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Number of articles: 81
First Article: October 4, 2019
Latest Article: February 10, 2023
Rebecca Norden-Bright
Rebecca Norden-Bright
Rebecca Norden-Bright
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.
A bitter, months-long battle over the College’s plan to renovate the Pickard Field complex has come to an end at the town level, following the planning board’s full approval of the project at a meeting on January 18.
Christopher Watkinson, Technical Director and Adjunct Lecturer in Music at the College who also served on the Brunswick town council, was indicted in late November on charges of child pornography. Watkinson is currently on leave from his positions at the College, according to a spokesperson who declined to answer further questions regarding Watkinson’s status.
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Editor’s Note October 14, 2022 at 10:05 a.m.: An earlier version of this article mischaracterized Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s blockage of the construction of new artificial turf fields in public parks in Boston as a ban.
Over the summer, the Office of the Dean of Students underwent a structural change following an examination of its interactions with students. In the new structure, there is a new assistant dean for case management, and conduct issues are handled primarily by the director of community standards, rather than being distributed between class deans as they were previously.
On Tuesday, the College hosted a town hall on campus to update members of the Bowdoin and Brunswick communities on the planned renovations of the Pickard Field, as well as to allow them to express their concerns.
The College’s welcoming of its first class of transfer students from community colleges this year follows a series of administrative changes made over the past several years and is a step towards efforts to incorporate more students on nontraditional paths into the student body.
The latest student-run local mutual aid effort, Polar Bear Mutual Aid (PBMA), is embarking on its second semester of fundraising and redistributing resources. Unaffiliated with the College, PBMA seeks to meet student and community needs through an anonymous application process.
Representatives from the College and Sebago Technics, an engineering firm headquartered in South Portland, presented plans for renovations to the Pickard Field complex to the Brunswick Staff Review Committee at Brunswick Town Hall on Wednesday morning.
Moulton and Thorne Halls will now provide containers for proper needle disposal, according to an email sent by Interim Director of Health Services Sandra Hayes on December 1. Hayes wrote that the College has seen an increase in improper disposal of needles and medical sharps on campus in the past month, especially in the dish rooms in the dining halls.
Employees who have been on the College’s payroll since or before September 1 will receive an additional cash payment in their December paychecks. President Clayton Rose announced the news in an email to staff on Monday.
Masks will no longer be required in student residence halls, administrative or academic buildings, athletic facilities and Smith Union, COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen announced in an email to the campus community today. Additionally, dining halls will reopen for faculty and staff, effective immediately.
Last Saturday, during Family Weekend, members of the Bowdoin Labor Alliance (BLA) and other student activists hosted a teach-in on the Main Quad to educate students and their families about the College’s Board of Trustees. Student activists centered their grievances around James “Jes” Staley ’79 P’11—who has come under fire for his relationship with the late sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein as well as his actions as CEO of Barclays—and circulated an online petition calling for Staley’s removal from the Board.
Masks will no longer be required in student residence halls, administrative or academic buildings, athletic facilities and Smith Union, COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen announced in an email to the campus community today. Additionally, dining halls will reopen for faculty and staff, effective immediately.
This weekend, the College will host the first in-person Family Weekend since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, albeit with modified policies to mitigate potential spread of the virus. Visiting family members must provide proof of vaccination upon their arrival to campus, and, where possible, events have been moved outside.
Six signs advocating for the removal of James “Jes” Staley ’79 P’11, CEO of Barclays, from the College’s Board of Trustees were taken down yesterday morning from the strip of grass between Maine Street and Park Row outside Hawthorne-Longfellow Library and Gibson Hall.
Brunswick’s Pleasant Street has a magical new addition: Raven & Crow, a metaphysical supply shop and espresso bar. The business opened its doors on August 23 and, almost two months later, has firmly established itself as a community center for pagan religious groups and magical practitioners.
In an email to the campus community on September 17, President Clayton Rose announced a range of changes to upcoming activities and events and a continuation of the indoor mask mandate in light of the recent outbreak of COVID-19 cases on campus and continued concerns related to the Delta variant.
The highest number of students in the history of the College are currently living on campus, with 1,814 residing in College housing. This record is a result of more students taking time off in the 2020-2021 academic year and juniors choosing to forego study abroad this semester due to COVID-19 impacting programs around the globe.
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.
While the majority of Bowdoin’s student body was fully vaccinated prior to arrival on campus, a few students—primarily international students unable to obtain one or both doses of the vaccine in their home countries—were vaccinated upon arrival through Bowdoin Health Services or at Mid Coast Hospital.
