CareNet fills a gap

Letter to the editor: Thanks to all who helped make the teach-in a success

To the Editor:
On October 1, faculty, staff and students from across the campus came together for an extraordinary day of learning and dialogue. It wouldn’t have happened without a tremendous amount of work from many, many people. You set up chairs, tables and microphones, organized equipment, reserved rooms and printed posters. You moderated panels, gave presentations, tabled at the expo and taught classes. You rescheduled team practices and adjusted syllabi. Most importantly, many, many of you attended some part of the day, encouraged others to attend, learned from each other and engaged in thoughtful and challenging conversations.
As members of the group who’ve worked since last November to make the Teach-In happen, we’ve always known that broad participation was essential. The widespread engagement of the campus was gratifying and gave us hope for ways forward. To all who lent their energy, time and intellect for the day, and to those who accepted this event even if you didn’t feel it was the best way to proceed: Thank you!
Sincerely,
Amina Ben Ismail
Brianna Cardwell
Carl Boisrond
Caroline Martinez
Catalina Gallagher
Diamond Walker
Dillon Sandhu
Hadley Horch
Heather Witzel Lakin
Kelsey Freeman
Madeleine Msall
Maria Kennedy
Mark Battle
Mary Hunter
Nadia Celis
Roy Partridge

Letter to the editor: Please support divestment

Dear Bowdoin Students, Alumni, President Rose and Trustees,
This summer, I participated in a campaign of “kayaktivist” events here in the Pacific Northwest–nonviolent on-water acts of civil disobedience. I risked arrest, potentially negative consequences for my medical license and fines as high as $36,000. Why? Because every independent scientific assessment has made clear that the survival of our world is in extreme jeopardy due to climate change and global warming. We have been lied to by corporations like Exxon and their lobbyists for decades.
Our collective society urgently needs to shift our energy policies and practices, away from fossil fuels and towards immediate and intensive investment in an ecologically sustainable energy economy. In my senior year at Bowdoin (1980-81) interviewing for jobs on Wall Street, I never imagined that one day I would be forced to make a choice between making a stand for truth and justice or letting problems on a truly apocalyptic scale be someone else’s problem. Apathy and ignorance is a choice after all. My Bowdoin education gave me the foundational integrity and rectitude to make a choice based on compassion for all life. Please support divestment.
Jordan Van Voast ’81, L.Ac.

Letter to the editor

October 22, 2015

Dear Editor,

Regarding the September 30 opinion piece entitled “Crisis Pregnancy Centers are not a Legitimate Alternative to Abortion Clinics,” by Julia Mead.

Care Net of Mid-Coast Maine is not a clinic. Upon registration and completing pregnancy tests, clients sign paperwork indicating that they understand we are not a medical facility.

We address each client’s unique situation with care and sensitivity. If she chooses abortion, we offer information and post-care. If she chooses adoption, we give referrals. If she chooses parenting, we offer classes and material needs.

I got pregnant at 19 and had a choice to make. My mother insisted that I choose abortion. The local pregnancy center tried to coerce me into choosing adoption. Nobody cared about what I wanted. Years later, I decided to work with women facing unplanned pregnancies–to give them a safe place to process their OWN feelings and decisions, without coercion or judgment. Care Net fits that bill–if it didn’t, I wouldn’t work here.

We invite Bowdoin students to visit Care Net. Our hope is that people on all sides of the political, religious and ideological aisles will begin to build bridges, figure out where we DO agree and go from there.

Best wishes,

Paulla Estes

Director of Communications

Care Net of Mid-Coast Maine

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