Bowdoin faculty and students are active in the fight against climate change

Letter to the editor: Don’t just “do you”; students must seek truth in love and relationships

Although Eric Edelman intends to challenge the Bowdoin community’s attitude towards sexuality (“Do Not Put Me in a Box, Bowdoin: Leaving Sexuality Undefined”), his writing only confirms an attitude among many students, perhaps even the school administration, which does not give our intellectual and ethical compasses their proper roles. The answer for Bowdoin is not to “do as we please, for the sole reason that we think it might make our lives more enjoyable...The only thing that’s important is that you do you. Do whatever you want to do with whomever you want to do it with” but thoughtful reflection by individuals and groups on the meaning of sexuality. This critical feature of the human condition, explored for centuries by poet and philosopher alike, should not be left to the moral laziness of “do you” relativism, but guided by our deepest principles.

Letter to the editor: Bowdoin must focus on divestment before endowment

To the Editor: I would have been satisfied if our meeting with President Mills yielded a commitment to formally consider our proposal to divest Bowdoin’s endowment from fossil fuels. Instead, we left with our heads full of “stay the course” rhetoric. President Mills doubts the claim of the Aperio Group, an investment management firm that published a report finding that divestment poses virtually no risk to endowment returns. I trust these facts, over the profit versus environmental responsibility paradigm, because my Bowdoin education does not accept convention as truth.

Letter to the editor

Bowdoin faculty and students are active in the fight against climate change

January 31, 2013

To the Editor:

Mr. Schendler, in his article “Bowdoin is falling dangerously behind on climate change,” chose to assert that Bowdoin faculty are not only not doing enough, but that they are doing nothing.

While all people and institutions can certainly do more to address the pressing issue of man induced climate change, Bowdoin faculty are certainly not doing nothing.

I trust that his opinion is simply a lack of exploration of the course content, of the active faculty, and of student participation in the climate issue.

It is likely that his sentiment is based on the availability of online sound bites that are so common and ring so hollow.

If you look closely at Mr. Schendler’s affiliation, you will notice that he is an employee of the Aspen Ski corporation, an establishment that itself promotes unnecessary carbon-emission through air travel, snow making, lift service, slope grooming, and many other enjoyable, yet frivolous and privileged, carbon-producing events.

Let us use this unwarranted attack on our faculty—many of whom have a long-vested interest in the climate issue—to reflect on what we each can do ensure our future and to engage with the faculty and students who are already active.

I also remind Mr. Schendler that his statement that nobody will be able to go to Bowdoin with the advent of temperature rise, is likely not correct, but it is sure that we won’t be skiing at Aspen.

Sincerely,
Bruce Kohorn
Linnean Professor of Biology & Biochemistry

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