In the first of a series of “fireside chats” with this year’s honorary degree recipients, the College welcomed DeRay Mckesson ’07 H’21, a Black Lives Matter activist and host of the podcast Pod Save the People, in a virtual conversation moderated by Beth Kowitt ’07, a journalist for Fortune Magazine.
Marvin H. Green, Jr. Assistant Professor of Government Chryl Laird will be leaving Bowdoin at the end of the year for a new role at the University of Maryland (UMD), Laird announced on Twitter April 28.
The McKeen Center for the Common Good is discontinuing its annual Common Good Day (CGD), McKeen Center Director Sarah Seames announced in an email to the community Wednesday, May 5. CGD will be replaced by a new program called Common Good Project Teams (CGPT).
The McKeen Center for the Common Good is discontinuing its annual Common Good Day (CGD), McKeen Center Director Sarah Seames announced in an email to the community on Wednesday. CGD will be replaced with a new program called Common Good Project Teams (CGPT).
On Wednesday evening, candidates for the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) Executive Committee faced off against each other in four Zoom debates, moderated by Sabrina Lin ’21, Kate Lusignan ’21, Nina McKay ’21 and Harry Sherman ’21.
As vaccinations became available to all Maine residents over the age of 16, including Bowdoin community members, students from the Pre-Health Society and Bowdoin Underrepresented in Medical Professions (BUMP) have teamed up to contribute to the historic rollout by volunteering at Mid Coast Hospital’s Brunswick Recreation Center vaccine clinic.
The College announced on Wednesday that Stephanie Frost, who most recently served as associate dean for external relations at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, will replace Scott Meiklejohn as senior vice president for development and alumni relations beginning this summer.
A student reported symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and subsequently received a positive result from Health Services’ rapid PCR testing instrument, COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen announced in an email to the community on Monday. The student is being moved to isolation housing, and through contact tracing, the College determined that no additional students are required to quarantine.
On Sunday at 5 p.m., registration opened on CampusGroups for students to receive their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at Mid Coast Hospital’s clinic at the Brunswick Recreation Center beginning Wednesday. Despite website glitches and slowdowns, according to COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen, over 900 students were registered for an appointment within half an hour.
Two months into a spring semester like no other and with over 1,000 students on campus Bowdoin has managed to keep its positive COVID-19 case numbers relatively low. Despite a recent uptick in cases, it has also managed to stay in the least restrictive campus status level—”yellow”—since leaving “Hibearnation” and three days of “orange” in mid-February.
An outside contractor who worked in Kanbar Hall this week tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen announced in an email to the community Thursday evening. As a result, outside contractors will not be permitted to enter campus buildings, effective immediately.
A second staff member in Moulton Hall tested positive for COVID-19, COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen announced in an email to the community on Tuesday. Ranen clarified in his message that the case was not related to the positive case reported on Monday.
On Tuesday, one employee in Moulton Hall tested positive and one student who received an inconclusive test in Monday’s testing received a positive result on an antigen test, COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen announced in two separate emails to the community.
A College employee who works in Rhodes Hall tested positive for COVID-19 in Wednesday’s testing, COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen announced in a community-wide email Thursday afternoon. According to Ranen, this case is the second positive reported in Rhodes Hall in seven days.
One student tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen announced in an email to the community. Through contact tracing, three additional students were identified as close contacts and have been moved to quarantine housing.
One College employee tested positive for COVID-19 in Wednesday’s testing, COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen announced in an email to the Bowdoin community on Thursday afternoon. This case marks the fifth on campus in the last week, after three students and one employee tested positive on Friday.
For many Bowdoin student-athletes, being a part of a team is a support system: a group that acts as a family. But exactly a year ago, that world froze as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted athletic competitions across the country and forced teammates apart.
Despite Maine’s relatively efficient rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine—the state is currently ranked tenth nationally in percentage of the population that has been fully vaccinated—the state’s transition to an age-based distribution plan has placed many Bowdoin students at the end of the line, resulting in a sense of uncertainty, disappointment and a scramble to find alternate solutions.
In an email to the community sent on Saturday afternoon, COVID-19 Resource Coordinator announced that an employee of the College tested positive for COVID-19 in Friday’s on-campus testing. The employee is isolating at home. One other employee was identified as a close contact through contact tracing and is now quarantined at home.
President Clayton Rose sent an email to the campus community on Thursday afternoon announcing that the College expects to welcome all students back to campus in the fall. Rose also outlined plans for commencement and summer on-campus activity.
