A strong first step on Darfur

Editorial: Kudos for communication

Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) has operated in stealth mode in years past. With the exception of a few scattered emails here and there, students were largely left unaware of what their representatives were doing?or not doing?on their behalf. Like any governing body, BSG cannot be effective unless it is accountable to those it serves. And the only way for it to be accountable is to run it transparently with productive communication going both ways between BSG members and students.

Editorial: Cramming not the solution

The College is currently trying to overcome a housing shortage for next year by, among other things, planning to cram more students into certain existing rooms designed to accommodate fewer people.

Editorial

This piece represents the opinion of The Bowdoin Orient editorial board.

March 3, 2006

Three weeks ago, this page called on the College's administration to create a forum for dialogue on divestment from companies that do business with Sudan. The Sudanese government has supported genocide in the Darfur region of that country, and U.S. colleges and universities are beginning to use their economic power to show that this is not acceptable.

On Wednesday, President Barry Mills announced the creation of a committee to consider Bowdoin's investments and report back to the Board of Trustees in May. This announcement reiterated that Bowdoin is willing not only to talk about the common good, but also willing to take action in its pursuit. We commend Mills for taking this first step, and we expect that the Board of Trustees will consider the committee's recommendation in a manner that places ethics first.

James D. Baumberger abstained from voting on this editorial to avoid a conflict of interest.

The editorial represents the majority view of The Bowdoin Orient's editorial board. The editorial board is comprised of James D. Baumberger, Drew Fulton, Bobby Guerette, Evan S. Kohn, and Beth Kowitt.

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