bowdoin Scientific Station on Kent Island.

**LISTENING ON LADD:** The College held listening sessions on Ladd house this week. The conversations, held over the course of several days, centered on Ladd’s role on campus and developing a shared vision for its future.

**DAY OF DONATIONS:** The Office of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving reported a record number of donations this year, despite a boycott led by Bowdoin Alumni for Justice in Palestine.

**AGENCY IN HISTORY:** Historian Kristen Block (right) stands with Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies Nadia Celis (left) at a lecture Block gave highlighting the role of women in the colonial Caribbean. Celis, who has been friends with Block for over 25 years, invited her to campus.

**ACTION, REACTION:** An electrophysiological rig in Professor Manuel Díaz-Ríos's neuroscience lab in Druckenmiller Hall.

**DAY OF DONATIONS:** The polar bear mascot poses in Morell Lounge during annual BowdoinOne Day celebrations on Tuesday. The Office of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving reported a record number of donations this year, despite a boycott led by Bowdoin Alumni for Justice in Palestine.

**POETIC PEDAGOGY:** Alumni poet Taylor Mali ’87 leads a workshop in Hawthorne-Longfellow Library as a part of the Longfellow Days festival, joining poets such as Robert Frost and Edna St. Vincent Millay, who were invited to Bowdoin to speak for Longfellow Days celebrations in the past.

**REWRITTEN HISTORY:** Reed Johnson speaks in the VAC Beam Classroom. Johnson discussed alt-history novels exploring what could have happened if the Soviet Union lost to Nazi Germany in WWII.

**HAUNTED HUBBARD:** Hubbard stands as one of Bowdoin’s most famous, and infamous, structures, having been home to three deaths. To learn more about the haunted history of the space, one can take a Haunted Bowdoin tour.

**MUSICAL LEGACIES:** First-year band Pariah opened for junior band Far From Juno—who also met and started performing together in their first year. Far From Juno hopes to reunite again in their senior year.

**BEHIND THE SCENES:** Independent filmmaker Courtney Stephens narrated “Terra Femme” and “The American Sector” live in the VAC Beam Classroom, explaining the process and motivations behind each movie.

**THE FUTURE OF JOURNALISM:** Ronan Farrow (left) sits across from Professor of Sociology Theo Greene (right) at this year’s Tom Cassidy lecture. The Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, known for his investigative pieces, talked about the future of journalism with the introduction of AI and the popularity of social media.

**ARTISTIC RESISTANCE:** Aly Spaltro, known by her artist name Lady Lamb, performed at the SJP encampment. She believes art is important to revolution, and she is currently in the process of writing a protest album.

**DAY THREE:** Protesters gathered at the south entrance of Smith Union to support the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) encampment. As the encampment entered its third day, Bowdoin students, Bowdoin alumni, community activist groups and Bates students came to show support.

**SNAP OF THE SUMMIT:** Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow Sean Kramer’s capstone exhibition, titled “Irreplaceable You: Personhood and Dignity in Art, 1980s to Now,” presents how artists’ creativity sustained them through myriad difficult experiences and embodied their individuality.

**STRIKING A CHORD:** In the “Every Song an Invitation: Music, Listening and Cultural Inquiry” talk, UC Riverside Professor of History Jorge Leal and USC Professor of English Jonathan Leal spoke about the role of music in forming identities and solidarity among Latino immigrant borderland communities.

**A BODY OF WORK:** Student curator Talia Traskos-Hart ’25 stands with Bowdoin College Museum of Art Curator Casey Braun. Traskos-Hart led a gallery talk on her new exhibition last Wednesday. The curation examines the labor involved with motherhood through three main sections: motherhood amidst tragedy, ethical mothering and motherhood as work.

**A BODY OF WORK:** Student curator Talia Traskos-Hart '25 stands with her mother in front of a Mary Cassatt work.

**A BODY OF WORK:** Student curator Talia Traskos-Hart ’25 led a gallery talk on her new exhibition last Wednesday. The curation examines the labor involved with motherhood through three main sections: motherhood amidst tragedy, ethical mothering and motherhood as work.