Last Thursday, 1,369 donors made gifts for BowdoinOne Day, the College’s annual giving campaign, exceeding the College’s target of 1,200 donors for the day. Rather than a multi-week campaign concluding in April, as it has been in past years, this year’s BowdoinOne Day was a single day of giving.
In an email to the community on Monday morning, President Clayton Rose announced the appointments of two new Senior Vice Presidents (SVP) following the recent resignations of SVP and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Whitney Soule and SVP and Chief Investment Officer Paula Volent.
A College employee tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen announced in an email to the community this afternoon. The employee is on campus infrequently and was found to have been in close contact with one other employee, who is now quarantining at home.
In an email to the campus on Thursday afternoon, President Clayton Rose announced the launch of a semester-long lecture series titled “After the Insurrection: Conversations on Democracy.”The series includes six events featuring speakers who are experts on voting and extremism, including Senator Susan Collins (R-ME).
Over the weekend, the College welcomed back 1013 on-campus students and 64 students who are living off campus but have on-campus privileges. This meant the launch of Bowdoin’s second semester of coronavirus (COVID-19) testing protocols—this time with a significantly greater volume of tests to process each week.
As COVID-19 cases surge nation-wide, the Bowdoin community has not been immune. Confronting rising cases of the virus on campus, the administration and on-campus students are evaluating steps forward as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches. In a Microsoft Teams interview with the Orient, COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen said that he was not surprised about the recent positive cases on campus.
The majority of courses will continue to be taught remotely for the spring semester, but students in residence will have limited opportunities for in-person learning, according to an email sent to students from the Registrar Martina Duncan on Monday.
On Monday night, Representative Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) spoke to members of the Bowdoin community over Zoom on a range of issues, including the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the recent presidential election and climate change. Haaland was elected to the House of Representatives in 2018, and, as a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe, was one of the first two Native American women to serve in Congress.
In an email sent to students on Thursday morning, Dean of Students Kristina Bethea Odejimi shared an update on the College’s spring residential plan for on-campus students. Odejimi laid out the various options, or “tracks,” available to students this spring.
Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) has hosted events for No Hate November every year since 2012, ranging from discussion groups and panels to keynote speeches delivered by public figures such as civil rights activist DeRay McKesson ’07 and actor Patrick Dempsey H’13.
Students taking personal leaves of absence (PLOA) for the 2020-2021 academic year may have to contend with a variety of policies regarding which College resources are available to them during their leave, according to the College’s Spring 2021 FAQ page updated Thursday.
A College employee tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday, according to an email sent to all staff and students from COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen on Tuesday evening. The employee has not been on campus since October 28 and received their positive result from outside the College’s testing program.
According to a survey conducted by the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) sent out on October 28, 83 percent of upper-class students report that they have either more work than usual or substantially more work than usual during this online semester than in a typical, in-person semester.
A faculty member who is infrequently on campus and teaching completely remotely tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, according to an email sent Thursday morning to the Bowdoin community from COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen. The individual is the first faculty member and the second College employee to test positive since the beginning of the semester.
Five days before what is likely to be the most contentious national election in recent history and as more than 345,000 Mainers have already cast their ballots, Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives and Democratic candidate for U.S.
A student living off campus in Brunswick tested positive for COVID-19 last Friday, Senior Vice President and Dean for Student Affairs Janet Lohmann said during a town hall with off-campus students on Sunday. “We became aware of this on Friday because the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] (CDC) contacted us,” said Lohmann.
Last Friday, local candidates for the Maine State Senate, Maine State House and Brunswick Town Council congregated on a Zoom screen to share their campaign platforms and address questions posed by Bowdoin students. The forum, sponsored by Bowdoin Votes, Bowdoin Democrats, Bowdoin Republicans and the Government and Legal Studies Department, was moderated by McKeen Center Associate Director for Service and Leadership Andrew Lardie and Bowdoin Votes fellow Wilder Short ’22.
As students tune into Zoom lectures from across the globe, the Division of Student Affairs is launching an initiative to connect with students who are studying remotely. The Remote Connections Team, consisting of five staff members from the Division, is planning to reach out individually to every off-campus student this semester.
Effective Wednesday, October 7, students living on campus who miss a total of three COVID-19 tests will be asked to leave campus, according to an email from COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen sent to on-campus students today.
COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen announced that a member of the Bowdoin staff has tested positive for COVID-19 in an email sent to the College community on Thursday night,. The staff member is the first employee to test positive since the beginning of the fall semester.
