A mysterious design in the snow appeared early this week on the Quad and left members of the Bowdoin community baffled as to how it got there. While some wrote it off as the work of student pranksters, others suggested that extraterrestrial forces might be involved.
The large design consisted of three multi-colored concentric circles.
The Orient received an email from several members of the classes of 2001 and 2002, requesting an investigation into the mysterious designs they termed "crop circles." The alumni were able to monitor the situation remotely by accessing the Quad webcam on Bowdoin's web site.
The email showed evidence that the circles were drawn in the snow sometime late Monday night or early Tuesday morning.
A subsequent Orient investigation yielded few answers.
Director of Facilities Operations & Maintenance Ted Stam told the Orient he was unsure how the circles got there. He said they appeared to be made of food dye, and guessed they were the result of "some people just having fun."
Speculation that the circles might be related to the Bowdoin Student Government's (BSG) Winter Carnival planned for this weekend led the Orient to ask BSG President DeRay Mckesson if he knew of the origin of the circles. Mckesson said he did not.
The circles faded and disappeared as the weather became progressively warmer over the course of the week.