**A BODY OF WORK:** Student curator Talia Traskos-Hart ’25 speaks with her mother. Traskos-Hart led a gallery talk on her new exhibition last Wednesday. The curation examines the labor involved with motherhood through three main sections: motherhood amidst tragedy, ethical mothering and motherhood as work.

**SIX-WORD STORIES:** Michele Norris (left) speaks with Roux Distinguished Scholar Ayana Elizabeth Johnson in Pickard Theater for the panel portion of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Lecture. Norris discussed her postcard program, where she challenges people around the world to send in six-word stories about race in hopes of producing productive conversations concerning race in America today.

**A TIMELY TELLING:** After the book “One Hundred Years of Solitude” was adapted into a Netflix television series, Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies Nadia Celis created a podcast detailing the book’s themes through conversations with 21 guests.

**BREAKING NEW GROUND:** The new Longfellow Playground has unofficially opened following months of construction. While construction is on hold for the winter, the remodeling project will be completed in the spring. The playground is the result of a collaboration between the College and the Town of Brunswick.

Reed Johnson, a senior lecturer in the Russian department, said that it is laborious for him and his colleagues to ensure all student majors and minors are offered a course at their level of Russian each semester.

Hadley Horch, the chair of the biology department, said that she tries to encourage her students to take courses they have a sincere interest in, not just those that seem promising to employers or grad schools.

Manuel Diaz-Rios, a professor of neuroscience and biology, said that the high departmental student-to-faculty ratio in the neuroscience program has made his workload unmanageably high.

**STEP BY STEP:** Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Philosophy Department Scott Sehon launches his book “Socialism: A Logical Introduction.” Rather than evaluating historical arguments, Sehon takes a step-by-step numerical approach to the subject.

**BROADCASTING GOODBYE:** WBOR managers, DJs and alumni alike say goodbye to its thirty-year old Dudley Coe station. The walls hold much of the station’s history, including photos, zines and even love letters between DJs that met through WBOR. While many there are mourning the loss of the Dudley Coe’s artistic space and longstanding history, station co-managers Mason Daugherty ’25 and Emma Olney ’25 look on to the opportunities a new canvas and new space provides.

**REMEMBERING RESILIENCE:** Scott Ellsworth delivers the Alfred E. Golz Memorial Lecture in Kresge Auditorium. Ellsworth spoke on the Tulsa Race Massacre and how the story of this massacre, one of both tragedy and resilience, has often been erased in schools and history books.

**LOCAL LEGENDS:** Moriah Freeman, author of “The Blue Room,” William Hyland, author of “Bayside,” and Regina Strongheart, author of “When My Mother was a Mountain” speak on their writing at Curtis Library.

**NO ONE IS ALONE:** The Bowdoin Department of Theater and Dance production of “Into the Woods” played to three days of sold-out audiences. The show examines the complexity of responsibility and humanity through the lens of interconnected fairy tales.

**SOUND ASSOCIATIONS:** The Friend of a Friend Festival, hosted at the College Houses, invites artists connected with Bowdoin students. Ella Perry ’26 recommended her childhood friend, indie singer Addie Alaimo.

**MOODY FOR THE ZAMBONI:** Tim Moody, the man in charge of all things related to the ice rink at Watson is this week's Polar Bear of the week. Moody’s job requires lots of behind the scenes work with facilities, but loves connecting with students as much as possible.

**CAMPUS REFLECTIONS:** Students react to the results of Tuesday’s election on the quad. Members of the Bowdoin community expressed a wide range of feelings in the aftermath of the election.

**TRICK OR TREAT:** The Masque and Gown board found that the spring One Acts Festival was well-received throughout campus, prompting it to put on Halloween-themed One Acts as a part of fall festivities.

**A DESPERATE REACHING:** Last Wednesday, poet Noor Hindi led both a poetry workshop and reading with Bowdoin students, focusing on epistolary poetry and the politics of witnessing. The Bowdoin Palestine Book Club is currently reading her book, “Dear God. Dear Bones. Dear Yellow.”