The Student Activities Funding Committee (SAFC) recently announced it will have a $165,000 budget for the fall semester. This total includes approximately $65,000 for operating budget clubs such as Bowdoin Student Government (BSG), The Bowdoin Orient and College Houses.
President Clayton Rose laid out the College’s updated spring semester schedule in an email sent to the campus community on Wednesday. Classes are expected to start on February 8—two weeks later than originally planned—and most will continue to be taught online.
On Sunday, the Athletes of Color Coalition (AoCC) released a list of demands for diversity reform in the athletic department. These include mandated race education for teams and an athletics-specific bias reporting process. The AoCC began circulating a petition, which invites community members to express support for these demands.
According to an email from COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen sent to the Bowdoin community on Saturday, a third student on campus has tested positive for COVID-19 and is now in isolation. Three additional students, identified through contact tracing, will be placed in quarantine for 14 days because they were in close contact with the student.
The first week of the semester saw the rollout of the College’s ambitious testing program for the fall. The plan dictates that students must be tested three times a week—Monday, Wednesday and Friday—for the first two weeks of the semester, and then twice a week—with one group tested on Mondays and Thursdays and the other tested on Tuesdays and Fridays—until campus closes before Thanksgiving break.
Elections for Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) Executive Assembly positions open today, with 16 candidates vying for eight positions. Due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), candidates have been campaigning remotely and have turned to social media initiatives in place of posters and in-person debates.
Despite drastic changes to Bowdoin’s academic program since the College’s shift to remote learning, students continue to receive national recognition for their academic work. Anneka Williams ’21 and Zoe Dietrich ’21 were awarded the Barry M.
Diana Grandas ’20 was in Austria over spring break visiting a friend when she received word that the College would be transitioning to remote learning. Suddenly, she found herself unable to return to campus and had no way to retrieve her belongings.
Last Friday, Bowdoin College Dance Marathon hosted its third annual Dance Marathon to raise money for Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital in Portland. This year’s Dance Marathon had more students registered than ever before and raised a record amount of money, an increase the leaders of the event attributed to improved collaboration with athletic teams and College Houses.
Every Saturday in Thorne Dining Hall, the Bowdoin College Republicans meet for dinner and conversation—with a touch of politics. The club has an email list of 95 people, but attendance is usually limited to the same six or seven people each week, admitted club co-president Theo de Quillacq ’21.
“How many people here think you can buy an election?” asked U.S. Senate candidate Bre Kidman. Every hand in the room went up. “How many people think you should buy an election?” asked Kidman. This time, no one raised a hand.
Saturday, February 1—Rochester, N.H. The calluses first appeared around day 12 in Sioux City, Iowa, says Penny Mack ’22. “You knock like two doors, and the calluses are already coming back,” she says, making a fist with her right hand, her knocking hand.
Posters displaying lists of students who have participated in OutPeer or OutAlly training through the Center for Sexuality, Women and Gender (SWAG) have long been a staple in bathroom stalls throughout Bowdoin’s campus. Now, in addition to the existing posters, students will see similar lists with students’ names sorted by sports team.
At first glance, the lower floor of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art (BCMA) looks like any other art exhibition: paintings, drawings, statues and other various forms of artwork are scattered throughout, set against yellow walls and accompanied by plaques detailing each piece’s history and artistry.
“Representation.” “Identity.” “Pride.” The walls of the Blue Gallery tell a complicated story of solidarity and individuality—photographs of 15 Bowdoin students encircle the room, printed in color and black-and-white, pasted on red backgrounds. Quotes, taken from interviews with the students pictured, are printed in varying styles and colors directly on the photos, highlighting the diversity of individual experiences with Asian and Asian American identities.
Sitting on the floor and squeezing into the back, faculty, staff and students packed Main Lounge in for the panel, “Land and Waters Around Us: A Discussion on Indigenous Land and Acknowledgements.” The event, organized by the Native American Students Association (NASA) as a part of both Native American Heritage Month and No Hate November, discussed the importance and complexity of land acknowledgements.
Fans of “Grey’s Anatomy” have much to look forward to this month—Patrick Dempsey H’13, an actor, activist and philanthropist who frequently speaks about his struggles with dyslexia, will be visiting campus on November 14 as the keynote speaker for the annual No Hate November month.
Sitting in a lounge chair onstage in Kresge Auditorium Monday night with a stack of books on the table next to him, author and activist Kenny Fries took the audience on a global tour of living life with a disability.
The Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) held its first meeting of the year this Wednesday, October 2, and discussed a host of new initiatives, including providing more services to students from low-income backgrounds and creating an ad hoc committee to handle complaints about WiFi problems.
