When campus squirrels finally begin Operation Bowdoin Takeover, their first step will likely be to cut power to the campus.
According to Director of Facilities Operations and Maintenance Ted Stam, a squirrel caused a power outage on campus about a year ago.
"A squirrel got into one of the Central Maine Power (CMP) substations and caused a short," Stam explained.
Public Affairs Manager John Carroll of Central Maine Power, which supplies power to Bowdoin, explained that a squirrel or other small animal can cause the power lines to short by acting as a conductor to the ground from a power line.
In fact, 12 percent of Maine's power outages occur because of small animals, according to Carroll.
However, fallen trees and storms are to blame for the majority of outages affecting the state, accounting for 33 and 20 percent of power failures, respectively.
The Bowdoin campus suffered three major power outages last year: one due to wind and rain in October, and two due to wind and snow in April.
Carroll said that power outages happen in Brunswick and the surrounding area more often than in the rest of Maine for three main reasons: the stronger winds on the coast, the wetter, heavier snow, and the way the power is distributed, in that an outage at the end of a peninsula on the coast can wipe out power inland.
Carroll said that the worst outage in recent history was during the January 1998 ice storm, when power went out in much of Maine, including Bowdoin, for several weeks. However, that outage occurred during Winter Break, so most students were not affected.
Once the Bowdoin campus loses power, the Building Management System alerts Security to the outage, and Security then notifies Facilities. At that point, Facilities calls in its electricians and other staff and reports the outage to CMP.
The main campus is served by two main power feeds from CMP. The south loop, which includes most buildings south of Moulton Union, has had more problems than the north loop, Stam said.
"It just seems that that one is more vulnerable to failure," Stam said. "Probably because it is more exposed to weather and tree damage because it goes out to Harpswell."
"Typically the failures occur outside the campus, and affect us," added Stam.
When the power goes out in Brunswick, Bowdoin generally gets its electricity back before most of the town.
"Because Bowdoin is in the center of town, it would probably be at the front of the restoration program," Carroll said.
Directory of Safety and Security Randy Nichols said that Security updates students on the power outage by e-mailing students and leaving voice messages on room phones. However, without power, checking e-mail is difficult, and students rarely check room phone voicemail.
"The next phase is going to be text messaging," Nichols said in an interview with the Orient. "But right now we don't have the text messaging information entered into the system."
According to Stam, "the safest thing to do is to wait it out and notify Security of any alarms. Most outages last only a few hours."
Parissa Khayami '09 endured a three-day power outage last April in Mayflower Apartments caused by a tree outside the apartments falling on a power line.
"Basically, we lived at the Union," Khayami said, adding that she and her roommates sometimes charged their laptops at Thorne.
On October 28, 2006, during an almost-campus-wide outage that lasted all afternoon and evening, Sarah Bernheim '09 invited friends over to make the best of the outage.
"It was pitch-dark out, and we sat around in a circle with pillows and a candle in the middle and played card games," Bernheim said. "It was too dark to do any work."
Nichols pointed out, though, that students are not allowed to use candles for any purpose, even during a power outage.
"Possessing and/or using candles in campus residence halls is a serious fire safety policy violation," Nichols wrote in an e-mail to the Orient. "Every student should have a reliable flashlight readily available. They make the perfect Christmas gift!"