**MICS ON, APATHY OFF:** Muslim Student Association hosted a charity week, with a comedy show, for the humanitarian organization Islamic Relief. The week aimed to unite students of all religious backgrounds.

**END OF AN ERA:** Last Saturday’s Annual Poetry Concert marks Weatherspoon’s final concert on Bowdoin's campus, bookending the tradition they started as a freshman. The concert is titled "Growing Up."

**CONSTRUCTION NOW:** The Sills Hall renovation continues, with barricades surrounding the structure as it undergoes a significant interior renovation.

**THE POWER OF PROTEST:** Students and faculty gather in Massachusetts Hall to discuss last summer’s student protests in Bangladesh and their impacts. SASA, who sponsored the event, hoped to help spark discussion on the power of student voices and heighten campus awareness.

**COMEDY FOR A CAUSE:** Comedians Ahmaed Abdulwadood ‘24 and Ismael Loutfi performed a comedy show as the finale of a week of charity for Lebanon and Palestine. Loutfi joked about his Arab-American identity, the upcoming elections and his bad luck with marriage and divorces.

**MAINE VOTER MANIA:** A “Maine for Harris” sign hangs prominently in the window of the Gulf of Maine bookstore on Maine Street the week before the continuous 2024 election.

**TEACH AND LEARN:** Community members gather in Kresge Auditorium for SJP’s“One Year of Genocide: A Student Led Teach-In.” Student speakers discussed the ongoing violence in Gaza and emphasized the importance for students to organize against genocide.

**MUNCH ON THIS:** Bowdoin Dining Services’ Savanna Austin draws the polar bear murals decorating the walls of Moulton Union Dining Hall.

**LISTEN UP:** WBOR’s Brunswick community DJ shows provide connection between the townspeople and Bowdoin students.

**BRUNSWICK AT A BREAKING POINT:** A group of high school and college students worked for months this summer and fall collecting objects, conducting interviews, and curating exhibit panels to effectively portray the highly contentious era of the 1960's and 70's.

**IN MEMORIAM:** Community members gathered at a vigil at the steps of the Art Museum to commemorate the victims of the October 7 attack in Israel. Bowdoin Hillel organized the memorial and invited all Bowdoin students to attend.

**TEXTUAL TRIBUTE:** Neiman Mocombe’s multimedia curation explores the tenacity and dedication of Black accomplishments, from orators to artists.

**FIGHTING FALSEHOODS:** Adam Berinsky talks about the increasing impact of misinformation on politics and how it can be countered. This event was the second in a series of lectures organized by the Office of Inclusion and Diversity.

**EMERGENCY AID:** Boxes of Narcan were installed in residence halls across campus last week. This program is part of a collaboration between Maine Access Points and several Bowdoin departments, including Health Services, to destigmatize and increase the accessibility of the overdose-reversing drug.

**IDENTITY AND IMAGINATION:** Ruth Behar delivers the Harry Spindel Memorial Lecture in Kresge Auditorium. Behar discussed her Jewish Latina identity, connecting with her past and bringing the stories of her ancestors to life through writing fiction.

**A MOTHER’S LOVE:** Kathryn Graven moved to Japan to distance herself from the loss of her mother and her father’s swift remarriage. Across the ocean, she found something she was not expecting: belonging.

**PORTRAIT OF A PRESIDENT:** Bowdoin’s 15th president, Clayton Rose, speaks at the unveiling of his presidential portrait. Artist Lanie Wurzel discussed departing from tradition to portray the story of Rose’s presidency.

**STRUCTURED HISTORY:** Abigail DeVille’s sculptures, such as “The Miser’s Heart (yo so oro)” (2024) shown here, use the physical space of the museum and explore themes of forgotten history and migration.

**ON A HIGH NOTE:** New York band Been Stellar had their campus debut—and Maine debut—last Friday at the Studzinski Amphitheater.

**SWAN SONG:** The English department invited editor Jonathan Skinner to speak on the intersection of extinction, sound and ecopoetics.

