In the days leading up to Ivies, some of my less party-oriented friends have started to grumble about the perceived waste of resources that is Ivies. The complaints usually go something like: "Why should we be paying for these bands to come, and why should Bowdoin allow students to use their land and money so they can blackout all weekend?"
Bowdoin claims to be an academic institution, the argument goes, so it should not be allocating resources to things that do not help, and in fact may hinder, students' academic progress.
If you ask a sample of students about any recent capital improvement project you will undoubtedly find some that disagree vehemently with the idea that Bowdoin spent money to build that new dorm, or athletics facility, or art studio, or...the list goes on and on. Some students will even narrow their definitions of "academic" to exclude certain disciplines; certain departments regularly have tirades made against them.
If you follow this argument, though, the logic quickly falls apart. Bowdoin claims to be academically-oriented, but much of what the college allocates money to has, at best, a tangential relationship to academics. Sports, social houses, even most of what SAFC spends money on: what point does any of it have in any context? In order to truly understand why Bowdoin does what it does, we need a new perspective on the institution.
Bowdoin does care a lot about the education it is imparting us, but, from an organizational perspective, that is secondary to the school's main goal. Like all organizations surpassing a certain level of complexity, Bowdoin strives to maintain its existence above all else.
This is not a criticism of the school, and it should not be taken as such; if Bowdoin does not exist, it can hardly ensure that future generations graduate with the same quality of education we receive. As students, though, it is important to keep this essential truth in mind when judging the actions of the administration.
Let us take Ivies as our first and most pertinent example. If the weather holds up we are going to have a great time, but if we examine the event from, well, any perspective beyond that of a college student, its persistence is rather bizarre. Ivies is a festival of excess and waste that involves the disregard of a whole host of state laws.
While I have heard it justified pseudo-academically as a well-needed break from the rigors of a Bowdoin education (and it most certainly serves this purpose!), it is hard to argue seriously that Janelle Monáe will be here to broaden our mental horizons.
No, what Ivies does is ensure that Bowdoin students have a great time, and the College supports it because of that. If we as Bowdoin students have one event we can look forward to all year, we will tell everyone about it (as well as perhaps behave more calmly on other weekends) and entice prospective students with the idea that Bowdoin isn't all work and no play.
If we leave Bowdoin as happy graduates with fond memories of Ivies past, we will be more inclined to donate and act as ambassadors of the College. Judging by the alumni giving rate, the entire package that is a Bowdoin education works quite well in this regard.
In writing this column I am not trying to engender a certain cynicism in my readers. On the contrary, realizing that Bowdoin isn't all about academics will hardly reduce the quality of the educations we do receive. It is, however, important for us to realize the logic behind what the administration does.
Part of what makes President Barry Mills such a good leader is that he looks out for the survival of the College in the long-term. This perspective benefits us greatly, and we should be glad for it: The housing, food and extras provided by Bowdoin can all be seen as part of the College's survival plan.
We should look at Bowdoin as an organization rather than just as a school because it allows us to appreciate exactly why we get to live the lives that we do. Next time you are tempted to complain about the waste of money, remember that while it may seem frivolous, it may just come back in the form of a windfall for the College somewhere down the road: Bowdoin is investing in its future by investing in our futures.