**JUMPIN’ FOR JUICE:** Located on Maine Street and just off the Bowdoin College campus, Blake Orchard Juicery hopes to make a big first impression with its plant-based selection and comfortable workspace designed with students in mind.

**LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!:** Creator, writer and director Hank Handloegten traveled more than 3000 miles from Germany to Bowdoin to speak about art, fashion, politics and more in his drama. Jill Smith co-wrote the first scholarly novel on the show, noting its historical accuracy.

**TWISTED STRANDS:** Hong Chun Zhang’s piece recalls her Chinese heritage and traditional fine art with her modern life in Kansas, representing the intersection of cultural identity, textile work, politics, gender and the environment.

**POPULIST POLITICS:** Seth Jaffe delivers his lecture on populism in Lancaster Lounge. Jaffe argues that a new definition of populism is necessary to understand its role in today’s political climate.

**Foam Fiasco:** The foam spill at the Brunswick Executive Airport on August 19 raised PFAS concerns.

**GETTING LOUD:** Last year, student band Solitto played live at the Pub during Battle of the Bands. Emma Gould plans to bring more live events to the space, including bands from both within Bowdoin and outside of it.

**Wicked New Coffee:** Wicked Joe Organic Coffee replaces Seacoast Coffee after 20 years.

**STUDENT STAMPEDE** The class of 2028 engages with professors on courses offered at Bowdoin. The racial makeup of the new class differs only marginally from prior classes.

**Hopping into things:** Jim Hoppe joins Bowdoin as the new senior vice president and dean for student affairs.

**EVAN FREED:** The Bowdoin community rejoiced at the release of Evan Gerschkovich '14. The sign in Smith Union that had been counting the days he was being held in Russia read "Evan Freed!!" on Thursday.

**STRIKE A POSE:** Julia Katherine Fiori ’24 traces the lineage of female symbols of the state through art and history, including coins and iconography. Her exhibition focuses on the transformation of the Greek Athena, British Brittania, American Columbia and other figures of female statehood, from antiquity to the twentieth century.

**LETS TACOBOUT IT:** Steven Alvarez gestures to the audience during his talk on the importance of food to understanding culture through the example of tacos and Mexican-American culture. Alvarez currently teaches a class on this topic at St. John’s University.

**MORE COWBELL:** Jules Messitte '26—cowbell in hand—crowdsurfs during Glum Plumz' set. Glum Plumz and Far From Juno were the two bands composed entirely of sophomores at the event.

**BANDING TOGETHER:** Members of Remedy were the first to take the stage at Battle of the Bands.

**HISTORY AND TODAY:** Pérez discusses the effects of the Conquest of the Desert in the Roux Lantern. Pérez analyzed how the Conquest facilitated the erasure of the Indigenous Mapuche people. in Patagonia. She argues that the erasure of these Indigenous communities has created the perception of Argentina as a “white nation” and disregards the history and legacy of the Mapuche people.

**LOVE FOR LACLAS:** As the LACLAS department celebrates its 25 year anniversary, Allen Wells talks about the origins of LACLAS and his integral role in founding the program

**IN TOUCH WITH REALITY:** A promotional poster for Wednesday's screening of "Reality." The film was nominated at the Critics' Choice Awards and the Gotham Independent Film Awards.

**UNAPOLOGETIC:** Museumgoers fill the exhibition galleries of “Without Apology: Asian American Selves, Memories, Futures.” The exhibition is housed in the Center, Media, and Focus galleries at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art. “Without Apology” opened December 14, 2023 and will run through June 2 of this year.

**COOL BEANS:** New offerings include a variety of favorites from owner Ben Gatchell's time living on the West Coast

**BIG THINGS BREWING:** Beloved Brunswick coffee shop Dog Bar Jim brings new culinary treats to Brunswick dining options.

**CALLING FOR CLIMATE ACTION:** Bowdoin Sunrise invites climate activist Georgi Fischer and Lucy Hochschartner of OurPower to speak about the impact that youth can have on local climate issues, including the current Pine Tree Power debate.

Photo Essay

Everyday altars

By Isa Cruz • 3 days ago

At the interface between the public and private world, window sills are strange, beautiful spaces. Collectors of curated chaos, they are an assemblage of the tender excesses of our everydays: dried flowers, pill bottles, Asian lady beetles and a healthy …

Photo Essay

Living through the 2024 Election

By Isa Cruz • November 8, 2024

We are feeling.

Pain. Confusion. Disappointment.

We have felt.

Hopeful. Preoccupied. Nervous. Excited.

…

2024 Election

From the archives: Bowdoin’s history of political discourse and election reactions

By Janet Briggs and Isa Cruz • November 1, 2024

As the election nears and political concerns weigh more heavily on the campus consciousness, in times that are regularly referred to as “unprecedented,” it feels appropriate to turn to spaces of past political conversation in the College’s history. Though heavily …

Photo Essay

Tilting into autumn

By Isa Cruz • October 11, 2024

Swept up in the frenetic rhythms of everyday life, seasonal changes can pass unnoticed. Some mark the tilt into autumn by the calendar, the reappearance of a favorite seasonal drink on a cafe menu or the chill in the …

Softball

Softball plays perfect weekend at home

By Isa Cruz • April 19, 2024

Last weekend, the softball team (17–7; 4–4 NESCAC) earned decisive victories in its first home games of the season. Saturday’s sweep of Amherst College (6–17; 3–7 NESCAC) was followed by an intense matchup with Hamilton College (14-14; 7-7 NESCAC) on …

band

Battle of the Bands energizes raucous Pub crowd

By Isa Cruz • April 12, 2024

Last Thursday night, eight student bands filled Jack Magee’s Pub to capacity with music across a variety of genres that kept the crowd on its feet and dancing. Bowdoin Music Collective’s (BMC) annual Battle of the Bands brought together the …

Talk of the Quad

Becoming southern (in the Northeast)

By Isa Cruz • April 12, 2024

It took living in the Northeast to come to know that I’m a southerner—that is, from the American South. I grew up emphasizing my Chicagoan origins rather than my hometown in Tennessee in forgettable introductions to familiar strangers, having learned …

band

Maybe not “Everything Good Ends”: Night Hawk celebrates release of first EP

By Isa Cruz • February 16, 2024

Today, Night Hawk—one of the more prominent bands to come out of Bowdoin in recent years—released its first EP, “Everything Good Ends,” which joins an assortment of singles released since the band’s inception. Intentionally liberated from constraints of genre but …

First-Generation

THRIVE flourishes in celebration of inaugural First-Gen Visibility Week

By Isa Cruz • November 10, 2023

On Wednesday afternoon, the Ladd House living room was abuzz in celebration of National First Generation College Celebration Day: The room was filled and refilled with students coming in waves after classes, grabbing fresh popcorn with friends and taking Polaroids.…

Jazz

“Beyond Category”: McMullen’s History of Jazz course explores music and deepens understanding

By Isa Cruz • September 22, 2023

Editor’s Note 10/20/23 at 5:13 p.m.: This article has been edited to correct a misconstruction of a quote. An earlier version incorrectly paraphrased that Professor McMullen believed jazz in Oakland to be more ‘authentic.’ The article now reflects an accurate …

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Isa Cruz

Photo Editor — Class of 2027

152 photos by Isa Cruz

Photo Essay

Everyday altars

Photo Essay

Living through the 2024 Election

2024 Election

From the archives: Bowdoin’s history of political discourse and election reactions

Photo Essay

Tilting into autumn

Softball

Softball plays perfect weekend at home

band

Battle of the Bands energizes raucous Pub crowd

Talk of the Quad

Becoming southern (in the Northeast)

band

Maybe not “Everything Good Ends”: Night Hawk celebrates release of first EP

First-Generation

THRIVE flourishes in celebration of inaugural First-Gen Visibility Week

Jazz

“Beyond Category”: McMullen’s History of Jazz course explores music and deepens understanding